The Christmas Invasion

No second chances.

The Christmas Invasion was a bit of a bore to me. It wasn't bad, but when you are relying on Rose and Jackie Tyler to carry the plot for 2/3rds of the story, odds are it just won't go that well.

The Doctor has just regenerated and is unconscious. Meanwhile Earth is invaded by the Sycorax who implement mind control over all people with a certain blood type. PM Harriet Jones as well as the TARDIS (containing the Doctor, Rose and Mickey) are captured and taken aboard the Sycorax ship. The Doctor is revived and he breaks the Sycorax control over the hypnotized humans. He then battles the Sycorax leader where his hand is chopped off but he is able to regrow the hand due to being with 15 hours of the regeneration. The Sycorax leader is killed and the Doctor and all humans escape. As the Sycorax ship attempts to retreat, Harriet Jones orders it destroyed. The Doctor is outraged by this that he starts a whisper campaign that ends with Jones' removal from office.

This story felt padded. Since the Doctor was out of commission for so long, there is a painfully slow build up to the confrontation with the Sycorax. Holding some of humanity hostage provides a certain level of tension but the actions of the companions and the government seem like panicked arm flailing while waiting for some one else to save them.

Worse, because of how much time had been spent on the Doctor being out of the action, his actions against the Sycorax made them look like a very weak threat, which is always disappointing. The Doctor shuts them down with ease and his battle with the Sycorax leader, while good, does not pay off the time spent building up.

The fight with the Sycorax leader does give one of my favorite scenes with the Tenth Doctor though. After the Doctor has disarmed the leader, he tells him to honor the fight and leave Earth. He then walks away with Rose. The Sycorax leader instead rises and rushes at him from behind. The Doctor throws an orange, which had been his bathrobe pocket to a button which causes the wing on which they had been fighting to bend and the leader falls to his death. The Doctor doesn't even look at him as he falls, his face goes dark with anger as he mutters, "No second chances." This is glimpse that we are given of the dark side of the Doctor. The Tenth Doctor was the one that let it closest to the surface and it was my favorite aspect of the Tenth Doctor.

A good finish can help a story, but it doesn't make it any more enjoyable to sit through the dull opening bits. You would be just as well served to start 30 minutes into the story. You'd miss very little and would skip the dull parts. That's what I would probably do if I were to pull this up again.

Overall personal score: 2 out of 5