Reaction: Doctor Who Christmas Special

[cosmic_llin]

 Well, that was... um. Yeah. Bullet points:

* In general I found it incoherent and disjointed, weirdly paced and crammed with too many elements - I think there's a way you COULD have the Doctor AND Clara AND Vastra and the gang and still get a sensible story out of it in an hour, but this wasn't it.

* The whole business with the snow I found very confusing. Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention? I don't mind a lot of technobabble and handwaving - heck, I grew up watching Voyager - but it wasn't clear to me ever really what the threat was, what the villain's motivation was, what the snow aliens were doing there or wanted, what would happen if they won, and how the whole thing worked.

* I know this may not be everyone's opinion, but I think the Christmas special should be accessible to people who aren't avid weekly viewers. The ending was confusing and didn't really provide any resolution.

* The bit about a family's tears on Christmas Eve was just horribly sappy.

* Again with the kissing! Whyyyyyy? Can he just NOT kiss a companion, ONCE?!

* And why does the Doctor suddenly think Victorians are such horrible people? All this guff about Victorian attitudes...

* Perhaps the thing that disappoints me most is that we're not getting a historical companion after all. I've been hoping and hoping for one and I was so excited about Clara, but now it seems like we're getting a modern version of her instead. It really bugs me that the production team seem to think this is the only way to make a relatable companion (well, that and they have to be young/female/skinny/able-bodied/human/etc... but this one I thought was maybe achievable...)

* Onto the good stuff, I did enjoy Clara as a character, and her back story was interesting, even if we don't get to see her any more in that form? Or do we? Who knows...

* It didn't spoil Vastra and Jenny for me at all, I quite liked their bits and I'm hoping we'll see more of them... even if that one-word interrogation thing was utterly pointless. Also this is a tiny quibble but I kind of don't want Vastra and Jenny to be married? But overall yay Vastra and Jenny!

* And yay Strax, he was pretty fun.

* I liked the part of the story about the dead governess in the ice and the girl's dream... I think a much better episode could have been made from those elements...

* The invisible staircase was pretty cute.

Comments

[oparu]

I didn't like the kiss either. (I wanted him to mention River)

I did really like Clara, and I'd rather have past-Clara than a modern Clara. Maybe a far future Clara? Or an even more past Clara?

Vastra and Jenny were amazing. I liked the one word game.

I don't know why Victorian father was so cold and why it was lampshaded so much.

I wanted more about the girl's dream and dead governess too. I loved the staircase and the cloud, it was really pretty.

They also said "Winter is Coming" twice, and that quite amused me.

[cosmic_llin]

Haha, yes, I noticed the 'Winter is Coming' thing, wonder if that was deliberate?

[sophia_gratia]

This... really wonderfully confirms my decision to break up with nu!Who. Augh.

Here. Read this. A much more enjoyable Doctorly Christmas adventure. (Though there is kissing, you might like this sort better.) You might want to read this first.

Happy Christmas, lovely!

[cosmic_llin]

It's frustrating because there's so much in there that's likeable, even really good, but for me in this particular episode it was outweighed.

Oooh, I'll read that now!

And I don't have any quibbles with kissing per se, as you know. ;D Just this idea that the Doctor HAS to kiss every companion.

[readingredhead]

Your sentiments and my sentiments are PERFECTLY aligned on this. Which is sad because I was ready to start liking Doctor Who again after this uneven past half-season, but this doesn't give me real reason to.

[cosmic_llin]

I know, that's the thing, I was so ready to make a fresh start with a new companion, but this really didn't fill me with confidence. And I really am just crushed that she's not actually going to be Victorian. *sigh*

[usuallyhats]

Just watched it, and I agree with you on everything! I'm still holding out hope that Clara won't turn out to be another contemporary Earth girl somehow, but I was looking forward to a historical companion (or a far future one, with Oswin). It just felt a bit hollow, I thought - like you said: too much stuff that wasn't properly integrated, though some of it was good and some was potentially interesting. :(

[cosmic_llin]

Yeah, I think there's wiggle-room for her to still be something different, but I was so looking forward to having this version of her.

I've just been catching up on LJ/DW and reading everyone's squee posts, and it's weird, I pretty much agree with most of the squee, it's just that for me the other stuff outweighed it. :(

[usuallyhats]

*nods* I was hoping to enjoy it, because I was mostly prepared for the big things I didn't like - the Doctor being so angsty, the big "what's going on with Clara/Oswin" thing - but despite all the good things in it it ended up just leaving me cold. :(

[narrativian]

In our household (and in the Moggery and the Steamcattery as well) the across-the-board opinion can be summed up as 'absolute nonsensical rubbish but fabulous characters and fine acting, which makes it probably the least awful Doctor Who Christmas Special ever' :-)