Doctor Who Christmas Special - and is Tennant off?
This year’s Christmas Special had a tough job to please fans this year - while those who are blindly dedicated to the new incarnation of Doctor Who will continue to extoll the virtues of the series, those of us who are a little more discerning are beginning to see the cracks appearing and they don’t look pretty.
While 2005’s Special had a big job to do in introducing the new Doctor, this year the producers decided against introducing the Doctor’s new assistant following the departure of Billie at the end of series 2. Instead we had Catherine Tate screeching her way through the episode as the titular Runaway Bride, Donna. Yes, she was irritating, but that was how the character was supposed to be - so I guess Tate was perfect for the role. We also had the usual Tennant gurning and plot holes bigger than the inside of the TARDIS; both of which should be familiar to viewers.
The big problem is that The Runaway Bride had an uphill struggle following the disappointment that is Torchwood - and Russell T Davies and co. will have a lot of work to do to restore this viewer’s faith in the Who franchise. Thankfully, while the trademark plotting and scripting issues seem to be rubbing off on Torchwood’s parent series, at least Who continues to be enjoyable, I just hope that the producers pull their fingers out and give us something to be proud of in the coming series.
And, just two days after the Christmas Special was broadcast, there are rumours abound that David Tennant is hanging up his pin-striped suit before the end of the fourth series - whether or not this is true remains to be seen, but given the hit-and-miss nature of the scripts and show direction over the past year it certainly doesn’t come as a surprise. I’m more than happy that Doctor Who is back, and that is thanks to Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner - but I’m beginning to feel that it’s already time for a new pair of hands to steer Doctor Who away from the pantomime it is slowly becoming and Tennant’s departure might be a good time to make some changes at the top and reinvent the series all over again.