The Christmas Invasion

I think The Christmas Invasion is a pretty clever introduction for the Tenth Doctor on RTD’s part. By holding him in reserve for most of the episode we’re confronted with a world where the Doctor isn’t there to save the day - something Russell would return to with even more devastating effect in Series 4.

It’s nice seeing Rose manage things on her own and show off what she’s learned, even though it’s not enough to take the Sycorax down at the end of the day. Her acting as solo lead for most of the episode lets us catch up on her relationships with Jacky and Mickey a bit further, and shows Billie Piper’s chops as a leading actress.

Harriet Jones’ heel turn is a major sticking point for many viewers of this episode, and I agree that the way this pulls such a 180 from what we learn of her in Aliens of London/World War Three is a bit rough. Still, though I think I would have preferred at least one more Harriet appearance in between that two-parter and this episode to give us some more time to build it up, I do think it’s realistic. Showing the fallibility of our leaders is right in line with RTD’s skepticism toward the political class that we see in so many of his other episodes, and for what it’s worth, it is emotionally affecting in this case.

We could argue if the Doctor is right or not to do what he does in destroying her career, but it doesn’t feel to me as if the text is asking us to side with him on this. Coming as it does right after his “No second chances” moment with the Sycorax leader, we see that this new Doctor can be just as ruthless with his favorite species as he is with the aliens of the week. I believe this is the start of the arc that we see conclude in Waters of Mars and The End of Time, where this Doctor grapples with his tendency to play god with history.

Finally, as a Christmas episode, this story captures the vibes of the season and makes for great holiday viewing, even aside from the episode’s individual merits. I rate it quite highly.

👍🏼(7.8) = GOOD!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

This is the story that started the annual tradition of the Doctor Who Christmas special with RTD. It is also, incidentally, the first episode for the new Doctor, David Tennant.

The story combines a traditional British Christmas feel with familiar faces (Rose, Jackie, Mickey, and Harriet "We know who she is" Jones) trying to cope with an alien invasion while figuring out who or what the man calling himself the Doctor is, all while the man himself spends a bulk of the story unconscious (this feels like a callback to Spearhead from Space, 1970).

This approach to introducing a new Doctor by landing him in a familiar setting surrounded by different people helps us accept the change and realise that we are still watching the same show. Simultaneously, this modern interpretation of Doctor Who emphasises the companions and their worldview.

The main plot itself is a rather simple alien invasion plot, but it turns pretty fun towards the end once the Doctor gets going properly. The twist that the Sycorax use blood to control Earth's population is pretty good. The entire sequence, from the Doctor waking up, blabbering around, and quoting The Lion King, to him fencing with the Sycorax leader, losing his hand, and then winning the battle with a satsuma, is a captivating and engaging experience. For me, this entire sequence marks Tennant's transformation into the Doctor.

Billie Piper, Camille Coduri, and Noel Clarke are all on fire here, with Piper leading the fray very well and Coduri doing the comedy bit. Mickey proves to be very resourceful here, which seems appropriate for the character. David Tennant is very comfortable in the lead role already, but he's also a bit all over the place so far, though that’s probably the point.

This is also the episode that reintroduces Harriet Jones from Aliens of London/World War Three (2005) as a running gag. Okay, then, Russell! But at least she shows some of her determination and prowess. UNIT is also back in full force, and we get the first mention of the Series 2 arc, the mysterious Torchwood organisation.

To this day, The Christmas Invasion manages to make Christmas creepy. Killer Santas and spinning Christmas Trees of Death make sure of that! At the same time, there's enough of a comedic tone here to not make things too gruesome.

Murray Gold contributes an epic score, but the visual elements are simplistic; the big visual effects haven't aged well; the fencing scene appears a bit clumsy; and the costumes still look fantastic.

The final few moments, with Harriet Jones deciding to shoot down the Sycorax ship, are a New Who equivalent of a similar conclusion in The Silurians, showing the vile sides of humanity that the Doctor frequently loathes. This scene also shows that the new Doctor can have some of Nine's darker sides left.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

• It seems tea is everything the Doctor needs to get a jump start! What a British way of putting it!
• I love the moment where the Sycorax leader begins speaking English in mid-sentence, followed by the Doctor entering the scene.
• They already dropped the "Yes, I know who you are" gag three times in this episode, and it's already old.
• The Doctor's fencing is always such a cool scene, but the one seen here pales in comparison to the one between Three and the Master in The Sea Devils.
• The line, "This new hand is a fightin' hand," is very cringeworthy.
• The end of this episode establishes the RTD-era running gag, which is that the snow falling is always something else than snow.

