Top Five - Christmas Specials

It's Christmas Eve! Are we all excited for tomorrow's episode? I, for one, am really looking forward to it, so I have decided to celebrate by counting by my top five Christmas Specials. Since 2005, there have been 9 festive episodes. Which were a gift from the heavens, and which were as lame as a Christmas cracker joke?

Honorable Mentions

Firstly, I'd like to kick off with some good ones that just weren't good enough to get on the list:

The End of Time - The Tenth Doctor's swansong was a great story, but for a Christmas episode, it wasn't Christmassy enough for me. Also, although it was in the New Year episode, that "I don't want to go" line absolutely ruined the vibe.

The Christmas Invasion - The Tenth Doctor's debut, again, was another good story, but the thing that let this one down was that there was not enough Doctor. For a story that was meant to introduce a new Doctor, he spends most of it in a coma.

5. The Runaway Bride (2006)

The Racnoss attacks Central London

After the heavy departure of Rose, the Doctor has a Christmassy adventure with a loud Donna Noble. For me, this episode is great as Donna is my favourite companion and she's in it, but the way David Tennant and Catherine Tate work together is absolutely brilliant. The dynamic was well established and I am so glad they decided to bring her back.

The threat in this episode was also great. The Racnoss, brilliantly played by Sarah Parish, was menacing, while the Robot Santas were a good but completely separate addition which seemed to only be used for a few bangs at the party.

4. The Next Doctor (2008)

The Cybermen convert Miss Hartigan
against their agreement

The Cybermen returned for the first time since 2006 when the Doctor threw them all into the Void, and they plan to conquer Christmas in Victorian London. The return was executed well with the wonderfully acted Mercy Hartigan at the head of their plan. The Cybermen proved to be as ruthless as ever when they convert Miss Hartigan against her will.

However, the thing that made this episode was the start of the lead up to Tennant's departure. Here, we see the Tenth Doctor face up to the fact that he will regenerate some day when he meets someone who appears to be his future regeneration. It's great to see how the Doctor is reacting to his future regeneration, even though he doesn't know how imminent it is.

3. The Snowmen (2012)

The Snowmen advance upon the
 Doctor and Clara

Misleadingly advertised as the first appearance of the new companion played by Jenna Coleman, this episode was the birth of the Impossible Girl mystery that was the story-arc of the second part of Series 7. The chemistry between Jenna and Matt became immediately apparent, making the viewing easy and enjoyable.

The return of the Great Intelligence was unexpected and brilliantly done, with this episode becoming a prequel to The Web of Fear with the nod to the London Underground. The Snowmen were also great as it took something Christmassy and turned it into a threat. Also, the death of Clara showed that these old enemies still packed a punch by killing ruthlessly.

2. Voyage of the Damned (2007)

The Doctor and his friends battle the
Host on an unstable bridge

The idea of a spaceship version of the Titanic orbiting Earth on Christmas Eve smells of disaster. My favourite thing about this episode is that it introduces a large range of guest characters then puts them in great peril. It them makes you watch them battle for survival with some emotional scenes as some don't survive. The whole guest cast is brilliant, particularly Kylie Minogue, as Astrid.

Once again, the idea of taking a traditional Christmassy thing and turning it into a threat is brilliantly done, this time using angels. The Heavenly Host are ruthless killers despite being deceivingly helpful in earlier episodes. The imminent collision of the Titanic with Central London is also well done, with News Reports and cut scenes to what is happening on Earth at the time.

1. Time of the Doctor (2013)

The Eleventh Doctor's finale was a brilliant episode. Matt and Jenna's chemistry was brilliant and they both gave an emotional and impactful performance. I also liked the way the story brought together all of the story arcs, even though they had seemingly been resolved, and didn't fully resolve them, but gave them a regeneration of sorts, allowing them to carry forward into the Twelfth Doctor's era.

The Doctor's greatest enemies assemble
around the planet Trenzalore

This episode also showcased an ensemble of the Eleventh Doctor's greatest foes, such as Daleks, Cybermen, the Silence and Weeping Angels, without making the episode overcrowded, which for me seems like a great task. Also, the theme of Christmas is very strong in this episode, which gave this episode a great balance of different emotions: the jolly festive spirit and the sadness at the loss of a Doctor.

However, this episode, along with the 50th Anniversary, are absolutely pivotal in the direction of the entire show. The 50th toyed with the idea of Gallifrey still existing, with this episode confirming that it exists. Also, the show's lifetime is extended within the story of this episode, with the Doctor being given a new cycle of regenerations.

Finale Friday Special - Top Five: New Series Finales

Tomorrow is part two of the two-part series finale, so I thought that for this week's Finale Friday Special, I would count down my top five series finales of the New Series so far. But first a fun fact about series finales: based on the records, there is over a 70% chance that Daleks will appear in a series finale in the new series. Will they make an appearance tomorrow night? I guess we'll have to wait and see...

5. The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords (Series 3)

The Master and the Doctor face each other
once again

In the episode preceding this two-part series finale, the Master made a shock return, and he preceded to steal the Doctor's TARDIS and leave him stranded at the end of the Universe. This means that the previous episode's cliffhanger meant the first part of the finale had already been partly established, meaning that less time was wasted upon establishing the situation.

