So, last night’ Doctor Who? Was it worth the anticipation? Actually, yes, most definitely. I have a love-hate relationship to the anticipation for Doctor Who and, in particular, the specials. Anyone care to remember the woefully lamentable and disappointing ‘Titanic’ Christmas episode. There I was expecting the Doctor on the actual Titanic and you get the most dreadful mockup of a science fiction pastiche; so bad its memorable.
And then there was the anticipation years ago when the BBC’s adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe launched. I can remember thinking of nothing else all day, which made the disappointment at the end of the first episode even more the greater.
So, I approached last night’ Doctor Who with caution. And you know what, I think it has to be one of my favourite episodes. The ‘aliens’ were genuinely scarey – almost on a par with the angels of Blink – and I loved the turning of the Doctor into a doctor who changes history, who defies the rules. He was scary himself though, as a ‘turned’ doctor, living on the edge of being evil, almost Master-like … something which I’m sure is no coincidence considering the latter’ iminent return at Christmas.
