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The Top 10 Doctor Who Christmas Specials


Every December, the feeling starts to creep in when you know it’s getting closer. That magic day that comes but once a year, the day we get a Doctor Who Christmas Special. Over the last decade, this seasonal special episode of our beloved raggedy man in his big blue box has become an institution. It is the point on Christmas Day when any family drama gets put aside, the kids put down their annoying noise-making present that’ll be bored of next week, and sometimes people even stop eating for the first time that day as they all pile into the living room and switch it to the BBC. It’s the stuff that Christmas memories are made of (unless someone touches the memory worm). So as the 2015 offering, The Husbands of River Song, draws closer we’ve taken a look back at the past 10 years to try and rank these great episodes. In case you haven’t guessed, this will CONTAIN SPOILERS.

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  1. 2011 – The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe

    The least successful entry on the list serves to prove that sometimes you need more than just a good idea for a Christmas special. The Chronicles of Narnia should have married with Doctor Who like wrapping sausages in bacon but the result was more turkey and sardines. It has many good moments, including the very touching conclusion of The Doctor joining Amy and Rory for Christmas dinner but it’s a very mixed up story. Elements like the acid rain demolition and sentient trees just don’t work as well they should and made very poor use Brit comedy legend Bill Bailey. This isn’t helped either by the guest staring Arwell family not grabbing our attention as much as they should; although Claire Skinner does have some good moments as the mother trying to find her lost children.

  2. 2013 – The Time of the Doctor

    While it reached some emotional levels, the simple fact is that this episode did not give Matt Smith the send off he deserved. While the episode needed to take a different direction to Tennant’s 2009 Christmas departure, the ultimate reveal of the much built up Trenzalore setup was still an anti-climax. If anything, it’s too intent on tying up the loose ends of the 11th Doctor rather than delivering a fun and entertaining episode, which is what a Christmas special should be. It can be dark with dramatic highs, provided it’s balanced out. It’s really a shame because Matt Smith is acting his bow tie and fez off hear, which is what keeps it from the bottom spot. It has some great epic level stakes to it but a statement conflict is a difficult one to make interesting even for a show like Doctor Who. That said, we did get the monumental Day of the Doctor 50th Anniversary episode mere weeks prior, so for many fans, Christmas had already come that year. 

  3. 2008 – The Next Doctor

    The mystery setup idea was terrific, powered even more so by David Morrissey’s performance as a supposed low tech duplication of The Doctor. The comparisons throughout were fun, like Morrissey’s own companion and hot air balloon TARDIS, helped all the way by a confused David Tennant, but sadly the plot fizzle’s out. What’s more, the climatic sight of the Cyber King/steam punk Megazord stomping around London does stretch things a bit too far even in Doctor Who terms. It does get Christmas bonus points though for its Victorian Christmas setting and there’s no denying the chemistry between Tennant and Morrissey (it’s a shame they didn’t meet in a better episode).

  4. 2012 – The Snowmen

    Killer snow.... it shouldn’t have worked but the resulting sinister snowmen were a lot creepier than expected. Throw into the mix the excellent Richard E. Grant as your principle, and you have a good episode on your hands. Then season with the Paternoster Gang of Vastra, Jenny and the great potato of comedy that is Strax (his mind worm scene is utterly priceless) for a supporting cast to add the sizzle and spice. Its unusual mid-season position also works in its favor as it carries greater continuity relevance, dealing with the aftermath of losing Amy & Rory while introducing Clara as the new companion. It really falls down on the ending though. The day being saved by a crying family is a shot for the heart that instead impales a kneecap.

  5. 2006 – Runaway Bride

    You could argue until the New Year about whether or not Russell Davies always planned to make Donna Noble/Catherine Tate a season long companion when she appeared in this Christmas episode but either way, the pair get on like a tower block on fire in this debut Doctor Donna outing. Rather than Rose before or Martha after her, Donna was not the down-to-earth half of a pairing, and instead proved fully capable of toe-to-toe madness with her accompanying Time Lord that made for simply wonderful viewing. The Empress of the Racnoss is a visually gorgeous villain and much of the story is good fun entertainment. The problem though is the ghosts of Christmas past as Runaway Bride copies far too many elements from the prior year’s Christmas invasion. Another big alien ship over London, the same robot Christmas helpers and killer Christmas decorations; the biggest part of a Christmas special should be its originality, and that’s sadly not the case here. Otherwise, this bridal affair would have been higher on the list.

