Doctor Who: Ranking Each NuWho Christmas Special

13. The End Of Time Part I

It’s easy to forget that part one of David Tennant’s closing story actually aired as a Christmas special, but it did, airing on Christmas Day in 2009. It’s a bit unfair to include this episode in the list as, unlike every other Christmas special that aired before or since, it isn’t a complete story. Unfortunately, even if we were to include part two of The End of Time, it wouldn’t bump the rating much higher.

Unfortunately the close to the RTD and David Tennant eras is among the shows weakest, with a heavily convoluted story that somehow manages to feel both too full of ideas, and yet also very empty.

In this first part, not all that much happens. The Master (played once again by John Simm) is resurrected in some sort of nonsense ritual but isn’t returned fully. Instead, his flesh seems to fade periodically, exposing an electric blue skeleton. He is forced to seek out food and shovel it down his throat leading to multiple close up shots of John Simm enthusiastically shoving cheeseburgers and chips and masticating loudly. It’s just a bit gross.

Beyond that, not much happens at all. There’s a tearful conversation with Wilf (Bernard Cribbins), a junkyard conversation with The Master, and then The Master is kidnapped and taken to the home of a super rich business magnate, intent on trialling his latest machine. Obviously The Master interferes with the machine and uses it to turn every single person on earth into…well, into himself. It’s all a bit silly (even for Doctor Who) and even the closing revelation of Timothy Dalton as the returning classic series character Rassilon cannot save this episode.