The Ninth Doctor has regenerated and the Tenth Doctor has arrived!
It’s July so naturally, TV Club features its first Christmas Special.
The episode is available on BBC iPlayer:
And as part of the Series 2 DVD and BluRay sets:
Rate for fun out of 10:
Easily the weakest Doctor introduction of NuWho IMO. I feels like it was a real mistake to so totally take him out of commission for so much of the episode
This does the regeneration to a new audience perfectly. To focus on Rose and her suspension and feelings instead of the Doctor is a great way of teaching a new audience about it. The story is okay but just like Rose that is not the point of the episode. 4/5
I don’t think that this episode is about introducing the new Doctor it is about introducing the concept of regeneration.
That’s the same problem that Eight had, where he wasn’t properly The Doctor for most of the runtime. At least with Tennant, he gets to be the hero towards the end of the episode, and some more series to really flesh out his Doctor.
Anyway, The Christmas Invasion introduces the “Yes, we know who you are” gag, so 10/10 no notes
Introduction to the most British Doctor of all, he literally needed a cup of tea to get started 
In terms of introducing the other side of regeneration it works fine, in terms of the story I do find it a weird choice to keep the new protagonist off screen for so much of the run-time. The story is rather simple, but probably just what was called for as the first Christmas special and an introduction story.
Effects is not something I generally focus on but the CGI when the Sycorax ship opens the “doors” is just painful to watch 18 years on, if the story was more engaging I wouldn’t notice as much.
I guess I got issues with the 10th Doctor right from the start. His general air of smugness is there right from the bat, I know it’s a deliberate choice but it just does not appeal to me.
“It’s a (very American) fighting hand” is such a terrible line.
Even if he is justified in challenging Harriet Jones at the end his whole attitude makes me grind my teeth.
I love the little TARDIS wardrobe scene 
A 2/5 
is all I can give it sadly.
I love The Christmas Invasion. The scenes of people walking to their apparent deaths and their loved ones being unable to stop them is absolutely terrifying and was an image that stuck with me for a long time. I think the Sycorax are a great addition to the Doctor Who monster ranks and although Tennant is comatose for a sizeable chunk of the story, he is utterly brilliant when he is awake. The Lion King gag is still one of my absolute favourites.
Even though I watched this in July I still liked it. A fun Christmas special, maybe takling a cue from Spearhead from Space with Doctor Who in bed, but for a bit longer here. The Sycorax are great villains the “you’re talking english” moment heralding the return of the Doctor is wonderful. & Tennant’s proper arrival as the Doctor is great. I really enjoy how he is off-screen for so long. It gives audiences the chance to spend more time with Rose & introduces the idea of regeneration to new viewers.
Cup of tea, dressing gown, pyjamas. Lovely.
But RTD did the dirty on Harriet Jones. I still don’t like the direction he took her character at the end of this.
Totally agree - I never quite understood why he did that.
This is actually my biggest problem with RTD 1. He created this interesting character who is supposed to be the PM that starts a golden age for Britain but we never see that because the Doctor destroys her before she can begin.
I have a soft spot for “The Christmas Invasion”. It’s our first true DW Christmas special (discounting the weirdness of “The Feast of Steven”). Simple story and the Doctor sidelined, maybe, but I still love the sense of alien threat early on in this story, the sense of hopelessness without the Doctor and the sense of having a UNIT style story back (in a way that I didn’t feel with “Aliens of London”). There were better Christmas specials to come but this was the trailblazer (despite its imperfections).
And, for the record, I quite like the Harriet Jones’ downfall. It’s an early sign of the judgementalism and hubris that Ten was always prone to. He actually undermined the “Golden Age” of Harriet Jones’s premiership and here we see possibly the earliest sign of the Time Lord Victorious. Ultimately, he goes far further than Harriet Jones ever would. I have a soft spot for a flawed Doctor. Wonderful as the Doctor is, they don’t always do the right thing. We see that here (and like all the most interesting cases, his wrong act is buried under his absolute belief in his good intentions).
I think that keeping the Doctor out of most of the episode sort of weakens the story of Rose adjusting though because it means she’s moreso adjusting to just the concept of him changing rather than to a specific new personality. Compared to Deep Breath where Clara is adjusting to a Doctor who is acting wildly different both from the post-regen craziness as well as just his new personality, I think The Christmas Invasion falls kinda flat.
I do see where you’re coming from, but I see it differently. It’s all the more important, here, that Rose is struggling because in the previous story she literally became all powerful and saved the day. She needed to be brought back down to Earth to remind us thst, dedpite it all, she’s still the ordinary girl doing extraordinary things. I actually think it really helps remind us of why she’s so special (because, at the end of the day, she isn’t). 
I don’t think that’s in disagreement with what I said. I think it’s good to focus on Rose adjusting, just that I find it more compelling to see the companion actually adjusting to the new Doctor and their personality in some way rather than simply the concept of regeneration, and also think that for a story that’s going to be many viewers’ first time seeing a new Doctor, that can better sell the way that different incarnations have different personalities.
I remember having really, really big problems adjusting to the new Doctor. I loved Eccleston’s interpretation of the character, and this was “my first regeneration,” as I started watching Who with Eccleston and had not watched the classic series yet.
But later on, and to this day, the 10th Doctor as portrayed by David Tennant became my favorite Doctor, and in subsequent re-watches, I loved “The Christmas Invasion.”
Except for the part where he casually destroys Harriet’s career and condemns all of the UK to not having a golden age. Very self-righteous and unsympathetic. But then again, maybe this flaw makes him actually more interesting than a purely good hero. And with current goings-on in real life, it’s interesting how he brought her down.
As I’ve never been a fan of the Time Lord Victorious stuff either, the Doctor causing Harriet’s downfall just feels unDoctorlike. Is what she does particuarly terrible - especially compared to things the Doctor has done. I know lots of people love 10 but I’d say moments like that are why I don’t always like him. It’s the same with early Capaldi. I just don’t like the Doctor being a dick and here he’s being a dick.
In case any one of our more recent visitors to TARDIS Guide missed it, here’s the forum poll for favourite Christmas and Festive specials:
Agree. But he isn’t as bad as 12, be kind? What? Wait a damn minute!
I’m generall in agreement with @flora_snow00, I tend to find this episode basically fine, if kind of dull, and honestly it does whatever the opposite of growing on you is whenever I watch it.
I don’t have anything really to say other than that, and hiii Seán Carlsen!! 
Narvin undercover is the best bit of this episode. To me hehe
