Typically not understated in any way, the 2008 Christmas Special might not have been on the same scale as the Voyage Of The Damned the year before, but it did boast one giant villainous threat and one more artfully crafted in the shape of Dervla Kirwan's Miss Hartigan. The best of the episode was the delightful hint at David Morrissey's almost steam punk Next Doctor (revealed of course to be nothing of the sort), but for a while the ruse was delicious. In him and Miss Hartigan, the episode boasted surprising stars, especially with the Cybermen clanking around as well: but they were more subtle and more artfully presented, and this seemed like a change in direction (even if the heralded new dawn never quite came in the long term). And that image of the giant lumbering Cyberman will be memorable for a long time, even if it's not always for the right reasons.
