{"id":251,"date":"2011-04-05T11:30:08","date_gmt":"2011-04-05T18:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=251"},"modified":"2011-04-05T11:27:18","modified_gmt":"2011-04-05T18:27:18","slug":"mark-watches-doctor-who-a-christmas-carol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2011\/04\/mark-watches-doctor-who-a-christmas-carol\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Doctor Who’: A Christmas Carol"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the 2010 Doctor Who<\/em> Christmas special, the Doctor is faced with saving over four thousand passengers on board a space liner (of which Rory and Amy are on during their honeymoon), but a scrooge-like character stands in his way. So he time travels. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s awesome. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Of all the Christmas specials I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen over the course of this project, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Christmas Carol\u00e2\u20ac\u009d might just be the most Christmas-y one yet. Every one so far seems loosely tied to the holiday, usually in setting and a few thematic elements. Like ash falling to the sky like snow. Totally Christmas-esque<\/em>. But in hindsight, it now seems really glaring that the show never re-worked Charles Dickens\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s A Christmas Carol<\/em>, given that the show had basically professed its love to him in the first series of the reboot. And really, given that this is a show about time travel, there is certainly no better device to deal with the past, the present, and the future.<\/p>\n

I think in many respects, this Christmas special does not take the easy route, is routinely uncomfortable, and is a lot more serious than the five specials that preceded it. I am not ignoring the fact that we first see Rory and Amy dressed in rather familiar outfits in the cold open. I am merely stating that I was in no way distracted by the humor of the situation and then it was really weird thinking of them as a couple in that<\/em> way and that if this show was super meta, Rory would probably be posting in role-playing communities online and that I definitely did not spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about this. Most certainly did not. No, sir. Right.<\/p>\n

The risk is much more ominous and terrifying than in the original story, since Scrooge didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to save over four thousand lives, but this Doctor Who<\/em> adaptation doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really stray far from the original. Well, at the start, at least. Kazran Sardick runs Sardicktown, a planet engulfed in an ice-and-water type cloud that the spaceship above is caught in. His father long ago discovered a way to control the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fish\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that live in this cloud and use it for monetary gain. Thus, we are shown a man completely consumed by greed and selfishness, one who takes family members as collateral in order to give out loans to the impoverished members of Sardicktown. And that Kazran\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hyperbolic in his greed, as his character was meant to be. He denies the chance for a specific family member to be thawed for Christmas because Christmas is worthless. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153excuse to get something for nothing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he tells them. And look, I personally don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like Christmas because I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the positive experiences in my past to give it the same meaning and connotation that a lot of other people in the United States may have, but\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 DUDE. THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT. THAT IS ONE GREAT REASON WHY IT IS AWESOME. SO MUCH FREE STUFF FOR JUST EXISTING<\/em>. I mean, seriously, what is wrong with that<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Ah, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right. Dumbledore\u00e2\u20ac\u201der, Kazran was abused by his father, never encouraged to foster his creativity and imagination, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grown up to believe that because he is on his own, all others should be, too. Which is sad. Did A Christmas Carol<\/em> have this backstory? I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t read it in a long while and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember. Regardless, I actually liked this small conclusion, which is called into the story later on, because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a reason for a person being abusive that actually makes sense. <\/em>Plus, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel exploitative like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fear Her\u00e2\u20ac\u009d did. (REFUSE TO DROP THAT GRUDGE BITE ME<\/em>).<\/p>\n

And then the Doctor arrives. Oh, glorious Doctor. Even though I watched this just one day after \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Big Bang,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I felt like I hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen him in so long. How is that even a rational thought. It had been like TWENTY FOUR HOURS. Oh fuck, how am I going to last until April 23? WHY WERE THERE TWELVE SERIES SO THAT I COULD STILL BE WATCHING MORE OF MATT SMITH AND KAREN GILLAN AND ARTHUR DAVRILL.<\/p>\n

Ok, anyway, I swear I can stay on topic. The Doctor is a bit out of his element with Kazran, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t he? This is where Kazran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s absurd hyperbole is actually a wonderful dynamic for the episode, because the Doctor quickly realizes that Kazran is seriously<\/em> committed to be a complete and total douchebag. He won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t activate the isomorphic controls to save the space liner simply because he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to<\/em>. Dude is way into this way of life<\/em>. And that genuinely confuses the Doctor! If you think about it, it makes sense that the Doctor would be flabbergasted at the idea. All Kazran has to do is press a few buttons. He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t lose money. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t harm him. He loses nothing at all<\/em> and yet he still won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do it at all.<\/p>\n

