Doctor Who: Every Russell T Davies Episode Ranked From Worst To Best
23. The Christmas Invasion
RTD’s first Christmas special was also the first full story for the Tenth Doctor.
As the first Doctor Who story to go to town with Christmas, it features loads of iconic festive imagery – from the Robot Santas performing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen to Jackie nearly getting killed by a Christmas tree.
It also has a seriously cool monster. Sycroax ROCK!
There’s just one problem: the Doctor’s barely in it, with the first two-thirds carried by Rose and Harriet Jones.
This was done deliberately to make viewers long for his return, to the point where you forget he’s being played by a brand new actor (Christopher Eccleston who?). And in this regard, it definitely works.
It’s just that, at times, The Christmas Invasion feels more like a Doctor Who spin-off than Doctor Who.
It’s still a decent story. But RTD’s strongest Christmas specials were definitely ones that actually featured the Doctor.