  6. 2007 – Voyage of the Damned

    The Christmas episode that gave us the biggest guest star to date in the wonderful Miss Kylie Minogue and began tradition of the Christmas special being more of a magical adventure than simply events on Christmas Day. Futurama may have done The Titanic in space first, but that didn’t take anything in this effort, which ultimately played more to The Poseidon Adventure as the Doctor and survivors journey through the bowels of the ship. It falls down slightly on villains; neither the angels nor the end revealed Max Capricorn overly impressing but flies through the skies on sheer enjoyment and all-around entertainment. It delivers action, laugh,  and heart-warming moments all in equal measure; not to mention that Tennant’s “I’m the Doctor...” monologue would become one of the signature moments of his tenure.

  7. 2005 – Christmas Invasion

    And so we come to the one that started it all. Arguably, the most important entry on the list as without its success, the others would have not followed. It also set the tone of success for all future years: that the episode needs to have both elements of seasonal fun but still feel like a Doctor Who episode, and where possible, can carry the story and continuity significance. While it offers the fun indulgences of killer Christmas trees and the like, this episode also became the beginning of Governmental and military involvement in alien affairs within the modern era, delivering the first impact of Torchwood and eventually the revival of UNIT. However, it also gave us our first real taste of Tennant’s 10th in full blown action, and he did not disappoint. From his immortal disappointment at not being ginger to defeating the alien leader with a Satsuma, it was in this episode that millions of viewers officially came on board to him.

  8. 2014 – Last Christmas

    Peter Capaldi’s oddball first pull of the Christmas cracker last year had a hell of a lot going for it. Right from the opening Slade dancing concentration sequence to the Alien film references and the Inception like stages of “dreams within dreams”. Not forgetting that after 9 years of Christmas specials this was the first episode to finally feature the big red suited man himself, played by the cuddly Nick Frost no less. Last Christmas has brilliantly walks the line of feeling like a regular Doctor Who episode and a Christmas fun fest thanks to Moffat’s excellent writing. It manages to dip into horror territory without losing an overall positive message. It boasts some excellent mystery excellent as the plot developments and sticks the difficult landing of making the entire thing a dream. A storytelling troupe can too often be like unwrapping socks on Christmas morning but instead turned out to be PS4.

  9. 2010 – A Christmas Carol`

    If you’re going to adapt what many consider to be the definitive Christmas Story, in the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, then you better do it right. That’s exactly what Doctor Who did in Matt Smith’s superb first Christmas outing. Firstly, it doesn’t go for a straight format copy and instead utilizes the show’s time-travelling mechanics to put a different spin on things. The central narration of The Doctor and the older Karzan (wonderfully played by Michael Gambon) really drive the emotion of the episode and idea of curing heartbreak and bitterness with kindness. Classical singer Katherine Jenkins could have been a mis-cast but instead, she fits the part perfectly, and even her singing is worked organically into the story. The flying shark effects are great, and though their sky swimming presence now feels reminiscent of the Sharknado franchise, it was still a fun and creative feature for an alien world. Finally, A Christmas Carol successfully manages to sideline the companions of Amy & Rory without taking them out of the story completely, and who didn’t love Rory breaking out the centurion outfit on their honeymoon?

  10. 2009 – The End of Time

    It does have a bit of an unfair advantage for being a 2-part episode, but this is still the only choice for number one. It has so many different individual elements that make it special, but having them all together made for not just the best Christmas special but also the best episode of the modern incarnation. John Simm’s mad turn as The Master was one of best villain performances in the shows, and to have him back was a treat in itself. Then, we have the return of Gallifrey and the Time Lords headed up by Timothy “The Daltonator” Dalton no less! It gave the companion spotlight to a great minor figure in Wilf and even manages to throw in some cheeky jibes at the global recession. And of course, let’s not forget (like we ever will) the beautiful, tear-inducing and heartfelt farewell gifted to David Tennant in his Tardis departure: a montage sequence of moving character goodbyes that amplified every fan’s feelings towards his magnificent performance. Especially, when compared to the poorer handling of Matt Smith’s departure 4 years later, The End of Time remains the perfect Christmas present. Try and say it without welling up, “I don’t want to go”....

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