Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol (with S6 Trailer)

Christmas comes but once a year. Which is a good job because I don't think I could take a whole series of what we had yesterday. I mean that in the nicest way possible. It was perfect Christmas Afternoon Telly. It was sentimental, exciting, silly, big and noisy and musical and funny. I sat there in near silence watching it without moving...

Doctor Who's take on A Christmas Carol was a real treat. I know there were some who knew more than others about what to expect and how things would turn out, but even the most spoiled of fans must have had a surprise or two as the - frankly insane - story unfolded over the course of one of the best hours the DW production team have given us in ages, in my opinion.

Scrooge became Sardick and the whole Christmas Carol ending was reached in style, at speed and with such charm that I found myself smiling to myself and whispering "this is what they do best". It had all you could ever ask for in a massive, effects-heavy fantasy Christmas Special: flying fish, a massive, helpful shark and a bunch of Christmas Carols shamelessly wedged in, just to cheer us all the hell up. And it worked! This was massively effective, smile-inducing stuff.

I have a feeling, though, that the stuff that worked best for me on an icy Christmas night was the stuff the more die-hard (or purist) fans would undoubtedly hate. The whole Hollywood Pool Party bit where the Doctor is hurried into firstly, performing a duet with "Frank" and then marrying Marilyn... just because! - I could give you a list of names as long as my arm of people who I reckon huffed audibly at that little bit... I know many who would  hate those little touches, but at Christmas, that was perfect. And it was played for the laugh, rather than for the controversy it would cause, probably, among "us". There honestly wasn't a single minute of the Special that lost me. I was enthralled, like a little kid, at the "Doctor in the Video" time-travel trick; more of THAT sort of timey-wimey please! It was great!

The cast - all of them - shone. Even though Arthur and Karen got less airtime than a CGI fish, they lit the screen up and left me in no doubt whatsoever that the TARDIS has never had such a watchable crew. Matt, Gambon and Katherine Jenkins were perfect - not even the accents messed anything up - as was each incarnation of Kazran's youngest selves. Plot-wise, it made sense - clever and interesting - but was a little thin. This one was about one thing and one thing only: Kazran's love for a secretive woman he should never have had the chance to fall for. It brought a tear to my gravy-glazed Christmas eye. Lovely, heart-warming and, at times, disturbing and powerful stuff.

And if the trailer shown at the end (below) is anything to go by, we're in for an even more interesting and rip-roaringly adventurous - and secretive - outing come 2011.

A Christmas Message To All!

Christmas has gone all modern. I've had just four paper Christmas Cards... One from my sister, two from people I hardly know any more and one from my next door neighbour, with a tenner in it... But I have had countless texts, Tweets, emails and Facebook messages from people as far away as Texas - and as close to home as "next door". It seems that technology has become the main tool for letting loved ones know you're thinking of them at this wonderful time.

Which makes you wonder how we managed before! I've been on Twitter for almost two whole years; that is incredible. And in all that time I don't think I've gone longer than a few days without posting something. How the hell did they manage back in the olden times? Did Mary and Joseph meet on Facebook? Did God choose her as the bearer of his son based on the number of views on her Youtube page? If Jesus was on Twitter these days - the real Jesus, I mean, not the "son of God" version - how many followers would he have? Would he be saved the painful death when Judas decided simply to "unfollow" him instead of selling him out to be slaughtered?

I'd like to think so. But who knows... all we know is this: Christmas is about friends and family; whatever else it's about to believers and non-believers alike, it's always about that. 

So, to all my internet friends, internet family and all my loyal readers of this very humble blog (the on-line equivalent of the birth of Christ, if you ask me, in terms of "humbleness" anyway...) 

HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! X X X

Frank Collins' "The Pandorica Opens"

When I read a book about Doctor Who it is essential that it entertains me almost as much as the show itself. It needs to be multi-layered, snappy and sharp. It needs to be witty, interesting and fun. It must compliment the show, not rip it up and repackage it in paper-form.

