Remembering Christmas: 2005 & 2006

2005- The Christmas Invasion

I liked The Christmas Invasion okay. It was our first such special, but was more of a post-regeneration story. That aspect is what saved it for me. One of my favorite scenes was when Rose was struggling to sound authoritative to the Sycorax, and upon hearing them translated for her, she realizes The Doctor, absent for the most part up until then, must be better....

I loved seeing Harriet Jones again, we will always know who she was. I didn't care for the direction her character went, but I still appreciated her, especially in her next appearance. My other favorite scene was The Doctor picking out his new clothes. This is always fun, and we saw some nods to old Doctors and companions hanging in the wardrobe. But the wardrobe room itself was worth it, the first room outside the console room to be seen, and only other until The Doctor's Wife. To be technical, we didn't see any new rooms until Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS.

2006: Runaway Bride

Besides The End of Time, Runaway Bride is my favorite pre-Moffat era Christmas special. A lot of that could be my huge love of Catherine Tate. But aside from that it was fun. Seeing the viewpoint of a companion who found herself unwillingly in the TARDIS, as portrayed by Ms. Tate, was a riot. One of my favorite scenes is her first after finding herself inexplicably beamed into the TARDIS. Which is not even a proper word!

Donna struggles to get back to the church she had been getting married in. She's not impressed by The Doctor at all, something new, and she's also not carrying any money. (pockets) My favorite scene of the whole episode comes after she finds a cab driver willing to giver her a lift.

They really played around with the TARDIS in this one, and I don't just mean going back to the creation of the Earth. My other favorite scene is when The Doctor uses the same Huon particles in Donna that pulled her into the TARDIS to bring the TARDIS to them.

2 Days To Go!!!

The Day Of The Doctor Prequels

Here are the two prequels we were promised before the 50th. Both excellent in their own way. The first one, "The Night of The Doctor," sets the stage for John Hurt, finalizing where he fits in with the other Doctors, while "The Last Day" gives us a glimpse into The War Doctor's first day in the time war. Someone said it looks almost like a setup for a game about the war, and I can see that.

The Night of The Doctor

The Last Day

You will notice I did not say SPOILERS. That's because these AREN'T  spoilers, they are prequels meant to be watched and to give us some information, most likely background, to prepare us for the 50th.

Special 50 Years Anniversary Trailer

Here is the (as promised) fantastic trailer that celebrates 50 years of Who in one minute. Done very very well  and I can't wait to see the dissections of some of the images we see.

Doctor Who 50th Projection Special In Sydney

Tonight in Sydney, the Australia/New Zealand  branch of the BBC Worldwide and Vivid Sydney put on what was billed as a 50th anniversary special, or feature, or celebration. While the video projection on the side of the Sydney customs house was impressive and a bit dazzling at times, I must agree with other's comments that it was pretty much all Matt Smith. Even the flashes of all previous Doctors were taken from "Nightmare In Silver."  Regardless, it's enjoyable and made me wish I had been in Sydney for it.

I chose this rehearsal video because the angle and sound are best.

Sneek Peek Clip From The Name of The Doctor

I'm typing up my review for "Nightmare In Silver" now, but this clip was released today by the BBC from tomorrow's episode.

Also, Jenna-Louise did an interview with What's on TV. The answer to this question was most interesting to me.

When asked how she and Alex Kingston got along, Jenna had this to say, "I never want to give too much away, because if you know how they get along it gives you an inkling of where the story is going to go, but it's an interesting relationship. Clara is fascinated by and very curious about this woman who was married to The Doctor and who she knew nothing about at all. There's also a mutual respect, they're both women of The Doctor, in a way!"

Fun clip from "The Crimson Horror"

Classic Who fans should like this clip from Saturdays episode, "The Crimson horror". it's an interesting presentation, and it makes me wonder if the actual episode will have that olde filme quality. What I loved about it, though, was it payed homage to Tegan Jovanka, one of my favorite all time companions. First he jokingly recalls how much trouble he had getting Tegan to Heathrow airport. It took over a series for him to finally accidentally get it right, only for her to come back the next series. But what he also does was very sweet. At the sound of a scream, he tells Clara, "Brave heart, Clara", something he used to say to Tegan.

I had the pleasure to see Janet Fielding, Tegan herself, at a convention in Atlanta. This was the old days when you could get close to the stars and sometimes converse with them. before DragonCon and ComicCon I met her, Mark Strickson (Turlough), Louise Jameson (Leela), The 3rd and 5th Doctors, and I was as close to them as I am to Scott across the room. This was also when a young teen could pay for admission with his allowance. I don't know where all my pictures went, but I found these. The first is Louise Jameson, then one of both Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson, and then one of me with Janet and Mark. And I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry but you're going to see some really bad homemade highlights. I'm wearing my TARDIS key and the scarf I forced my mother to crochet, fashioned after the scarf Tom Baker wore in his final series. It's about 13 feet long and I still have it.