As most Doctor Who fans are aware, having watched the past several seasons and their various Christmas specials, the specials tend to be less about Christmas and more about some crisis that happens to be occurring ON Christmas. The "Christmas" aspect just doesn't seem to play a part in them at all.
However, head writer Stephen Moffat doesn't disappoint with the 2010 special "A Christmas Carol" as he merges the classic Charles Dickens tale with the unusual adventures of our favorite time traveler. This special actually feels like it's injecting heart and drama into the action and conflict being presented as the Doctor's "Problem of the Week", giving a real sense of Christmas emotion instead of Christmas setting.
The story begins with our favorite new companions Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill, now upgraded to full companion) in danger as the ship their honeymooning on is crash landing on a cloud-covered planet. Amy, knowing exactly what to do, calls the Doctor for help. The Doctor visits the man who controls the cloud cover, the miserly and Scrooge-like Kazran Sardick (Michael Gambon), and finds him unwilling to help and perfectly content letting the 4000+ passengers die. To save the passengers and show Kazran the error of his ways, the Doctor, using Charles Dickens "The Christmas Carol" as inspiration, travels back in time and begins altering Kazran's childhood as the miser's "Ghost of Christmas Past".
Heartwarming, heartbreaking, light-hearted in the right places, the 2010 Doctor Who Christmas special has a lot of heart. Stephen Moffat not only succeeds but excels at giving the viewers the special they've been clamoring for since the days of Christopher Eccleston.
The rantings of a gamer/writer/actor/slacker kinda guy who merely is looking for the purpose in life through these mediums.
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