So when blogger-supreme Frank Collins' book, Doctor Who: The Pandorica Opens - Exploring The Worlds Of The Eleventh Doctor landed at my door a week ago I was very pleasantly surprised - it was great. Actually, that sounds bad. I wasn't surprised, I had high hopes for this book ever since it was announced. Frank's Cathode Ray Tube blog is my favourite blog ever; indeed one of the very few blogs I read regularly. This book has been in my life since its conception - almost. Not only is Frank a great Blogger but a wonderful Tweeter too!

He's also a fantastic author. His first book is one of those rare works that blends an analytical, academic reading of a piece of popular culture with an enthusiastically over-analytical (that is by no means a criticism) love letter to a show the author clearly adores. For a fan-boy like me you couldn't ask for more! Split into chapters dealing with the individual stories from Series Five of Moffat's Who, The Pandorica Opens relies on its readers' familiarity with the series being discussed - which is very fair, since I can't think of anything I'd rather read about less if I didn't watch Doctor Who already. 

If you do watch and enjoy Doctor Who - and, most importantly, then I urge you to pick up a copy of this book. Frank has poured his knowledge and his love of this series onto every page he's written, which makes what could be "one of a million books about Doctor Bloody Who" so much more enjoyable. It is very much a personal reading of the series, as Frank himself tells us in his introduction, which urges the reader to question their own interpretation of the series using the new viewpoints offered within. 

The best way to enjoy this book - as I did - is by reading a chapter at a time, punctuated by a re-viewing of the episode in question. It took me a little over a week to get through it. I gobbled it up. It takes the "brainy, well-informed deconstruction" of a rich and unravelling text and covers it in chocolate sauce, hands you a spoon and tells you to tuck in. It not only adds humour and wit to what could be seen as a very niche subject but also serves up some rather unique views written with Frank's trademark warmth and charm. 

It's not without its bad points, however. There seems to be an obsessive 'Peter Pan through-line' to the whole thing, which I suppose, on reflection, is a comment on the series itself, not the book about about it - all of Frank's comparisons to the Pan story are spot-on. And the book is very well researched, although - for me, anyway - the sheer number of works referenced leaves you breathless. Frank's interpretations and opinions are enough for me, I don't need him to justify his thoughts. Although, that's how this sort of book works. It's not a review, it's a reading. It is, though, a great and enjoyable reading - indeed a great and enjoyable read!

I'm struggling to find things to pick on here, because I feel that over-enthusiasm and blanket positivity towards this book would look false and biased, since I know Frank. I don't want anyone to think I'm licking his arse here - especially him! But the book is great! It makes you think, it makes you work. It encourages you to go back and watch the series with a whole new perspective. I found myself smiling to myself, looking out for things Frank had highlighted in The Pandorica Opens and rewarding myself with a grin when I saw them, where I hadn't seen them before. 

Particularly lovely and informative are his chapters on Amy's Choice and Vincent And The Doctor. Two of my favourite and most-watched episodes from the series were given new life through Frank's nuanced probing into what makes them so important as stories. Likewise, his chapter on the Weeping Angels two-parter. Only one chapter initially felt like 'hard work' when I was reading it from the book (The Eleventh Hour) and that was because I'd already read it, in an early form, so many times before that I felt I could - though shouldn't - skip through it, if I wanted to. I didn't - I read it and enjoyed it, despite almost knowing the chapter word for word by this point.

All in all, if you like Doctor Who; like obsessing about detail and want more from your favourite show than flashing lights and loud noises, then this is the book for you! Series Five was a great series and The Pandorica Opens is a fantastic analysis of it. I loved this book. It was interesting, informative and - most importantly - a gripping read. If you know Frank's blog work then you'll love it. If you don't, you soon will after reading his book. Highly recommended - the perfect Christmas present, if you ask me. So, thanks Frank, for writing something special.

You can buy Doctor Who: The Pandorica Opens - Exploring The Worlds Of The Eleventh Doctor from all the best places, including Amazon. Please do so :)