(738) Voyage of the Damned

Its fair to say that during the latter stages of the classic era, the show was resorting to stunt casting. Getting people who didn’t really have a place in the show but was bought in purely for their star name. Since embarking on the new series, I think that the casting of famous names has been largely good and has worked in the benefit of the show. Sadly this good form has come to a sudden stop. This episode features the appearance of Kylie Minogue who granted started off her TV career in Neighbours but has hardly become a house hold name because of her acting. According to IMDB her most recognisable credits include Streetfighter (1994), Moulin Rouge (2001) and The Vicar of Dibley (1994).

This is the third Christmas Special and is also the longest at 1hr 11 minutes. It is also the most watched episode of new who with 13.3 million viewers. This story sees a space liner called the Titanic which like its namesake, suffers a disaster. I don’t know whether it was a good idea but if they hadn’t have called the ship Titanic, then people would probably have still made the similarity anywhere.

Geoffrey Palmer makes his third and final appearance in Doctor Who after appearing in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970) and The Mutants (1972). His involvement is sadly to short but he is basically the one causes the problems in this episode. Clive Swift is another former Classic Who star to return. Swift previously appeared in Revelation of the Daleks but plays a much more likeable character in this episode. Sadly he gave an interview in DWM where he was less than pleasant. Bernard Cribbins makes his first appearance in TV Who in a role that was suppose to be a one off but due to the way of things that will be mentioned in tomorrows review, he ends up being more involved in the show that anyone watching on Christmas Day 2007 would have realised. Back to Kylie Minogue and I wouldn’t say that her acting is terrible but its not hard to see why she has had a more successful career in music. I think that casting her as someone who starts off as a maid was a bit of a mistake. It’s like Dwayne Johnson in the new San Andreas movie being a helicopter pilot. It’s asking us to suspend our disbelief just a bit too much.

There are some good things that work in this episode. Firstly the Hosts are very good and like the weeping angels, have a great way about them. The way they can cause death is with their hands and with their halos. The other good thing about this episode is David Tennant. This is his 29^th episode and he is definelty at ease with the role and does have some good one liners throughout. If there is one reason to watch this again then it would be for Tennant’s performance. The bit where he is lifted into the air by the hosts is quite a good moment.

The big set piece occurs at the end (obviously) when the Doctor is trying to prevent the Titanic from crashing into Buckingham Palace. This leads to a rather amusing bit where the Queen makes another appearance and thanks the Doctor. It’s not a terribly convincing performance.

Despite being the longest and most watched of the Christmas Specials, it is actually the weakest of the specials. The central problem is that the plot is somewhat dull. Bearing in mind what is happening on screen, the story just doesn’t grab me in the way that The Runaway Bride did. It too long as well with the story working just as well if it had been 60 minutes long. It is by far the weakest of the Christmas Specials and is in y ratings the second weakest story of the new era. It is a disappointing episode but I would be lying if I were to say that it was unwatchable. That honour belongs to Love and Monsters. Now we the Catherine Tate series and Tennant’s final series.

On a final note, this episode was dedicated to Verity Lambert who had passed away about a month before. Verity was the mother of Doctor Who and whilst this might not be the best episode to dedicate to her, I think that she would have been proud of this episode because it tried to achieve something and that is what I think she would have approved of.