Doctor Who-Voyage of the Damned

Directed by James Strong

Starring David Tennant, Kylie Minogue, Geoffrey Palmer, Russell Tovey, George Costigan, Gray O’Brien, Andrew Havill , Bruce Lawrence, Debbie Chazen, Clive Rowe, Clive Swift and Jimmy Vee

Still recovering from the apocalyptic events of the previous season and alone after Martha voluntarily leaves him, the Doctor is finishing repairs on the TARDIS. Until, that is, two impossible things happen at once...

It’s slightly unusual for a Christmas special to get a DVD release to itself, but then again, Voyage of the Damned is a slightly unusual Christmas special. The longest episode of the new series to date, clocking in at a whopping seventy two minutes, it’s both a love letter to every epic ‘70s disaster movie ever made and a pretty solid, if occasionally mildly frustrating, examination of the Doctor as a character.

Set aboard, well, if not the Titanic then certainly a Titanic, the story revolves around the Doctor, as so frequently happens, finding himself in the wrong place at the right time. The ship, owned by Max Capricorn Cruises, is parked above Earth on an ‘experience’ cruise and the passengers are being taken down to the planet in groups by tour guide Mr Copper (Swift). The first problem is that Mr Copper seems a little...misinformed about the planet and the second problem, known initially only to Midshipman Alonzo Frame (Tovey) is that the Captain appears to be setting the ship up for certain destruction. Just as the Doctor finds himself getting to know waitress Astrid Peth (Minogue), likable married couple the Van Hoffs (Chazen and Rowe) and abrasive space yuppie Rickston Slade (O’Brien), the inevitable happens. Trapped in a burning ship, the survivors must not only try to escape, but also stop the Titanic from wiping out all life on Earth, survive the murderous attentions of the ship’s robotic crew, The Host and find out why the disaster happened in the first place.

Davies’ clearly revels in the traditions of the genre and with good reason. From corporate skullduggery to casual, brutal death and the heroic sacrifice of several characters this is Doctor Who at its most epicc and also most operatic. The Host, the angelic robots that are turned against the survivors, are particularly good fun and the sequence where the survivors are forced to fend the Host, and their deadly, razor sharp halo-a-rangs, off whilst crossing a perilous bridge of wreckage is pure pulp glee captured on film. Davies has talked about how this script would make an effective movie and he’s absolutely right, everything is bigger, broader, larger in scale and the end result is that Tennant’s Doctor is re-cast as a surprisingly effective action hero. He has a natural authority and physical presence that really drives the story along whilst still remaining absolutely true to the character as presented to date.

Of the rest of the cast, Kylie Minogue has inevitably got most of the attention and, unfairly, most of the criticism. Her Astrid is a surprisingly grounded, pragmatic character, a calm, pragmatic woman with dreams of something better for herself. She has an easy, natural charm and her scenes with Tennant have genuine chemistry and warmth. Astrid is a near perfect fit for a companion, and the fact that she and the Doctor work so well together gives the closing scenes in particular real emotional impact.

Russell Tovey, best known for his superb turns in The History Boys and the BBC’s own Being Human also turns in great work as Midshipman Frame. Like Astrid, he’s a pragmatic, normal figure in a completely abnormal situation and his heroism is all the more affecting for that. Likewise, the Van Hoffs, played with absolute honesty and absolute charm by Rowe and Chazen are grounded, average people who deserve better than the horror show they find themselves trapped in. Even Rickston Slade, played with slimy aplomb by O’Brien, is likable if only because you want to find out exactly how self-serving he can be. Geoffrey Palmer also scores as Captain Hardaker, bringing emotional weight and gravity to a role less than twenty lines long, whilst George Costigan’s turn as Max Capricorn is exactly as over the top as it needs to be.

Only Clive Swift as Mr Copper strikes a bum note. He’s something of a caricature in a story pleasantly free of them and whilst his final scenes are nicely played, the character’s degree in ‘Earthomomics’ never really feels like anything more than an extended joke.

Despite this, there’s a huge amount to enjoy here. The acting is top notch, the production design, on the Titanic exteriors in particular is nothing short of astounding and the script manages to honour its influences, do something new with the series and still serve its characters well as well as folding in some great jokes about how these days, Christmas in London isn’t exactly fun. Whilst there are problems and not nearly enough is explained for some fans’ tastes, this is a consistently impressive, epic story that, simply put, is tremendous fun.

Special mention should also be made to ‘Timecrash’, this year’s Children in Need Special. Included as a special feature, Steven Moffat’s five minute story not only slots in between ‘The Last of the Timelords’ and ‘Voyage of the Damned’ with incredible ease but also manages to tell a story which simultaneously honours the past of the series but also draws a clear line between it and the series’ present. Funny, touching and crammed with some lovely nods to fans (The justification for why the TARDIS looks different is very nearly worth buying the DVD all by itself) it’s quietly, a classic moment in the series’ history. Rounded out with the Christmas edition of Doctor Who Confidential this is epic scale entertainment with heart, humour and invention. Which, fundamentally, is what the series is all about. Recommended.

Alasdair Stuart