Doctor Who Christmas Special

Doctor Who Christmas Special is shown on Christmas Day every year since 2005 on BBC 1. This years special will feature the Cybermen.

 Four Christmas Specials have been created so far:

 1. The Christmas Invasion (2005)
 2. The Runaway Bride (2006)
 3. The Voyage of the Dammed (2007)
 4. The Next Doctor (2008)
 5. No Title Yet (2009)

Christmas Special 2008

The Next Doctor (60 minute special) - 25 December 2008 @ 6.00 pm, BBC One
Writer: Russell T. Davies
Director: Andy Goddard

The fourth Doctor Who Christmas special will feature the return of the Cybermen. It is set in the Victorian era and may feature a 'one episode companion' like the Runaway Bride and the Voyage of the Damned. The Christmas Special is written by Russell T Davies and will be on television in the UK on Christmas Day on BBC One. The Christmas Special 2008 will feature David Tenant as the 10th Doctor.

Guest Stars:

David Morrissey: Other/Next Doctor
Dervla Kirwan: Miss Hartigan
Velile Tshabalala: Rosita is the Other Doctors companion

Both Morrisey and Kirwan have starred alongside David Tennant before, in Blackpool and Casanova respectively.

History

The last time the Cybermen were seen in Doctor Who was in the series 2 finale, Army of Ghosts / Doomsday. Filming for the Christmas special was conducted in April 2008 at Gloucester Cathedral and St Woolos Cemetery in Newport.

Journey's End (Final Episode of Series 4)

"Journey's End" was the 13th and final episode of season 4 (series 4) which featured Davros and Daleks. It was broadcast on UK television on 5th July 2008 on BBC 1. At the end of the episode a trailer was added onto the ending credits, showing four clips of the Doctor, a man and a woman (David Morrissey and Dervla Kirwan) and the Cybermen, to promote the 2008 Christmas Special.

The closing credits of the season finale "Journey's End" did not feature a title for the forthcoming Christmas episode of Doctor Who, but only the phrase "Return of the Cybermen".

Cybermen

The Cybermen appear to have the Cybus Logo on their chest, suggesting they are from the parallel world as Cybermen from the Doctors world were not made by Cybus Industries and as such, they should not feature the Cybus insignia.

The Cybermen previously appeared in the two-part finale of series two in 2006, "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday.

Other Doctor

On the Internet there has been speculation that David Morrissey is the 'Other Doctor'. If so, then who is this Other Doctor? Possibilities include:

1. A younger, past incarnation of the Doctor.
Is this Christmas Special a story from the Doctor’s past?

2. A future incarnation of the Doctor.
Is this the face of the 11th Doctor?

3. Impostor
Someone masquerading as the Doctor, but why? Who is he working for?

4. Parallel Universe Doctor from Rose's world.  
This Doctor got stuck on Earth during the Journey’s End episode when Rose was in this universe.

5. Victorian Doctor

6. The Other Doctor could refer to ‘The Other’, a legendary figure in Time Lord history.
The Other has not appeared in the tv series itself. The Other was first mentioned in the novelisation of Remembrance of the Daleks by Ben Aaronovitch.

Who will be the Doctor's Companion?

No info on the companion yet. It could be a one off companion or the companion in 2008 Christmas Special could become a possible long-time companion?

Christmas Special 2007

Voyage of the Damned (60 minute special) - 25 December 2007 @ 7.00 pm
Writer: Russell T. Davies

 Cast:

 The Doctor: David Tennant
 Astrid: Kylie Minogue
 Captain of the Titanic: Geoffrey Palmer
 Max Capricorn: George Costigan
 Mr Copper: Clive Swift
 Bannakaffalatta: Jimmy Vee
 Wilfred Mott: Bernard Cribbins

The story continues from the final scene in 'Last of the Time Lords', in which the ocean liner R.M.S. Titanic breached the walls of the TARDIS. The ship's captain, Hardaker (Geoffrey Palmer), sabotages the ship shortly after the Titanic's collision with the TARDIS. The Doctor (David Tennant) works with a waitress named Astrid Peth (Kylie Minogue) to prevent an imminent collision with Earth.

This episode is dedicated to the late Verity Lambert, the very first producer of Doctor Who. Verity died on 22 November 2007, one day before Doctor Who's 44th anniversary.

In this story, the Doctor for the first time refers to Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous in the new series.

Christmas Special 2006

The Runaway Bride (72 minute special) - 25 December 2006
Writer: Russell T. Davies

 Cast:

 The Doctor: David Tennant
 Donna Noble: Catherine Tate
 Don Gilet: Lance Bennett

As Donna is about to marry her boyfriend Lance on Christmas Eve, she suddenly finds herself on board the TARDIS. As the Doctor tries to get Donna to the church on time, the alien Empress of the Racnoss watches closely from the throne in her spaceship above. How is Donna the key to an ancient plot to destroy the Earth? With time running out, can the Doctor solve the puzzle, defeat the Empress and stop her army of robot Santas?

The story features Catherine Tate as bad-tempered Donna, who appeared in the TARDIS at the end of the previous episode, "Doomsday" of series 2. The Robotic Santa Clauses and Christmas Trees from "The Christmas Invasion" return in this story. The Santas are unmasked for the first time. This is the first time that Gallifrey, the Doctor's home planet, has been referred to by name on screen since the series relaunched in 2005.

Donna declined an invitation to join the Doctor in his travels at the end of this story. However, she returned as the Doctor's as a full-time companion for the duration of the 2008 series (season 4). In "Turn Left" (series 4, episode 11), this Xmas story is revisited with the Doctor and Donna never meeting. We learn that she saved his life when she pleaded with him to leave the Racnoss lair in this episode. If the Doctor had never met Donna, she was never around to get him to leave and the Doctor would have ended up drowning.

Christmas Special 2005

The Christmas Invasion (60 minute special) - 25 December 2005
Writer: Russell T. Davies

 Cast:

 The Doctor: David Tennant
 Rose Tyler: Billie Piper
 Camille Coduri – Jackie Tyler
 Noel Clarke – Mickey Smith
 Penelope Wilton – Harriet Jones

It is Christmas, but there is little cause for celebration as planet Earth is invaded by aliens known as the Sycorax. It's up to Rose and the newly-regenerated Tenth Doctor to save humanity, with a bit of help from her boyfriend Mickey and her mother Jackie. But can Rose trust a man with a new face?

This is the first full episode in which David Tennant appears as the Doctor and also the first specially produced Christmas special in the series history.

Did you know?

* When Is Christmas Day 2008? Christmas Day falls on Thursday, December 25, 2008. Christmas Day is the second-greatest feast day in the Christian calendar (after Easter Sunday), celebrates the nativity, or birth, of Jesus Christ.

* In 2009 Doctor Who will return with three specials starring David Tennant, with Head Writer, Russell T Davies. The full-length fifth series will transmit in 2010.