10. The Runaway Bride - This was Donna at her silliest, but the moment where the Tenth Doctor stares down the Racnoss was really good. It proved to the audience that Eccleston's fury was very much still a part of the character.
9. The Christmas Invasion - Like with no. 4, there's loads of build-up with a super pay-off. It also serves as a perfect metaphor for the David Tennant era. Most of it is boring Earth stuff and then you get some unforgettable parts that almost seem to have come from heaven itself.
8. The Snowmen - While the ice governess was a bit too much, I loved the idea of bringing the Great Intelligence into Christmas. Richard E. Grant was the perfect Scrooge in this case(now there's an idea...) and of course, credit must also go to the new console room. Not to mention the Doctor's very stylish idea of retirement(living on the clouds...).
7. Voyage Of The Damned - I'm a bit lukewarm to the whole survival movie thing and kind of confused by the Titanic(why does everyone look and act identical to humans?), but the story feels like a real, solid adventure with some David Tennant Gems™ thrown in(I'm talking about the angels lifting him...)
6. The End Of Time, Part One - While the RTD specials focus more on their story than the holiday itself, I thought this one really got the whole "end" thing spot-on. When the Master(hell yeah by default!) hit that barrel, it was like a countdown. And who doesn't love the John Simm Army? The conversations between Wilf and 10th were also very stimulating(and make me wish we had more old people in the TARDIS).
5. Twice Upon A Time - Whilst it is essentially a long-winded epilogue, the multi-Doctor hijinks and the use of the Christmas Truce 1914(harkening back to the First Doctor's historicals) makes it a memorable and fun event.
4. The Time Of The Doctor - Although somewhat clunky, this story makes the wait count(like all Christmas nights when you just can't WAIT for it to come) and gives us brilliant scenes at the clock tower, not to mention the fiery regeneration itself. Matt Smith's final scenes were beautiful(minus the tacky speech) and overall, it was a heck of a romp. A classic, surely. Oh yeah, and Handles is in it.
3. The Next Doctor - The Victorian era gives it the sombre, dark and yet so undeniably Christmas feel these specials deserve for the occasion. The moment when Lake gets his memories back and the clock hits twelve is genius. Plus, it's got the added bonuses of being both a multi-Doctor and a Cyberman story. I love it.
2. The Husbands Of River Song - I know my review wasn't exactly positive, but hindsight is everything. This special managed to perfectly combine festive comedy with the sombre story arc of River Song. The meeting of her and the Twelfth Doctor was played perfectly with much hilarity being derived from her inability to recognise him until the very last heartwarming moment. Their date at the Singing Towers was a lovely final touch.
1. A Christmas Carol - Yes, without a doubt this is the most Christmassy story ever made and one of Moffat's greatest successes. Of course it's based on the best Christmas novel ever, but that's not really what made this story tick. What made it tick was the atmosphere. The alien combined with the Victorian was beautiful, the brightly lit Star Trek-esque bridge was a lovely little tie-in and the Doctor himself was at his best. Christmas is really the Eleventh Doctor's home, ain't it? But I've saved the best for last: the singing. I mean seriously, if you don't feel your eyes moistening up at "Silent Night, Holy Night", you're a Cyberman.
Now I wish the 11th Doctor's last story was called The Night Of The Doctor and featured that song...
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