I kept going with my Revival Rewatch and just saw “A Christmas Carol”
It is a great idea to put a Doctor Who spin on the original story here, that really works. And Michael Gambon and Matt Smith are great together.
The first about 45 minutes are fantastic, but around that time I do feel like the story just fizzles out a bit. It doesn’t quite stick the landing for me, and I don’t quite know why.
I’ve probably seen it five times in total but it has never managed to properly “wow” me.
One thing I do know that I don’t respond well to is the singing. The notes are hit perfectly, but it just feels a bit too “clinical” and bland - it doesn’t create an emotional impact for me at all, which it kind of feels like that scene is supposed to do.
I think that it is one of the best Christmas specials, but there is no Christmas special that is perfect and this episode is the same. The ending is a bit meh. But I like the Amy and Rory roleplaying joke they do in the beginning
“Who are you?”
“I’m the Doctor! Let me spout off a list of references you have no way of knowing what means and ask if you got a problem with it, with dramatic camera work, background explosions and overly bombastic music swelling.”
But it’s Titanic! In space! Without the two hours of boring melodrama and just the juicy bits left in! In space! Explosions and stakes and boom and pow! In space!
And there’s no stupid “let’s kill the male lead because he refuses to get on to the door, even though he would totally fit” (<-- Titanic ending spoilers) ending here!
The Husbands of River Song is one of my favourite revival stories, and it isn’t even the Eleventh Doctor!
DOCTOR: Oh. My, God! Oh, it’s bigger!
RIVER: Well, yes.
DOCTOR: On the inside,
RIVER: We need to concentrate.
DOCTOR: Than it is
RIVER: I know where you’re going with this, but I need you to calm down.
DOCTOR: On the outside!
RIVER: You’ve certainly grasped the essentials.
DOCTOR: My entire understanding of physical space has been transformed! Three-dimensional Euclidean geometry has been torn up, thrown in the air and snogged to death! My grasp of the universal constants of physical reality has been changed forever.
