The Sinking Feeling
Last night I had the luxury of seeing the latest, and grandest, of the Doctor Who Christmas specials.
Luxury. As in luxury cruise, the Titanic.
Though it’s not the same Titanic that was felled by the giant iceberg on its ill-fated, maiden voyage through the Atlantic in 1912. This is a spaceship, mind you. A little different.
Some folks will need to stop worrying about the sacrilege of the famous ship or the fact that the spirits of those who died in that underwater burial will not be overly offended by this surprisingly good homage to the ship of the same name.
The title is “Voyage of the Damned.” It doesn’t sound very Christmas-y. But there are enough Christmas references to make it a lighthearted romp through the star-studded, story-laden feature that’s the longest Doctor Who episode at 71 minutes. Written by Yours Truly Russell T. Davies as a kind of gift.
The opener is amazing. When the Doctor played by David Tennant sees through the porthole of the ship… glancing through into the farther reaches of space makes for a great landscape, he really sees where he is. There’s a sudden feeling that the ship is isolated, high above in the earthbound orbit. There’s a silence that feels like an enemy in space.
The music theme will be something that needs getting used to. The little rockability is a departure from the old, classic orchestra score that I prefer.
The Christmas episode this time around plays like an epic disaster movie of the 1970s during the time when those horrible Irwin Allen films took to such popularity heights. But it’s an era with its own trademark. The disaster movie. Just sound of it brings to mind many memories of people struggling against forces of nature.
Look at the stars that fills the Christmas episode. Geoffrey Palmer, Bernard Cribbins, Clive Swift and many others. It wouldn’t feel like a disaster movie otherwise without the long list of well-known names gathered on the roster.
Interesting enough, for older Doctor Who fans, the film refers to the classic Doctor Who episode “Robots of Death” with the ever dependable Tom Baker. The scene with one of the angel robots getting his hand caught in the closing door is a direct reference to the old 1977 episode.
Tennant is very good in the episode. He takes the lead. Sure, confident, taking his stride, he walks amidst the flames like a soldier wading through the battlefield. He’s certainly taking form-fitting shape in his role. He knows how to play the Doctor with vast comfort while still managing to bring something new into the part. There’s a good scene with him standing in front of the bursting fire and you know this is a man who has nothing to lose. And everything to gain.
He made the promise of saving the Titanic. And he did.
At the same time, there are small loses.
I liked the fact that the Doctor was without his Tardis and his sonic screwdriver here. It brings a more dramatic tension to the building of the story. And makes him far more vulnerable.
His companion this time around is Astrid Peth played by Kylie Minogue. For some reason, the Doctor has a thing for blondes. And she does remind me of an older version of Rose Tyler. Blonde bombshell with a brain. Those are qualities to make his list. Minogue is a widely known singer in Europe as well. She’s known for her talent except for the United States. Not sure why.
Minogue’s not bad here. She’ll need to get into her part a little longer before she can grow into it. But she’s a lot of fun. She might be older, but that doesn’t show in the episode at all. She easily catches up with the Doctor. She makes some decisions for herself. Her pretty smile is long-lasting.
She's an orphan that has no family at all. She mentioned this in a conversation with the Doctor. Therefore she feels a connection with him. And she kisses him not out of any kind of physical attraction for him. But there’s a feeling that she can understand him on a same level of intellect. The same way Rose Tyler did in the earlier episodes. She knows the Doctor will be there for her.
The only part of the episode of the series that’s a let down is the appearance of Max Capricorn. I felt like he should’ve been better cast into the shadows without being seen. Someone who is in the far corner watching, not interacting. Pulling the strings. His presence could have been one that was felt. But the actor who plays Capricorn plays him over-the-top. A little too much perhaps. He acts over zealously which I thought took away a lot of credibility from the Christmas show. That’s too bad. I though the rest of the Chritmas episode wasn’t bad at all. But the madman-scheming-to-destroy-everything worked better in the Tom Baker shows.
However, Capricorn said in his dialogue with the Doctor that he had been in control of his business for a 176 years. It’s very possible that a prequel episode could be made when he was in human form and not some disembodied head encased in a giant glass shell.
The music was an amazing thing. The set designs of the Titanic were great too, with plenty of space, high ceilings. It gave a breezy, whimsical feel to the show. It’s still an enjoyable piece of television. Something you don’t get very often on TV these days.
I wonder what the Doctor, standing in for Santa Claus, will bring us for next Christmas.