The return of the Master was done well by John Simm, who had a great on-screen chemistry with David Tennant. With much of this story taking place on board the SS Valiant, some parts could get a bit samey, but overall, I think the story was done well, with the effect of another Time Lord being explored greatly. However, on the emotions, this one's a bit easy-going compared to some of the finales.

4. The Name of the Doctor (Series 7)

The Doctor rescues Clara from his time stream

This episode is famous for it's cliffhanger which set up the 50th anniversary episode. The cliffhanger saw the appearance of John Hurt, with a caption introducing him as the Doctor. This led fans to create many wild theories as to how this Doctor could fit in to the Whoniverse.

However, there were other aspects to the episode. The main enemy of the episode was the Great Intelligence, who lures the Doctor to Trenzalore in order to gain access to the Doctor's tomb. There, the GI enters the Doctor's time stream and begins to destroy his past, however, plucky Clara jumps in at the last minute and stops the GI.

This episode is where we start to see more dimensions to Clara, and it has a pretty dark tone compared to some of the more recent episodes. For example, Jenny is killed while in the psychic conference, before being revived again. The Great Intelligence, appearing for the third time in 6 months, is still a good villain, with sneaky sidekicks in the shape of Whisper Men.

3. Army of Ghosts/Doomsday (Series 2)

Rose begins to fall into the Void

The ending to this action-packed finale had been foreshadowed for quite a few episodes now, but the opening scenes have you hooked from the start: Rose introduces the story as how she died. These episodes bring together and tie up the Torchwood story arc of series 2 quite nicely, leaving very few loose ends and it also paves the way for the Torchwood spin-off series.

However, these episodes are probably most notable for the epic battle between the Daleks and the Cybermen, which Torchwood have accidentally caused. This is done brilliantly, as it doesn't particularly show which race wins, as both are sucked into the Void, leaving both races as formidable as they were before. Another pretty massive moment is the departure of Rose, who makes the choice to abandon her family to continue travelling with the Doctor, before she has to be rescued moments before falling into the Void, and becoming trapped on the parallel Earth.

2. Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways (Series 1)

The Doctor, Rose and Jack find themselves
on board a Dalek ship

These episodes were fantastic.

The Daleks are back from the Time War and they've built themselves a large army from human tissue. They've been manipulating humankind for centuries and the Doctor could have stopped them, but instead, he unwittingly helped them. Plucking unlucky contestants from the Game Station, the Daleks have been transporting them to their ships where they're converted to Daleks. This give a real sense of threat as the Daleks have clearly been planning and have amassed a large army, rather than just throw together a last minute plan, as seems to be the recent trend.

Also in this finale is the Ninth Doctor's regeneration, which quite frankly, came way too soon. It would have been great for him to stay, as his dynamic with Rose was better then Ten's - judge me. On top of this, Rose uses her initiative (I know, shocking!) and clambers her way back to the Game Station, and turns the Daleks into dust. Brilliant ending to the first series of the revived series!

1. The Stolen Earth/Journey's End (Series 4)

Jack is exterminated on board the Dalek crucible

This finale brought the previous four years of Doctor Who together and it was fabulous. What I like about this is that for much of the first part of the finale, the Doctor is unable to help Earth, which has been moved across the universe, meaning that his past companions and allies have to work together to bring him to Earth's new location. This also sees the death of Harriet Jones, which was a very bold move, which I quite liked, despite being a Harriet Jones fan.

Once again, the Daleks have a plan and have amassed an army, this time built from Davros' tissue, but this time they've also built a bomb which can end the entire universe. This shows that they really are a force to be reckoned with. Also, Rose is sent back to parallel Earth and Donna needs the have her memory wiped, ramping up the emotional factor of the episode, leaving a brilliant story which offers all kinds of brilliance!

Thank you for reading! Drop a comment with your thoughts or suggestions! They will be greatly appreciated!

Death Count - 42

Hello readers! I have returned from my summer holiday! To get back into the swing of things, I am going to kick off the series I introduced just before I went away: the Death Count series! In this edition, I will be counting up the deaths in the Tenth Doctor story 42. Enjoy!

About this Story

Title	42
No. of Episodes	1
Series No. Episode No.	Series 3 Episode 7
Broadcast Date	19th May 2007
Run-Time	45' 30"
Doctor	Tenth Doctor
Companion	Martha Jones

The SS Pentallian falling towards a living sun

Synopsis

Responding to a distress signal, the TARDIS lands on the stricken SS Pentallian. The engines have been sabotaged and the ship is falling towards a living sun, with 42 minutes until impact. The crew have stolen some of the sun's material as fuel, and it wants it back. Can the Doctor give the sun what it wants before it kills everyone on board?

The Death Count

Character	Time of Death	Description
Hal Korwin	6' 36"	Possessed by living sun
Abi Lerner	12' 55"	Vapourised by possessed Korwin
Erina Lessak	15' 33"	Vapourised by possessed Korwin
Dev Ashton	17' 26"	Possessed by living sun, transferred from Korwin
Possessed Ashton	26' 41"	Frozen in stasis chamber by Kath
Kath McDonnell	37' 51"	Jumps from airlock with Possessed Korwin
Possessed Korwin	37' 51"	Dragged out of airlock with Kath

Death Toll:

7

Death Rating:

15.38 (Mint)

Thank you for reading! Drop a comment with your thoughts or suggestions! They will be greatly appreciated!