There have been 14 Doctor Who Christmas specials since December 2005. But which is the most popular of the Time Lord’s festive tales?
The End of Time: Part One
Here’s a fun fact: this was the first Doctor Who episode since 1989 to be called ‘Part One.’ Since 2005, Doctor Who had used individual titles for its episodes, even when they were continuing the same story. You’re welcome.
This particular Doctor Who Christmas special was the beginning of David Tennant’s swansong as the Tenth Doctor, and was seen by 11.6 million viewers. In the adventure, the Doctor knows that his days are numbered. Everyone on planet Earth is having bad dreams. The Master has been resurrected, and in order to ensure his survival, he has turned every human on the planet into a clone of himself. Catherine Tate also returns as Donna Noble, although she still has no memory of her time with the Doctor, or indeed who he is.
Then there is Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott, who becomes the companion for this particular Doctor Who Christmas special. And he finally gets a trip in the TARDIS, albeit only a small hop to the country estate of entrepreneur Joshua Naismith.
All in all, this is quite a dark Doctor Who Christmas special, building up to the sad and explosive finale that would occur a week later. But there is still some fun to be had, particularly with the Silver Cloak gang, and the scene in which the Master devours a turkey.
A Christmas Carol
The 2010 Doctor Who Christmas special was seen by 12.1 million viewers, making it the third most-watched Doctor Who Christmas special of all time. And you can probably guess the rough premise, owing to the title’s similarity with another well-known Christmas story (okay, it’s identical.) In this instance, guest star Michael Gambon plays the Scrooge-type character who, in this instance, is called Kazran Sardick. He’s refusing to help a crashing spaceship which is plunging towards his planet, and the Doctor takes it upon himself to tamper with his past and make him a kinder person.
In some ways, this is a very classic festive offering with all the Christmassy trimmings, including plenty of snow and the angelic tones of the adventure’s other guest actor Katherine Jenkins. But there are also some suitably weird moments that could (probably) only be found in a Doctor Who Christmas special, such as the flying fish, and Santa’s sleigh being pulled by a giant shark. This was Steven Moffat‘s very first Doctor Who Christmas special, and he proved that he was nothing if not inventive. And judging by the viewing figures, this episode certainly went down well. A bit like the spaceship.
The Next Doctor
Back in 2008, viewers still had no idea who the Eleventh Doctor would be. David Tennant had announced his departure, and the public were on tenterhooks as to who his successor would be.
In this episode, guest actor David Morrissey was teased as the new Time Lord. He called himself the Doctor, and dressed like him. He claimed to have a TARDIS, and even (seemingly) had a sonic screwdriver. But had the BBC really cast him as David Tennant’s replacement? This episode was, basically, about answering that question.
And even though you know the answer by now, we won’t spoil the identity of David Morrissey’s character here. And if you’ve never seen this Doctor Who Christmas special before, you will be excited to hear that the Cybermen also make an appearance, making an explosive return after a two year absence.
All in all, ‘The Next Doctor’ is an interesting Doctor Who Christmas special, and a testament to the show’s dizzying popularity at the time. It would be a full year until David Tennant finally regenerated into Matt Smith, and the production team managed to build excitement and publicity for this moment starting with this episode. Undoubtedly, one of the main reasons people tuned in was to find out whether, in fact, Morrissey was going to be Tennant’s successor.
Voyage of the Damned
This Doctor Who Christmas special feels more like a movie than a TV episode. It has an epic quality; the Doctor lands on a spaceship replica of the Titanic, where he finds Kylie Minogue playing a waitress called Astrid Peth, as well as Bernard Cribbins making his debut as Wilfred Mott. There are explosions, killer angels and plenty of festive trimmings, including an original Christmas song by the composer Murray Gold. The plot, meanwhile, revolves around the Doctor and a group of desperate passengers trying to escape the wreck of the doomed vessel, which has been struck by meteors and is on a collision course with planet Earth.
This Doctor Who Christmas special is notable for many reasons. First, it made history by becoming the first ever programme on BBC iPlayer; ‘Voyage of the Damned’ launched the BBC’s streaming service, with the 2007 Doctor Who Christmas special becoming available immediately after the episode aired.
Second, it is currently the highest-rated Doctor Who episode of the modern era, and indeed it is one of the highest-rated episodes of all time. It’s also a bit longer than the other specials, clocking in at 72 minutes as opposed to the traditional 60, adding to the story’s movie feel.
So there we are – these are the highest-rated Doctor Who Christmas specials so far. Although it’s fair to say that all of them have performed fairly well in the ratings, and are worth adding to your watchlist.
Which one is your favourite? And if you’ve never seen a Doctor Who Christmas special before, where are you going to start? Let us know in the comments below.
I think it’s a bit confusing to use the phrases “highest-rated” and “most popular” as synonyms for “with the highest ratings”, ie viewership. The number of viewers of a special episode doesn’t really tell you how well-regarded it was. Indeed, Voyage of the Damned is one of the least well-regarded/rated/popular Christmas episodes, despite having the highest viewership. In terms of ratings given by viewers reflecting on the episode after they’ve seen it, A Christmas Carol generally scores the highest.