This is where the show takes the original Dickens story and twists it to fit what can happen on Doctor Who<\/em>. We heard, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The past can be rewritten\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a lot during series five, and for the next forty minutes or so, we watch that happen to Kazran Sardick. The Doctor uses time travel to become Kazran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Ghost of Christmas past and show him what made him become such a bitter man. When Kazran is resistant to change, even when being forced to rewatch his own father reject him, the Doctor is quick to make this episode REALLY WEIRD REALLY FAST. Because while the projection of Kazran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s past is still playing, the Doctor VISITS THE MEMORY. And by visiting the memory, the Doctor actually changes it. I mean\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6how eerie is that?<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that Moffat doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore this, either. The Doctor ends up spending a whole lot of time in young Kazran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s past, changing the present Kazran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s memories. And I think it is inherently fucked up, in a way, though I do get that by altering this one man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s past, the Doctor can save FOUR THOUSAND PEOPLE. So he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably weighing the odds and Kazran Sardick might not be that worth ignoring. I GET THIS. So I appreciate that Moffat doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore the ramifications of this. As we watch Kazran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s memories change and his present become altered as well (Abigail\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s painting appearing was a great example), I became confused as to what the Doctor was doing with Kazran and Abigail. There are a couple conflicts presented here, the first which I did not understand until it was spelled out by Kazran: the dial on her freeze tank. I thought it was counting down to a moment when she could be set free but NO, MOFFAT CANNOT GIVE US SUCH JOY.<\/p>\n

In that context, the Doctor was unknowingly creating a disaster, one that led directly to conflict #2: The Doctor could not change the present by (dramatically) changing the past. This isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the first time we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen this (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Waters of Mars\u00e2\u20ac\u009d comes to mind), but here, it seems all the more devastating because the Doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actions have inherently shortened Abigail\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life. Actually\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6yeah, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty fucked up. Yes, he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still fairly sad.<\/p>\n

And I think this is where \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Christmas Carol\u00e2\u20ac\u009d doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take the easy route. The scenes of the Ghost Of Christmas Present (otherwise known to us as a projection of Amy Pond aboard the very ship that is crashing) represent a contrast of hope. Those aboard the space liner are singing, as the Doctor told them to, in the hope it may stabilize the ship. Of course this is absurd and their chances are slim-to-none. Kazran, on the other hand, has given up all hope that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll ever be able to be changed or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153rewritten.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no reason for him to save anyone aboard the crashing space liner and today is as good a day as any for them to die. Clearly, Kazran lives by the philosophy of Puppy Dogs and Unicorn Clouds.<\/p>\n

In a moment, the Doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plan is revealed. Knowing that his present self is not understanding the direness of the situation, the Doctor announces that he will show Kazran his future. Kazran, unsurprisingly, goads the Doctor into doing so, claiming he already knows he will die \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cold, alone and afraid as we all do.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Which is one bleak statement to have on Doctor Who<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Oh, except the Doctor is showing Kazran his future already. Young Kazran took a little trip on the TARDIS and is watching the whole thing. And the cycle of abuse rears its head again, but after all he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s seen over the course of this night, Kazran relents.\u00c2\u00a0 It is resolved rather quickly, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nice to see that the Doctor goes after what helped caused Kazran to turn out the way he did: Elliot Sardick. (Young Kazran actually believes his future self is his father.) Ironically, though, after having finally succeeded in changing Kazran Sardick, he actually changed the man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brainwaves so much that the isomorphic controls no longer responds to his touch. Soooo\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.ok, I do have a limit to the amount of cheesy plot devices I can tolerate. My toleration is much higher for this show, but using Abigail\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s last day to sing the ship to safety<\/em> is just a tad too much for me. Only a bit, but it was just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.awkward? Right? I think it was meant to feel redemptive and emotional and intense and I just sat one my couch and wished someone else was watching this with me so I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel so weird on the inside.<\/p>\n

But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really my only major complaint. This was an entertaining and interesting re-imagining of Dickens\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s A Christmas Carol<\/em>, done in a way that only Doctor Who<\/em> could do. BRAVO.<\/p>\n

THOUGHTS<\/strong><\/p>\n