10 Best Christmas TV Episodes You Can Watch On Netflix

9. Doctor Who - "The Christmas Invasion"

friends christmas
BBC Studios

The first ever Doctor Who Christmas special nailed the formula from the get-go. Big alien invasion story, heaps of Christmas symbolism and beloved returning characters in the form of Harriet Jones, Jackie Tyler and Mickey Smith.

The Christmas Invasion was not just tasked with creating the template for modern day Doctor Who Christmas specials but having to introduce the new Doctor: David Tennant. The bravest decision that Russell T. Davies made was to drastically limit the screen time for Tennant, who aside from five minutes of dialogue, spends most of the story in bed. Keeping the audience - and Rose - waiting throughout the whole episode until the glorious emergence of the 10th Doctor in the final moments was a bold creative choice but completely worth the wait.

Aside from a simple yet tense invasion story, the episode manages to introduce some brilliant Christmas imagery - deadly Christmas trees, killer Santas! - and successfully transition between the Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant era of NuWho thanks to the always superb Billie Piper as Rose Tyler.

In this post: 
Friends
 
Posted On: 
Contributor

An avid cinephile, love Trainspotting (the film, not the hobby), like watching bad films ironically (The Room, Cats) and hate my over-reliance on brackets (they’re handy for a quick aside though).