The Christmas Invasion

First off I have to say, David Tennant is an amazing Doctor Who!!!

The 10th Doctor is an utterly distinctive and instantly legendary characterization. You can say he has bits of Troughton and Tom Baker, but really, he's his own man. Speaking internal monologues out loud constantly, stylish/geeky, boyish one minute then with the authority of God the next, no Doctor has been this sure footed in their first story since William Hartnell.

Tennant's "Robot" was The Children In Need Special, and that wasn't even a story. This is his "Ark In Space". Could he match Tom Baker in the legendary stakes? YES.

Where I was maybe a wee bit unsure if he might be too young to carry the authority the role needs in the CIN special, there's just nothing else on the screen when he gets going in this story, in the end, TCI all comes down to him and his brilliant performance. David Tennant is an acting genius, be in no doubt. Incidentally, he doesn't do much till the last twenty minutes, and I haven't even mentioned the big spaceship yet.

It is irritating that we have to wait so long for the new Doctor to strut his considerable stuff, and I feel this is a cynical decision in the hope the audience will go "We can't switch over now, David Tennant hasn't done anything yet". It's marketing, and I feel a bit cheated in the same way I do when they don't kill Jason at the end of a Friday The 13th film, not for dramatic reasons, but because it suits the producers more than the audience.

But to the actual story. TCI is epicly epic on an epic scale that scales the scales of scaling. It's huuuuuuge!!! You've gotta love the confidence RTD and his merry gang have just now, to push British television to these kind of heights. The story does sag like a souffle in the middle, but is possessed of enough genius moments and dialogue that you won't give a damn about that by the end.

James Hawes proves again his massive ambition when it comes to visuals. What's nice is, unlike the dark streets of The Empty Child, TCI's most memorable scene is in brilliant sunshine. What a contrast for the CV. Expect him to be snapped up by Hollywood anytime soon. We're so lucky to have a director of this world class (and a writer and lead actors too of course).

In the end, this story bodes so well for the future. The Piper/Tennant chemistry is instant, he even gets on with Rose's Mum. You just want to be around these people, even Rose's Mum.

Series 2 will be even better than series 1, and you can chop off my hand if that isn't so.

P.S. David Tennant is an amazing Doctor Who!!