Post by sadakoPost by Sozeis officially the title of the Xmas special. Not sure if the world really
needs another take on this old chestnut but I`ll reserve judgment until I
see it.
Derivative title certainly, but I greatly enjoyed Series 5 under
Moffat far more than I ever enjoyed the RTD era, so I decided to give
it the benefit of the doubt. I also noticed how a lot of the anti-
Moffat naysayers have picked on the title and used that as a platform
to say how it 'isn't as good now Russell's gone' (rofl!) and how 'it's
obviously under-budget now'. So I didn't want to get sucked in to that
kind of naysayer rhetoric.
But then I saw the trailer and saw that it wasn't just the title
they'd ripped off from Christmas Carol, it was practically the entire
plot. I'm not really quite as looking forward to it anymore, I
expected far more originality from the Moff.
As Iggy asks, why? Originality is noticeable by its absence in
Moffatt's Dr Who work. As a writer, he's given us a zombie story,
repeated variations on The Time Traveller's Wife (right down to an
'initial' meeting in a library), and overuse of the 'repeated creepy
catchphrase' motif. The results are often well-told and very well-done
as atmosphere goes, but however much you like his material it can't
really be accused of originality.
It surprises me more that they'd rip off A Christmas Carol and *call*
the episode "A Christmas Carol" than that they'd rip it off. It's not
obviously a bad idea to retell the story with a time travel spin on
the 'ghosts', it's the best-known and most oft-copied Christmas tale
for good reason (and I'm not normally a fan of Dickens), and what
little we see of Gambon's performance reminds me (encouragingly) of
Derek Jacobi's Professor Yana, one of new Who's best guest roles.
Derivative stories well-told are what I'd come to expect from Moffatt
(well, before this year, when most of his efforts weren't terribly
well-told...), so I don't see any reason to be surprised if that's
what we get this time - in fact I'm looking forward to it despite the
disappointment that was the larger part of season 5.
Phil