8. The Empress Of Racnoss Was Meant To Look Like A Bride
The Creature You Know: Christmas Day has become a dreaded event for Whovians. Sometimes youll get lucky (The Snowman, The Christmas Invasion) and the highly watched Christmas special will be something interesting, but for the most part it panders down to those not au fait with the show so drunk relatives dont spend an hour confused (The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe, The End Of Time). The Runaway Bride was somewhere in the middle, the impressive Empress Of The Racnoss cool origin offsetting Catherine Tates screaming Donna.
The Early Design You Dont: While the Racnoss ship being central to the Earths creation led to a cool villain plot, the design of the big spider herself was pretty generic. The biggest costume ever made for the show, it originally was going to tie much more into the wedding theme of the episode. Instead of a massive crown, the Empress was intended to have something closer to a genetic tiara, with lace webbing covering her face. According to concept artist Peter McKinstry intended to invoke Miss Havisham, it would have worked as a great parallel to the wedding dressed Donna and made the villain, not just her motives, memorable.