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Doctor Who - The Next Doctor - 2008 Christmas Special | 
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| Actors: David Tennant, David Morrisey
Studio: 2 Entertain Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £15.99
Buy New: £10.98
You Save: £5.01 (31%)
Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 142
Format: Pal
Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Number Of Items: 1
EAN: 5051561029035
ASIN: B001MGUABU
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: January 19, 2009 (In 11 Days)
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Not yet released
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Broadcast under intense speculation as to whether it would lead to David Morrissey taking over the title role, Doctor Who: The Next Doctor actually turned out to be a really enjoyable Christmas special for the show, crammed with action, ideas and solid family entertainment. The premise of The Next Doctor, that there are two Doctors on the go, is set up early, as Tennant’s Doctor encounters Morrissey’s character wielding a screwdriver, talking of the TARDIS and fighting foes. This allows Tennant to slip into the role of the assistant, and his double act with Morrissey is excellent, with the latter making the most of a meaty, evolving role. Also winning the acting plaudits though is the baddie of the piece, played by Dervla Kirwan. She’s scene-stealingly good here, and is the most sinister foe on offer in The Next Doctor. Next to her, the returning cybermen looking surprisingly tame, even when considering the surprises that the episodes throws up as it enters its final act. The Next Doctor isn’t a perfect episode by any means, and the terrific Christmas Invasion is surely the best Yuletide instalment to date. But it’s an entertaining, busy and ambitious hour, and worth seeing for Morrissey and Kirwan alone. Rollicking good stuff, even if the cybermen seem to quickly need another reboota –-Jon Foster
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 "The 2 Davids" January 5, 2009
The 1st story to be shown since David T announced his departure is the usual enjoyable Christmas romp. A good if slightly muddled story with some great performances, good production values and a fun dose of good old who bafflegab. The best device in some time was the data stamp. This is a device that holds masses of info in various
formats-a bit like I-pods for Cybermen. It gave rise to a special moment as we got a glimpse of each Doctor from Billy Hartnell to Chris!
Well you can't have missed that David Morrisey is not going to be the Next Doctor but for anyone who missed both transmissions, I won't reveal his identity. Morrisey was great as an initially bumptious, arrogant and self confident figure (not so unlike the Colin Baker doctor) who later becomes a more vulnerable figure. He made the transition a believable one and had evident chemistry with his ex- Blackpool colleague David T.
A great companion too in Velite Thsabafala's Rosita. I think you missed a trick not having her jump in the Tardis at the end people!
The Cybermen have invaded Victorian London wityh the help of Miss Hartigan. Played by Dervla Kirwan she made an excellent villainess, believably ordering the Cybermen about. Ironic that as a feminist villainess she should turn to the most male of all the classic monsters- I mean they're not called Cyber People are they?
The Cybermen were well used in a scrit reviving 2 Cyber traditsions. 1: limited screen time and dialoge-they work better that way and 2: Vulnerablility to their own devices (a tradition going back to their 1st story). I wonder do they delete their Cyber designers frequently due to this issue?
The Cyber Shades were a great addition to the cyber mythos- bronze masked and jumping about like animals. I hope they are explored further in a future story.
I'm not sure about the logic of their "I'd Do Anything" plan to have the work done in their factories by children though.
We will all miss David T, here playing the Doctor at his most lonely. He seems resigned here to travelling without companions. Another great performance from Mr. Tennant who seems especially enthused when his Doctor's an action hero.
Some noteworthy camerawork framing Cybermen in enclosed spaces like doorways and staircases and some atmospheric lighting.
A fun adventure.
Dr Who at the Proms is a confirmed extra, much like the Chidren in Need Concert it's a fun event with carfeully selected pieces being played by a live orchestra and monsters stpmoning about the Royal Albert Hall. Freema Agyeman is a charming host with guest appearances from Catherine Tate & Davros plus a specially filmed mini adventure.
The Music of the Spheres sees the Graske appear in the tardis drawing the Doctor's attention to a hole in space and time which he can see the Albert Hall audience through. Charming fun.
I think they should consider a similar event for classic who music too-come back Dudley Simpson!
