A Very Steampunk Doctor Who Christmas

by Josh Roth @ 1:35 pm December 27th, 2008

What could possibly be more fun than one Doctor fighting steampunk Cybermen on Christmas? How about two Doctors fighting steampunk Cybermen on Christmas!! David Morrissey guest stars as  the next Doctor who has lost his memories of his past incarnations, complete with his own companion, sonic screwdriver, and TARDIS. David Tennant is wonderful as always, and Morrissey holds his own. All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable Christmas adventure. Beware of spoilers ahead.

Russel T Davies present us with a fascinating premise, could this man really be a future regeneration of the Doctor himself? He does have knowledge of Time Lords and Cybermen… Ok, so in the end he doesn’t end up being an actual Time Lord, but Morrissey is full of the sense of humor and adventure that makes a true Doctor (check out the clip above). In fact his incarnation of the Doctor is very reminiscent of Peter Davidson’s, and that’s a good thing. He’s clever and enthusiastic, but he also has the troubled conscience and darkness that goes with the modern version of the Doctor.

Turns out this other Doctor is in reality Jackson Lake, a normal Victorian man who lost everything, and became imprinted with the memory of the Doctor, taking it upon himself to become the savior of London. In the end it seems the Doctor realizes something new about himself, and ends up staying the night for Christmas dinner. Jackson Lake leads the people of London in thanking the Doctor for saving their lives, something which rarely happens to the Doctor. Only someone who fully understands the Doctor’s loneliness and burden was able to change his mind.

Moving onto the production of the show, as per usual the set pieces were big and expertly done. It really feels like an authentic Christmas in Victorian England. What really steals the show is the massive Cyberking effect at the end of the episode (pictured at right). The shots of it rising up from underneath London and rampaging across the city are absolutely stunning. The Mill, the visual effects company behind Doctor Who, really flexed their muscles with this episode’s effects. Not only was the production design on the Cyberking excellent, making it really feel like an enormous steampunk transformer, but their execution of the wide shots of the Cyberking above London are particularly beautiful.

In the end this years special may not be as original or as important as past ones, but it was fun ride. It certainly reminded me why I love this show so much, and why I’ll be missing David Tennant when he leaves it all behind. The next special, titled “Planet of the Dead”, is rumored to air over Easter.