The Bottom Line
The 2008 Christmas special, "The Next Doctor," starts by teasing the audience's expectations of what the future of the Doctor will be now that David Tennant is leaving the role. But it returns to Russell T. Davies's favorite idea -- that exposure to The Doctor and his morality has the effect of improving the people he meets, elevating them from the pettiness of ordinary human life.
As one of the central ideas of Doctor Who this goes at least as far back as the First Doctor story "The Savages," but here were have a lush and relatively nuanced look at how The Doctor creates turning points in others' lives.
Pros
- A great guest cast, led by David Morrissey, Dervla Kirwan, and Velile Tshabalala
- A fun story that plays with the Doctor's sense of himself
- Strong production values, particularly in evoking 1851 London
Cons
- Despite the Doctor's commitment to nonviolence, the climax is, once again, a big explosion
Description
- The Doctor travels to 1851 London, where he encounters a man who seems to be the Doctor -- but who has lost his memory
- The Doctors work together to uncover a plot to create a new Cyberman menace, the Cyberking
- The amnesiac Doctor is accompanied by his own companion, a spirited young woman named Rosita
Guide Review - 'Doctor Who' 2008 Christmas Special - "The Next Doctor"
The Christmas specials are often taken by the production team as opportunities to be a little self-indulgent and a little goofier even than usual, and both of these elements are present here. At the same time, the show acknowledges its own occasionally lightweight reputation (the TARDIS interior is described by a delighted newcomer as "nonsense" and "silly" -- but silly, one guesses, in the best possible sense). With this special, in particular, Doctor Who begins a process likely to continue through the four remaining stories of David Tennant's tenure: playing with the legacy of the phenomenally popular Tenth Doctor, and how his characterization has transformed the program since he took over in 2006.
Here is the lighter side, though there's stuff to think about as well in "The Next Doctor" -- thanks especially to an outstanding performance by David Morrissey. Tennant and Morrissey worked together previously on the series Blackpool, and its obvious they had fantastic chemistry together. Morrissey has the extra benefit of bearing a passing resemblance to Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor, especially in costume, adding another layer to his unexpected merger into the Doctor's personal universe.
Tennant is often at his best showing the Doctor reacting to an unexpected situation, and his surprise at uncovering another Doctor and his compassionate efforts to help him rediscover himself really sell the episode.
