Ok…thanks to our friend the internet, I HAVE SEEN IT! So this is the one and only spoiler warning for those who HAVEN’T seen it yet…
Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Euros Lyn
“Trust me!”
“Is that what you said to her? You’re friend…the one you lost…did she trust you?”
“Yes she did. And she is not dead…she is SO alive. Now JUMP!”
How do you make a successful Doctor Who Christmas special?
First, you come up with a story that appeals to all ages, but still has just enough of that special “something” to make the kids jump up and down with glee…and the parents to smile and laugh and rediscover the magic of their own childhoods…childhoods that, being in the company of the Doctor, don’t seem so quite long ago…
The Runaway Bride is the ultimate caper & chase flick…it has no pretensions of being anything deeper…and that’s perfectly ok, because although it’s not exactly deep, it’s very VERY broad, and in all the wonderful ways that matter. It’s spectacle that moves at light speed…and boy, talk about spectacle. The Thames flood barrier…the draining Thames…the bubbling pipes…the Empress’ STAR ship…tanks SHOOTING at the very same ship…and the car chase to end ALL car chases. But what’s especially wonderful is the reaction of the kids in the neighbouring car, cheering their hearts out as the Doctor rescues Donna. Fantastic! Even the music is 1940’s Hollywood-over-the-top epic!
Let’s also throw in some spice with a one-off guest star/companion. Catherine Tate, the hottest comedy star in the UK today, is (apparently) annoying beyond reason…but I found her a breath of fresh air after Rose’s doe-eyed relationship with the Doctor. She’s loud, in your face, and has no time for bull-crap of any kind. She reminds me a great deal of the 5th Doctor’s Australian companion, Tegan…and just like Tegan, she can shattert the Doctor’s facade and see the man he really is…
…and that man is played by David Tennant, who has entered a new phase of his tenure as the Doctor. Post-Rose, he is a man who has a hole in his heart…he’s calmer, less prone to mugging…and when he does get over-exuberant, it’s a bit worrying…and Donna slaps him back into place! This is a man coming to terms with his own philosophy of being unable to spend the rest of his life with his human companions. And yet, in spite of the pain from his loss of Rose, Donna reminds him that he can still move on with his own life (gotta love the scooter scene!), and find someone new to travel with. In the space of a single hour, Russell Davies manages to deal with the loss of Rose, Donna’s fear of the Doctor’s lifestyle & refusal to go with him…and her recommendation that he find someone new in his life. Closure in the middle of a rapid fire adventure. Emotional without being maudlin.
We even get some wonderful, subtle fanwank…and that’s aside from the Torchwood tie-in. The spider-Empress of the Rachnoss is revealed to be the last of an ancient terror, destroyed by the ancient powers of long ago…and it turns out it’s from the Time Lord’s very own dark times…similar to the old vampire threat established long ago in State of Decay. This allows Davies to finally have the Doctor say that magic word that’s been missing from the new series: Gallifrey, the name of the Time Lord home world. It’s slotted neatly into the story, and doesn’t for one moment feel out of place. In fact, it’s a moment of wonderful triumph!
The big bad is Sarah Parrish’s spider-Empress (thanks to some magnificent prosthetics)…and she not only chews the scenery for all it’s worth…she consumes it like a banquet. But she also throws in some wonderful so-bad-they’re-good jokes in the midst of her evil, and as a pantomime villainess extraordinaire, she’s the perfect bad girl for a Christmas celebration. I also love the unexpected revelation of how Donna’s fiancee Lance (the name suits him SO well) has already made a deal with the Empress…and get paid for his shallowness in kind.
As I said at the beginning, this is not a deep story. It’s not one that has an air-tight plot, or a lot of deep and powerful characterization. It’s not The Girl in the Fireplace, and it’s not The Satan Pit…but those aren’t the sorts of things you show at CHRISTMAS! The Runaway Bride is designed to put a big, fat smile on your face…it’s designed to make you laugh until your sides ache, and to make you cheer at the top of your lungs. And in spite of the fluffy happiness, it still manages to sneak in some subtle & sweet emotional closure to the Rose era.
How much more can you ask for? Cherish this beauty. It’s simply joyous…and utterly hilarious!
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