Diagonaldi Very well executed

TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

ThiefHott Too much of everything

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

jc-osms Somehow I'd missed this old Christmas episode of David Tennant's "Dr Who", but even watching it in mid-April, found it to be one of the best of the whole new-Doctor episodes I've seen.Cleverly riffing off the ever-attendant speculation on who will be the new Doctor, Russell T Davies cheekily casts one of the then prime contenders for Tennant's trainers, David Morrissey, opposite the incumbent, intriguingly as an apparently till-now unknown Victorian incarnation of our favourite Gallifreyan time-lord, complete with his own Martha-like companion, sonic screwdriver and even his own TARDIS.Davies spins out the confusion just long enough before he gives us the crafty explanation leaving room for a big (and I mean big) finish where our Doctor naturally saves the day in a massive C-Gen set-piece against the backdrop of London itself.There are some great in-house jokes, none more so than Morrissey's Doctor's explanation of the acronym of his own TARDIS and yet it's his Heath Robinson-type contraption that saves the day rather than Tennent's own. This episode cries out not be taken too seriously as every serious Dickensian reference is riposted with light-hearted sideways nods at more contemporary action characters as the Doctor makes a Superman-type rescue of a young boy and of course that whole over-the-top "Transformers"-style climax as the gigantor Cyber-King is brought back down to earth, almost literally.Morrissey's great as the deluded Jackson Lake, Tennant as usual is too-cool-for-school, gently bursting Morrissey's bubble, while Dervla Kirwan makes for a great villainess. I enjoyed that Tennant flew solo on this occasion, his between-partners status causing some considered reflections on the transient nature of all his past fellow-travellers.This was classic Who, one of the best I've seen and also offers a tantalising look at an alternative future Doctor who didn't quite get the nod, but would surely have done well in the part in an alternative future.

Theo Robertson ... And that is the DOCTOR WHO specials are festive frivolity lacking in hard drama and substance .I'm sure everyone was looking forward to this Christmas special especially when it was announced beforehand that David Tennant would be leaving the show . Somewhat intriguingly the underrated David Morrisey was one of the bookies favourite to succeed Tennant in the title role and with a title of The Next Doctor this special must be a type of turning point for the series right ? . Add to this the return of the legendary Cybermen and what could go wrong ? Quite a few things actually First of all was RTD's script which is just basically a runaround with several aspects involving an ice maiden villainess , modified Cybermen , a Cyber-king and children from the work house . But none of this really jells . In many ways the plotting resembles that of a Hollywood blockbuster with spectacle overkill replacing everything else . A giant Cyberman stomping across Victorian London might be a good concept on paper but on screen it can be surprisingly dull There's also an aspect of cheating too when it's revealed that Morrisey's " Doctor " isn't in fact a future incarnation of the timelord but is something entirely different . It's interesting to note how perceived fan wisdom preferred the " doctor " performance of Morrisey but I disagree since he just comes across as an equally irritating version of Tennant's mockney geezer which I dislike . Morrisey performance improves when his character realises he's a mere mortal human DOCTOR WHO Christmas specials have quickly become national institutions since December 2005 but while they are welcome , and not to mention are massive rating success , they lack substance and I hope the next special the intriguingly named Planet Of The Dead will live up to the title of special

Malcius Firstly, to respond to some of the previous comments: I thought David Morrissey's 'Doctor' quite successful as someone thinking he was the Doctor, but not as a genuine Doctor, but as he was only playing someone who thought he was the Doctor, I think the verdicts as to what he would have been like as a genuine Doctor rather irrelevant; regarding the stethoscope hypothesis, this was done, at least in the broadcast shown on New Year's Day, and if the memory issue had been caused by something like the Doctor's or the Master's fob watch human conversions, the lack of a second heart would scarcely be conclusive; finally, children from orphanages/workhouses (I didn't quite catch which) were a better choice for workers because adults would have been more likely to be noticed missing.I really enjoyed the interplay between the two 'Doctors' and this is where the episode excelled, along with the mystery of who Morrissey's Doctor actually was.Whether the companion Rosita was any better or worse than other companions, her similarity to Martha was too jarring to allow for any real feel for her own performance. She seemed rather modern to be a native of the mid 19th century. However, as a foil for the Doctors' conceitedness she was quite successful.Miss Hartigan was quite excellent, although I wasn't entirely convinced by the explanation of her motivation.The main downsides to the episode were the CyberShades and the CyberKing. The CyberShades were rubbish and could have come out of the very first season of the Hartnell era (except that they were trying to avoid the monster concept). The CyberKing (or giant robot) seemed completely out of character for the Cybermen as it would hardly be an efficient means of subjugating the world. It would have been more at home in a cartoon or Godzilla movie.However I am willing to forgive the flaws for the sake of the Doctors' character development.

bob the moo The Doctor arrives in Victorian London just in time to meet two very familiar creatures that he did not expect to ever see. The first is some form of creature that is instantly recognisable as being, at very least, some derivative of a cyberman. The second is the man who is chasing the cyberman creature whose memory is blocked for some reason but whose name is The Doctor, who has a Tardis and has a feisty female assistant helping him out. Naturally, the Doctor (the other one) is curious about all of it.Last year the Doctor Who Christmas special offered much and had lots of noise but was essentially a noisy and rushed version of the Poseidon Adventure that was too full of sacrificial "disaster movie" death to be much fun and too lacking in heart to really engage. As a result I was concerned about yet another special that just seemed to offer easy spectacle to distract you away from the fact that you saw all the "big" movies about three years ago on DVD or Sky. The Next Doctor offered more though because it was talked p for potentially being a handover to a new doctor, or that it had former doctors in it or several other theories. It plays with the audience in this regard early on as the suggestion is that the Next Doctor may either be another time lord or potentially a future version of the Doctor himself. While this concerned me in regards fitting in with the series, it did interest me.The plot is simple but it helps that there are several threads that are developed across it as it did make it more interesting and engaging. I wasn't ever gripped but it did have a solid pace to it that made it easy to enjoy. The spectacle is there as well and, being Christmas, I didn't really feel inclined to make a big deal out of the logic of the cyberman ship or whatever it was – I can understand why some would have been annoyed by it but for me I was enjoying the special so wasn't in the mood to pick on it. The reason I was enjoying it was that the pace to it also gave some quieter moments and some comic moments that both the "doctors" were able to deliver quite well. I thought Tennant was on good form as he slightly toned down the "OH OF COURSE" delivery while also keeping the essence of "his" doctor. Morrissey has an interesting character throughout and his performance adds much more than another female assistant would have done. Speaking of which – was the casting of Tshabalala as Rosita a plot to make Agyeman seem like a better actress by way of comparison? If so then it worked. If not then I'm afraid I cannot see why she was cast. Kirwan is enjoyable as the main human villain whether it is at her most confident or most frightened. The extras run on command and the cybermen march on cue.The Next Doctor did not hold the revelations that it was marketed to perhaps have maybe, but it was still enjoyable. The device of the other Doctor makes the plot engaging and I was interested even as the running and explosions started and, as it got silly, I still hadn't stopped enjoying it. A solid Christmas special that did what it was expected to do.