If you are a proms and Dr Who fan, you may need medical help containing yourself if not you'll find it fun anyway.
A good package with wide appeal.
 An episode of 2 halves or the Doctor's 'Moonraker' January 4, 2009
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I thought the first half of this episode was gripping and quite chilling (graveyard scene). The premise was excellent and the cybermen are always a good bet for some good bad guys. The casting and interplay between Tennant and Morrisey was a highlight and it was all building up so nicely including good sets and atmosphere. Sadly it started going wrong when the cybermen started using workhouse kids to do their work for them. "The cybermen are metal robots who don't get tired, why are they using fragile under fed kids?" I thought, and then the cyberking, of which I was expecting something quite frightening, rose up like something laughable from a cheap godzilla movie. I honestly thought i'd fallen asleep and Wallace and Gromit had started (it reminded me of a close shave).
In half an hour RTD had stripped any menace the cybermen had, and perhaps ever will have. It was as if RTD had run out of ideas so tried to make it look spectacular instead. However, the last scene was great it's a pity the rest of my family had fallen asleep. This was Dr Who's Moonraker.
mediocre January 3, 2009
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Kinda dissapointing, the new doctor who episodes are supposed to grab us and take us on an endless climatic roller coaster, but this was just average. The cybermen were back... again. notice the use of exact same costumes - they were too lazy to re-design them but at least they gave a pathetic reason. Also as some people on here have said the fluffy cybermen things are very archaic and laughable. However david tennents charm and loveability bring the episode back up to average - too bad he's leaving soon. Lets hope the new doctor will live up to his standards or maybe stephen moffat can write better than russel T. Davis (god knows most people can _)
 NICE IDEA BUT ..... YOU FAIL MISERABLY January 3, 2009
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
When I heard that the Christmas special was going to feature the Cybermen I was overjoyed.
Unfortunately, what could have been a good storyline descended into a farce when the so-called Cyber King was nothing more than a towering robotic figure. Oh, and whilst I'm on the subject the special effects were awful.
Now that I'm in full flow there was no explanation as to the furry creatures with cyber faces similar to those of earlier cybermen from the Patrick Troughton era. The storywriters seem to forget that if you introduce a character or figure into the storyline then it makes sense to explain who or what they are. For some reason the storywrite chose to ignore this train of thought.
Now don't get me wrong. The episode was reasonably good. David Morrissey as the other Doctor was brilliant and I had hoped he was going to become the next resident of the Tardis. To my horror, BBC announced earlier this evening that he will not. PITY!
The Cybermen were good and it was interesting to see the newly vamped Cyberleader.
The graveyard scene was very atmospheric and reminded me of the first time the cybermen made their debut in the Tenth Planet with William Hartnell.
All in all the story was reasonable but it could and should have been better. Perhaps it is a case of the storywriters sitting on their laurels. Perhaps a sprig of holly up their (you know what) will motivate them to improve the storylines somewhat in future!
A BIT MESSY LIKE ALL THE OTHER XMAS EPISODES! January 2, 2009
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
This lived up to the usual tradition of the christmas episodes - messy and nowhere near as good as the regular series! Just what were those stupid furry cyber creatures?? Looked more akin to the old shoddy days of the 1980's. To be fair, the scene at the cemetery was actually quite atmospheric but we are talking 5 minutes out of 60 and overall the cybermen were a little dissapointing. It's a pity because as a rule, I tend to prefer the earthbound stories, especially when set in the past.
The ott climax at the end seemed to have been inspired by Talos from Jason & The Argonauts! David Morrisey was actually very good in his part, but David Tennant appears to now be on autopilot/serving notice, Overall, he has been excellent & will be a hard act to follow, but it's clear that the show now needs a refresh. I'm hoping that this year's 'specials' are going to be an improvement but I feel we are going to get a lot of throwing everything bar the kitchen sink into them.
On an incidental note, I enjoyed the Dr Who Prom that was shown on New Years Day, but was a little dissapointed that it had been edited heavily -especially as it's been a few months wait. Will this see a DVD release that is UNCUT???
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