Luxury. As in luxury cruise, the Titanic.
Though it’s not the same Titanic that was felled by the giant iceberg on its ill-fated, maiden voyage through the Atlantic in 1912. This is a spaceship, mind you. A little different.
Some folks will need to stop worrying about the sacrilege of the famous ship or the fact that the spirits of those who died in that underwater burial will not be overly offended by this surprisingly good homage to the ship of the same name.
The title is “Voyage of the Damned.” It doesn’t sound very Christmas-y. But there are enough Christmas references to make it a lighthearted romp through the star-studded, story-laden feature that’s the longest Doctor Who episode at 71 minutes. Written by Yours Truly Russell T. Davies as a kind of gift.
The opener is amazing. When the Doctor played by David Tennant sees through the porthole of the ship… glancing through into the farther reaches of space makes for a great landscape, he really sees where he is. There’s a sudden feeling that the ship is isolated, high above in the earthbound orbit. There’s a silence that feels like an enemy in space.
The music theme will be something that needs getting used to. The little rockability is a departure from the old, classic orchestra score that I prefer.
The Christmas episode this time around plays like an epic disaster movie of the 1970s during the time when those horrible Irwin Allen films took to such popularity heights. But it’s an era with its own trademark. The disaster movie. Just sound of it brings to mind many memories of people struggling against forces of nature.
Look at the stars that fills the Christmas episode. Geoffrey Palmer, Bernard Cribbins, Clive Swift and many others. It wouldn’t feel like a disaster movie otherwise without the long list of well-known names gathered on the roster.
Interesting enough, for older Doctor Who fans, the film refers to the classic Doctor Who episode “Robots of Death” with the ever dependable Tom Baker. The scene with one of the angel robots getting his hand caught in the closing door is a direct reference to the old 1977 episode.
Tennant is very good in the episode. He takes the lead. Sure, confident, taking his stride, he walks amidst the flames like a soldier wading through the battlefield. He’s certainly taking form-fitting shape in his role. He knows how to play the Doctor with vast comfort while still managing to bring something new into the part. There’s a good scene with him standing in front of the bursting fire and you know this is a man who has nothing to lose. And everything to gain.
He made the promise of saving the Titanic. And he did.
At the same time, there are small loses.
I liked the fact that the Doctor was without his Tardis and his sonic screwdriver here. It brings a more dramatic tension to the building of the story. And makes him far more vulnerable.
His companion this time around is Astrid Peth played by Kylie Minogue. For some reason, the Doctor has a thing for blondes. And she does remind me of an older version of Rose Tyler. Blonde bombshell with a brain. Those are qualities to make his list. Minogue is a widely known singer in Europe as well. She’s known for her talent except for the United States. Not sure why.
Minogue’s not bad here. She’ll need to get into her part a little longer before she can grow into it. But she’s a lot of fun. She might be older, but that doesn’t show in the episode at all. She easily catches up with the Doctor. She makes some decisions for herself. Her pretty smile is long-lasting.
She's an orphan that has no family at all. She mentioned this in a conversation with the Doctor. Therefore she feels a connection with him. And she kisses him not out of any kind of physical attraction for him. But there’s a feeling that she can understand him on a same level of intellect. The same way Rose Tyler did in the earlier episodes. She knows the Doctor will be there for her.
The only part of the episode of the series that’s a let down is the appearance of Max Capricorn. I felt like he should’ve been better cast into the shadows without being seen. Someone who is in the far corner watching, not interacting. Pulling the strings. His presence could have been one that was felt. But the actor who plays Capricorn plays him over-the-top. A little too much perhaps. He acts over zealously which I thought took away a lot of credibility from the Christmas show. That’s too bad. I though the rest of the Chritmas episode wasn’t bad at all. But the madman-scheming-to-destroy-everything worked better in the Tom Baker shows.
However, Capricorn said in his dialogue with the Doctor that he had been in control of his business for a 176 years. It’s very possible that a prequel episode could be made when he was in human form and not some disembodied head encased in a giant glass shell.
The music was an amazing thing. The set designs of the Titanic were great too, with plenty of space, high ceilings. It gave a breezy, whimsical feel to the show. It’s still an enjoyable piece of television. Something you don’t get very often on TV these days.
I wonder what the Doctor, standing in for Santa Claus, will bring us for next Christmas.
posted by K.M. Paters at 11:51 AM
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