The Next Doctor

"The CyberKing will rise!"

Writer: Russell T Davies

Format: TV

Broadcast: 25 December 2008

Series: 2008 Christmas Special 

Featuring: Tenth Doctor

Synopsis 

Christmas Eve, 1851, and Cybermen stalk the snow of Victorian London, but when the Doctor meets another claiming to be him, the two must combine forces to stop the rise of the CyberKing...

Verdict 

The Next Doctor is a very good Christmas Special! It is probably not the greatest of returns for the Cybermen as somehow they feel like they’re in the background despite the entire episode building towards the rise of the Cyber King, but it’s still a very solid story. I really like the Victorian London setting and having it at Christmas is delightful. It really looks terrific and the snow just adds to the festive feel of the episode which would otherwise be deemed pretty dark. It’s unusual in that this doesn’t feel upbeat or Christmassy in the slightest but at the fourth time of asking, I think that’s fine and there are only so many Christmas episodes where you can have a good feeling. I absolutely love the first fifteen minutes or so of this episode with Jackson Lake thinking himself to be the Doctor. It’s tremendous. The Doctor arriving in Victorian London and almost instantly hearing his name called was fantastic and the smile on his face was magnificent. He loved a bit of danger and trepidation! Rosita was a really good character as the would be companion of the apparent next Doctor, but it’s certainly he who steals the show. David Morrisey is marvellous in providing his take on how he’d be the Doctor and whilst he wouldn’t actually be a future incarnation, it’s a wonderful glimpse of what he could have been. I think he’s excellent and I’d certainly have been okay with him being the Doctor at some point. The Tenth Doctor’s reaction to seeing him action is very good and I loved how he happy he seemed to be encountering what he considered a future incarnation. The chase scene with the Cyber Shade dragging them along on the rope and their subsequent reaction was brilliant. That’s the Doctor at his best. The concept of the Shades themselves was decent and perhaps a bit more ought to have been made of them. I get that these were the last of the Cybermen from the parallel Earth so resources were thin, but did they really need converted animals? I absolutely love the design of the Cyber Leader here and with the infamous black helmet looking splendid, the use of the clear casing to see the brain is a stark reminder of the Cybermen’s humanity. I’m not entirely sure about the logic of wanting to serve a Cyber King, but it’s good that the Doctor recognised it and that it was a dreadnought ship. The first line of defence. The design is somewhat questionable and it’s probably a little wrong to judge it harshly considering it was fifteen years ago now, but I have to say it’s something of a guilty pleasure. When Eaglemoss first announced it as one of their special edition figurines I just had to have it but unfortunately the issue in my local WH Smith that day was damaged. It took me about seven years to finally obtain it! It now sits nicely alongside my Cyber Shade figurine and Cyber Leader figure. Miss Hartigan here is a ruthless villain and she’s the true enemy of the special. The moment she becomes King is very good and the black eyes really sell her evilness. I was impressed. I think the info stamps are a good source of knowledge and I love the one on the Doctor as we see all ten incarnations up to this point. Like my rewatching of all modern episodes in the last couple of years, I watched alongside my girlfriend Gemma and it’s fair to say she wasn’t a huge fan of this one which is a shame. Admittedly it does probably go on for too long but seeing the Doctor work out bit by bit what’s happened to Jackson Lake and all he’s lost is well done. The fob watch gaff is fun but the TARDIS being a hot air balloon and him just having an ordinary screwdriver are slightly silly. It’s good natured fun though! I can’t fault it too much. The build to the conclusion is good and the Doctor not being happy with Hartigan for driving him to this point was decent. I love that Jackson wants to ensure the Doctor is thanked this time around as he knows everything he does and sacrifices. Overall, a very good episode! 

Rating: 8/10