The Runaway Bride

"I'm late for the wedding. My own wedding!"

Writer: Russell T Davies

Format: TV

Broadcast: 25th December 2006

Series: 2006 Christmas Special

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Donna

Synopsis 

Killer Santas, exploding baubles, an alien spaceship shaped like a giant star - Christmas with the Doctor is anything but a silent night.

It's Christmas Eve and as Donna Noble prepares to walk up the aisle, she soon finds herself in the TARDIS. The Doctor is shocked and soon unravels a plan that dates back to the creation of the Earth and a date with a species long thought dead.

Verdict 

The Runaway Bride was a brilliant episode and was exactly what a Christmas Special should be. It was fun, entertaining and told a terrific story. After the emotional Series 2 finale that was Army of Ghosts/Doomsday, this was a much changed atmosphere and whilst Donna was initially horrified by missing her wedding, she came to find great comfort in the Doctor which I thought was nice. I thought the episode really showed a lot of character development for the Tenth Doctor and losing Rose really has had quite the effect on him. Donna arriving in the the TARDIS so soon after the Doctor said farewell to his companion was good for him because it kept him occupied and she made him realise that he needs someone with him. This episode's importance would be explored further in Turn Left but Donna being quite scared of the Doctor really had quite an impact and set in the realisation of how dangerous he can be when travelling alone. The first quarter of the episode was a lot of fun with the Doctor and Donna getting acquainted with themselves. I loved how she kept referring to him as a Martian and the way she reacted to his scanning with the sonic screwdriver was terrific. She really was challenging him like no other before her. Catherine Tate is a great actress and having her perform the entire episode in her wedding dress was rather humorous. The scene on the motorway where she jumps from taxi to TARDIS was very good and I loved the inclusion of the children watching from the car. That was a real nice touch. The return of the Robot Santas was very good after their inclusion in The Christmas Invasion and I liked how the Doctor referenced that story's events. Donna constantly missing the big picture in life is interesting and it's not too dissimilar to Amy Pond not remembering the Daleks after the events of The Stolen Earth/Journey's End. I also enjoyed the Doctor's mention of a Slitheen when trying to work out how Donna came aboard the TARDIS and thought it could be something to do with her husband to be. Lance did have a lot to do with that by filling her with huon particles. The age of the Racnoss was fantastic and I liked how they had history with the Time Lords. The Empress of the Racnoss was horrified when she found out that the Doctor was from Gallifrey, with his home planet being named on screen for the first time since the revival. The continuation of the Torchwood arc was good and I liked how we got the first mention of "Mr Saxon" in a story, setting up things for Series 3. The Doctor taking Donna right back to the formation of the Earth was superb and I liked how the Racnoss didn't plant something at the centre of the planet, they became it. Now that is ambitious and quite a hiding place! But now the Empress had returned and it was time for her children to wake up. Lance was fed to them but the Doctor saved Donna. He then drained the Thames in quite humorous fashion and saw the Racnoss drowned. He upheld his duty as a Time Lord and wouldn't allow the threat to be released, even if acted quite maliciously. He gave them a choice but they declined peace. That was something the Doctor didn't like. The ending with him making it snow on Christmas was nice. Overall, an excellent episode! And it wouldn't be long before we saw Donna again.

Rating: 9/10