Blu-ray Review: Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a special episode of Doctor Who to throw some time traveling adventure into the holidays. The 2010 special was writer Steven Moffat’s spin on a Dickens classic, and it’s hitting Blu-ray next week as Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol.

The Story

Against all odds, Matt Smith and Steven Moffat picked up Doctor Who from departing fan favorite actor David Tennant and showrunner Russell T. Davies and reinvigorated the franchise for the Eleventh Doctor. The addition of new companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) completed the trifecta and delivered some fantastic and fascinating character development and interaction throughout their first season together, the fifth since Davies resurrected the series in 2005. From returning villains to brand new threats to questionable police uniforms, the Eleventh Doctor’s first batch of adventures concluded in June of 2010, leading into the annual Christmas episode.

This time the story picks up with Amy and Rory on their interstellar honeymoon, having married at the end of Season Five. They are traveling aboard a luxury starship with thousands of other passengers when they encounter a dense cloud belt above a planet populated by humans in what appears to be an analogous Victorian Steampunkesque society. Michael Gambon (Harry Potter, The King’s Speech) guest stars as Kazran Sardick, the wealthy and cruel man who runs the planet and controls its populace. When the ship controls malfunction in the clouds, Amy calls on the Doctor for help. The Doctor visits Sardick to ask for his assistance but is rebuffed by the bitter old man.

Seeing an opportunity to change Sardick’s outlook and hopefully his willingness to help the crashing spaceship, the Doctor travels back into Kazran’s past. Echoing Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey through Christmases past, present, and future, the two move through Sardick’s life to examine what made him into the man he became. Along the way they encounter space sharks, Hollywood parties, and one beautiful and cryonically frozen woman named Abigail Pettigrew (Welsh crossover singer Katherine Jenkins).

We previously covered Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol when it first aired, so be sure to check out that article for a full recap and review of the Christmas special.

The Blu-ray

Originally broadcast in HD, the 1080i / 16:9 Blu-ray of A Christmas Carol looks and sounds great. Sardick’s planet is a darkly Dickensian place, and the setting comes through crisply with a lot of depth and detail. As with most modern Doctor Who adventures, there’s a ton of CG and a whole lot of special effects knocking about. Naturally, all of those translate well into the Blu-ray format and look crisp in this presentation.

In addition to the Christmas special itself, the Blu-ray also includes two bonus features. The first is the Doctor Who Confidential special that accompanied A Christmas Carol‘s original airing. The Confidential specials are great behind the scenes looks at Doctor Who and each episode’s production, and they have become essential staples of the Blu-ray releases. The second feature is Doctor Who at the Proms 2010. For those not in the know, the BBC Proms is an annual eight-week series of classical music performances presented on BBC. Along with featuring various composers and styles, the Proms traditionally hosts a family night each year. Doctor Who was the family night focus in 2008, a concert that was included as a bonus feature on the DVD release of the Christmas special The Next Doctor. Doctor Who returned to the Proms in 2010 with appearances from Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, and this new bonus feature captures the spectacle of that night on Blu-ray.

Conclusion

A Christmas Carol is the best Christmas episode Doctor Who has aired since the series relaunch in 2005. Combining poignant moments with sci-fi wonder and humor, it is a perfect mix of all the elements that made Matt Smith’s first season as the Doctor work. The Doctor Who Confidential specials always give good insight into the show’s production, but the inclusion of the 2010 Proms special is what really fills out this newest Blu-ray release in the Who library.