Doctor Who: Ranking The Christmas Specials

Is Voyage Of The Damned objectively better than some of the specials listed below it? Probably not. Do we care? No. Why? Because it's bloody iconic, that's why.

Voyage Of The Damned is a campy, cheesy, totally over-the-top disaster movie that nails the Christmas-day-viewing formula better than any other special. It's designed completely for the casual viewer, sitting down with the family at the end of a long Christmas day to watch some fun, blockbuster trash.

This, coupled with the show being at the absolute peak of its mainstream appeal, might explain why this episode, to this day, holds the record for the highest viewing figures in the history of the show. The stunt casting of Kylie Minogue might have also helped, and when we say stunt casting, we aren't being negative. On the contrary, she's a lot of fun.

There isn't an episode of the show that has been this accessible to the general audience, before or since. It's 100% self contained, with no familiarity required, and has a colourful supporting cast that cover every character archetype you'll ever see in Doctor Who: the young girl who wants to explore the stars, the crotchety old professor, the sweet-but-almost-definitely-doomed couple, that one business guy who's a dick for no reason and, of course, the token alien.

Clichéd as they all are, they are a vital ingredient in the runaway success of this episode. For those who have been living under a rock, it even establishes exactly who the Doctor is in one of the most replayed moments ever - you know the one.