In what is quickly becoming a holiday tradition, the British (and, ahem, well-connected Americans) spend part of their Christmas evening watching the latest Doctor Who special. The episodes tend to be oddities, made with a bit of a lighter touch (well, still with threatened destruction) and an even goofier tone. Voyage of the Damned, which is long enough (71 minutes) to qualify as a short movie doesn't change this, but somehow isn't nearly as fun as show's past.
Essentially a disaster movie set in space, complete with a variety of cliches from the genre added in for fun (the couple who won a trip of a lifetime; the rich jerk; the man -- alien in this case -- hiding a deep secret), Voyage of the Damned finds the now companionless Doctor aboard the Titanic -- not the one that sunk in 1912, but a spacegoing vessel in orbit around Earth. Of course disaster strikes, and it is up to our hero, and a feisty bunch of survivors, to make things right and hopefully save the Earth from utter destruction.
The episode has its moments. The angelic robotic helpers that turn deadly are a nice twist on the deadly Christmas trees and ornaments from the past two specials; guest star Kyle Minogue isn't much of an actor, but doesn't do a horrible job here as the young waitress who gets sucked into the Doctor's usual hectic life. And you do get Geoffrey Palmer (and his distinct jowels) and the guy who played Richard on Keeping Up Appearances (er, Clive Swift) in featured roles, if you have a thing for British comedies.
On the other hand, Russell T. Davis' script is pretty weak (and while his vision for the show is fantastic as the producer; his scripts tend to be the worst of the rest of the series regulars), with a thoroughly unconvincing underlying reason for all the mayhem and a villain that seems to have been dragged out of the less-than fondly remembered Colin Baker years.
Still, it's important to remember that this is supposed to be a Christmas treat, and it fits that pretty well. Just a bit of fluff without nutrition, and something you enjoy at the time but don't need to have again for another year. I guess that makes it the Doctor Who equivalent of eggnog.
Bonus bit: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
OK, this came out over the summer, but it kind of slipped through the cracks until it appeared under the Christmas tree. It turned out to be a rather satisfying continuation of the series, almost like a pair of stand alone episodes from a fictional "season 15" of the series. Series creator J. Michael Stracznski pens (and directs) explores a number of common themes from the show, including the nature of faith in a technologically advanced world where we have gone to the heavens and have not found any pearly gates; and how single decisions can have a profound impact on the future. Though thoroughly low budget (lots of green screen, dark spaces and a handful of characters in each one) the stories here are a reminder of why Babylon 5 was such a remarkable show.
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