Poll: Rate and Review The Christmas Invasion

[The Doc]

It's been a few months, but TIQ is back and the story we return with is The Christmas Invasion.

It's Christmas Eve and high above London, the alien Sycorax are holding the Earth for ransom. The Doctor must recover from his regeneration in time to save the human race from slavery.

The Christmas Invasion was the first episode of Doctor Who to premiere on Christmas Day since The Feast of Steven, the seventh part of the 1966 serial The Daleks' Master Plan. However, unlike that episode, The Christmas Invasion was specially commissioned by BBC One to be transmitted outside the programme's normal broadcasting season. It was thus the first in the modern tradition of the "Christmas Special", and its sixty-minute runtime made it then the longest episode yet produced by BBC Wales.

Narratively, it continued the story of Harriet Jones, started the Torchwood story arc and involved UNIT in its first major appearance in the new series.

More importantly, it was the first full story to feature the Tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant. Its initial, pre-titles sequence on the Powell Estate was later used to "bookend" the closing scenes of The End of Time. Its setting was the first and last place on Earth the Tenth Doctor saw.

The next TIQ stories will be posted on Sunday August 25th.

[Nyki]

I've given it 4.  It did it's job, introducing a new Doctor, but not in the awesome sort of way The Eleventh Hour did.  An enjoyable story.

[Peri-Peri]

I remember watching this when it originally aired and enjoying it a lot, but it's just never really stood up for me and the more I watch, the less I enjoy it, and unless it's part of a season rewatch (or TIQ) then I don't ever put it on. It's not all bad, but not one of my favourites. I've gone with a three.

[Joshua]

I've gone for 4/5.

It's pretty Christmassy, it was a good introduction to Ten and there was some excellent Jackie humour. Plus I'm a sucker for a good cup of tea.

[hannahcole93]

I've given this one a 4. I really really enjoy this episode and will happy watch it over and over (and not at Christmas). The thing which marks it down for me is Jackie. I just find her really annoying

[Simone]

3/5 from me.

I think this story had a lot to do, and for that it should be cut a bit of slack. Introducing the new Doctor, maintaining the current cast and being put out there as a 'special' meant that it could have fallen flat on it's face, but it didn't Don't get me wrong, I don't think this stands up there as one of the best stories or even one of the best specials, but I do think it does what it sets out to do and it does it relatively well.

[Exterminate]

4/5

I remember watching it on Christmas Day and loving it. It doesn't stand up as well as the first few watches, but it's still a great story. I like the intro for the Doctor and the supporting cast were all great.

[Aneurin]

Very middle of the road episode for me. Nothing special about it but easy enough to watch. I've gone with 3/5

[Roranicus]

I've gone with a two. I've never really been a fan of this one. I think it is overrated and a bit of a chore to watch. There are some redeeming features but the bad outweighs any good for me.

[Vampyros Adric]

Top of the Shop for me - 5/5 Writing a regeneration story is notoriously difficult. Writing an Xmas episode is really difficult. Doing both together is almost impossible. This story dealt, head on, with the problem of the new Doctor being a stranger, it had a great 'baddie' and used all of the central characters really well.

But the undoubted star of the show was Tennant's sparkling debut. Right from the start we knew that, here, was something special. You couldn't take your eyes off him on the screen (admittedly this was shoehorned into the last act of the show) and by the end, there was little doubt that he really was the Doctor. By the end of the episode, the Doctor Who Xmas special was truly established as a regular fixture on Christmas Day TV.

What more can you ask?

[Nyki]

By the end of the episode, the Doctor Who Xmas special was truly established as a regular fixture on Christmas Day TV.

To the extent that the continuity announcer next year referred to "continuing the tradition" of the DW Christmas Special, which I always felt was jumping the gun a little.

[Vampyros Adric]

By the end of the episode, the Doctor Who Xmas special was truly established as a regular fixture on Christmas Day TV.

To the extent that the continuity announcer next year referred to "continuing the tradition" of the DW Christmas Special, which I always felt was jumping the gun a little.

I still have my DVD recording off the TV and always giggle at that bit. All that was missing was David Tennant saying "And a Merry Christmas to you at home"

[Mr Chinn]

I've gone with a 3. There is enough good in it to keep me interested on rewatch but enough in that I am not keen on that stops me reaching for it for a random watch.