The memories I have of watching this

I was sitting next to the christmas tree at my aunts house and as soon  as the tree started moving I got up and left where I was sitting

Christmas Invasion is about as average as one can get with a story that should be a bigger deal. It's David Tennant's premiere, after all, but it does feel a little lacking, particularly in the effects department with stuff like the spinning Christmas tree. Some of the acting I could do without, but all that really changes once the Doctor shows up.

Say what you will about this episode, but when the TARDIS starts to translate the Sycorax I always get chills. Ten's appearance and big entrance, his memorable victory over the Christmas Invasion, and his easy dismantling of the Jones Ministry all say a lot about this new Doctor in very little time. It has bits of weakness pretty thoroughly baked into it, but when Christmas Invasion is working well, it is spectacular. Rose truly carries this story and it feels well done on the whole. She is traumatized, confused about the Doctor, and afraid, and I think Billie Piper nails that performance a lot better than what we got out of Mickey and Jackie here.

So, not perfect, but absolutely essential to the history of the Tenth Doctor.

Anyways, this is probably it for me before Christmas. It is fun being a new part of this site and has really helped me start to catalogue what I've seen and how I felt about each story, and I hope everyone has a very happy holidays!

Abysmal.

It's a masterclass on how not to introduce a new Doctor - because for some reason, he's... asleep for most of it? This episode gives such little characterisation to the Tenth Doctor and that's because he's barely in it; it's baffling because there was a perfect set-up to explore this new incarnation. It's a literal invasion; let's see how this Doctor reacts to it, how he makes his plans (or wings it), how he interacts with his companions, how he does anything really? When he's finally awake, he's good, but it's too little, too late in the end.

Rose just kind of forgets all her character development from S1 and gives up immediately, even she spent the last episode saying she was taught to make a stand no matter what. The Doctor isn't dead, he hasn't left you; he's asleep - because he was saving your life from a situation much more dire than this, so what happened? Like the entirety of Parting is her coming round that she can make a stand on her own, the Doctor taught that and she's never gonna give up. AND THEN IN CHRISTMAS INVASION, she gives up because the Doctor isn't there. Brilliant. Utter character degeneration.

The pilot fish are really, really stupid. They blatantly know where the Doctor currently is because they send the tree to the flat (which they know the location of, somehow?), but they don't use the opportunity to kidnap him there? They waste time attacking Rose and Mickey? What's the point of the tree, just go in, kill Jackie and take him; Rose and Mickey are out. Their relationship with the Sycorax also feels really sloppy; their varying motivations make them feel superfluous like they were added solely for an extra set piece. The time might've been better spent on building the tension towards the Sycorax arrival.

Speaking of; the Sycorax are cool, ish, but translation of an unknown language just doesn't work like that and there's no sensible or reasonable explanation for the TARDIS being unable to translate just because the Doctor is asleep. But what exactly was their plan in the first place? The Doctor says they came because Earth had been drawing attention to itself, but what were they planning to do if they hadn't come across the space probe with the blood?

I'd be genuinely OK with calling this boring shite the worst post-regeneration episode AND Christmas Special to date.

If The Parting of the Ways presents one end of RTD’s writing, perhaps The Christmas Invasion presents the other. The first of many Christmas specials is fueled off of strong characters, fun set pieces and seasonal cheer. But it’s fair to say it’s not the strongest story he has offered up - with good will having to make up for the holes. A satsuma being thrown at a button opens up a random bit of floor? Really? But then there is a school of thought that when you’re introducing a new character you don’t want the story to get in the way too much.

I’m here for Rose and The Doctor’s romance. I’m here for robot Santas and killer Christmas trees. I’m here for Jackie piling loads of food onto the TARDIS and talking about her various romantic pursuits. The plot though is paper thin, so watched outside of that memorable Christmas Day in 2005, my initial positive reaction (especially my dad laughing at “its a fighting hand!”) has slowly faded over the years.