What the hell is this place?!
No, we’re not talking about the TARDIS Guide forum; Donna Noble has arrived in the TARDIS and nothing will ever be the same again! TV Club is back in RTD land with the 2006 Christmas Special.
Watch on BBC iPlayer:
Or on DVD or Bluray:
Rate and review below (you know the drill by now):
Absolutely incredible story. I love this one a great deal, and come December its always one of the first ones I think of when I decide to put on a Christmas special. The scene on the motorway is just superbly done, so tense yet funny too!
I think I’ve seen this episode so many times over the years, and it did used to be my number one Christmas ep for a long, long time. Lots of childhood nostalgia associated with it, that’s for sure!
So what’s the number one these days?
And yes, this is a great one. Had loads of fun while rewatching it last week 
I think the first three RTD Christmas specials are brilliant fun and exactly right for the Christmas Day slot. Voyage is probably my favourite because I’m a sucker for disaster movies, but this one is huge fun. Tate is instantly likeable and I’d say the only downside is the static nature of the Racnoss - although kudos to the production team for trying it as a practical costume rather than CGI.
You know, probably low as far as episodes with Donna go for me, but Donna’s kinda one of the best new Who companions and her stories are great, so low for her is still pretty good.
I’d definitely rather watch Partners In Crime, but that’s true for a lot of stories.
A Christmas Carol I think… I wasn’t always a huge lover of the story cause I was blinded a bit by nostalgia when it came to the Christmas eps, but a rewatch really shot it up in my rankings. I’d say its always between those two, or Husbands of River Song as my first pick!
Very funny episode, 10 and Donna just have that natural chemistry that is hard to replicate. A nice, cathartic treat after the gloomy ending of Doomsday, probably one of my favourite RTD Christmas specials.
Another Christmas dud for me.
There’s some great stuff with the Doctor but I genuinely find Donna insufferable in this one, she doesn’t get great until her return.
And the story’s an aimless wander around some of Russell’s most annoying material, not to mention a villain who’s more prosthetic than character (why did she spend months poisoning Donna if she could’ve just done it in seconds like she did with Lance?).
4/10
Probably my favourite Christmas story. It is just so much fun.
It’s just a fun, slightly ridiculous, Christmas romp with an over-the-top red giant spiderling lady.
That’s enough for a 4/5 
from me 
When one thinks of the word ‘romp’, this comes to mind. I have such an attachment to this episode. It’s always been a massive comfort watch. Ik Donna’s intentionally written to be annoying and the Racnoss acting is so far beyond over the top it’s actually in space, but those are negligible flaws in what an ideal Christmas special looks like for me.
This one is fun, Doctor Who & Donna have a great dynamic. Its little wonder she returned. I love the car chase scene.
I’ve watched this a couple of times and the word that always springs to mind is ‘loud’. It’s very loud and shouty and music is blaring all over the place. Even Tennant feels shoutier than normal. That aside, I love it. A great, fun Christmas runaround.
I absolutely adore this story. Amazing humor with some great serious moments thrown in. I love the Doctor and Donna’s chemistry and I love a good wacky adventure!
I’ve watched “The Runaway Bride” for pretty much every Christmas since 2015 (partially since there are only so many Christmas specials that my family members and I enjoy), and it has never failed to be a fun time! Ten and Donna are my favorite TARDIS team (I’m very glad they brought my beloved Donna back). Tennant and Tate are my favorite comedic duo, but I also enjoy their performances towards the end when Ten destroys the Racnoss. This episode also introduces another fantastic character: Wilf! I still can’t believe they had the reception without her 
imagine fumbling Donna Noble, that’s just pathetic.
I believe this remains one of the best Christmas specials - maybe not in terms of objective quality, but in terms of its entertainment value. It’s so entertaining that I could watch it any day of the year.
Incidentally, it is now exactly six months until Christmas ;)
Here’s my spoilery review for those of you who fancy a read. Thank you!
THE RUNAWAY BRIDE is a sparkling, fast-paced holiday adventure that gives the Tenth Doctor a much-needed breather after the heartbreak of Doomsday while launching one of Doctor Who’s most beloved companions. With killer Christmas trees, robot Santas, ancient spiders and a motorway TARDIS chase, it’s got the spectacle and energy of a festive blockbuster. But its true strength lies in Donna Noble—introduced as a brash comic foil, but revealed to be so much more. The visual effects hold up remarkably well, and the Racnoss is one of the most visually striking villains in the modern series, bolstered by stunning costume design and a delightfully unhinged performance. Funny, sharp, emotionally resonant, and just a little bit dark, this is Doctor Who at its most festive and most characterful—a proper Christmas cracker with a bite. 9/10.
I love how you get to see the almost proto-Donna here, she’s most of the way there, but not the fully formed character we’d come to see in Season 4, and that’s really interesting!
The practical effects are spectacular, lore implications with the Racnoss are pretty fun, overall a really fun and funny story, and of course, Tate and Tennant are spectacular!
This one is a weird one for me to judge, because I go a lot back and forth, there are times when I see the flaws more and there are times when I see the great Stuff more. I will say currently I feel more in favor of this Story. It has some of the typical Issues that a lot of Christmas Stories fall into, they become quite loud and especially with RTDs Vision of the Show, which at times can be quite a loud Vision, this feels quite noticeable.
This is a more personal Thing, because I do know a lot of People wouldn’t describe or don’t mind it, which I am happy. To me this one is a good Example for it, especially with Donna. While Tate gives a great Performance, I think Donna here is sadly a bit too much, I don’t mind as much, since I know what Character Journey she would go on. As a starting point, this does feel like a good one, but only really works in retrospective, if Donna never became the Companion later, I do think I would be much harsher, but again it’s a delibrate Choice, which I respect, but doesn’t appeal to me much.
That said there is a lot to like here, it has a nice pace to it, even if it’s a bit too fast-paced for my liking. Donna and Ten work great as a Duo. The Ending Scene with Ten is quite a good one and maybe my favorite Part of this entire Special. Oh, and the Empress looks visually so impressive, I really appreciate that they were going for, it looks still impressive all those years later, and I am glad they went the pratical route rather than CGI. (I don’t mind CGI, but I think at times it aged not as gracefully as this pratical Effect).
While not an Episode, I am jumping up and down about, this one is still an entertaining enough one for me, even if it does reveal some of the Issues I would have with the Christmas Specials later down the line already, but again personal Preference!
One of the most retroactively charged episodes of RTD1. Like, watching it in isolation gets closer and closer to impossible for me as the years go on. Between following right after Doomsday, and everything that would happen with Donna afterwards (Turn Left, Journey’s End, Star Beast), there’s just… so many weird emotions that come through whenever I rewatch this one. It’s like having seen an entire war play out in real time, and then going back to watch the first rock get thrown.
Beyond that, Tate and Tennant’s chemistry took a bit for me to get into initially (that drowning scene though… once again, if Tenth was focused on actions like this, I’d probably like him more than I do), but the story is fun, I like the small touch of bringing back the ‘pilot fish’ robots from the previous year, Lance is remarkably watchable once he goes full mask-off, and I just like the added lore about the centre of the Earth. I like to imagine that any and all earthquakes are just the result of Primord vs. Racnoss fights down there.
Also, Love Don’t Roam. More than anything else, I remember and appreciate this episode just for Love Don’t Roam, I love that song.