Pluskylang Great Film overall

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Phillida Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

pjgs200 The Christmas Invasion is a fantastic episode of Doctor Who. It's funny, mysterious, the Sycorax make for great villains, and the ending is phenomenal. Harriet Jones was once again an awesome character; Penelope Wilton is a really great actress. The scene where all of the people are being controlled by the Sycorax and are about to jump was executed very well by the directors- it was really tense and a dark turn for the episode. The spinning Christmas trees and the brass players were also memorable. The Christmas Invasion was a 7/10 for the first 30 or so minutes. The last half of the episode was where it got really, really good. One of my favorite scenes of the episode was when David Tennant came out of the Tardis and challenged the Sycorax to a battle. I liked Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor (he was my introduction to Doctor Who), but Tennant just owns the role and relishes every moment on screen. From the moment he came out of the Tardis to the moment the episode ended I couldn't stop smiling. I love action and fight scenes in Doctor Who (which doesn't do much of them), so it was fantastic to see the Doctor duel with the Sycorax on top of the spaceship. I loved the ending, where the ship leaves and Harriet Jones, the Doctor, Mickey, Jackie and Rose all exchange hugs and boast about the defeat of the aliens. That scene was just so awesome; the characters are all so great, and the scene was a really feel-good ending to the episode. Harriet Jones calling in Torchwood to fire at the ship was a good scene; it was well acted and it develops her character by showing how willing she is to keep the world and Britain safe. Billie Piper and David Tennant have great chemistry as well, and the part when Harriet Jones calls the Tenth Doctor "My Doctor" was really nice.The Christmas Invasion is pretty much everything I like about Doctor Who in 60 minutes: it has awesome action and fight sequences, hilarious moments, well rounded, memorable and recurring characters, great visuals, a feel-good ending, AND it's a fantastic and really fun way to introduce the new Doctor, with the perfect mix of camp and dramatic sequences. The Christmas Invasion isn't a perfect 10/10, but it gets pretty close!

Paul Evans This instantly picks up where The Parting of the ways left us, Tennant is now the Doctor and suffering trauma from his regeneration. Rose heads for her mum's place to spend Christmas but is soon being chased by Robotic killer Santas and lethal Christmas trees. The Sycorax make their first and only appearance, positioning their ship above London and controlling people with A+ blood. PM Harriet Jones pleas for the Doctor's help, who is bed ridden. The Doctor recovers in the nick of time to save the day.The humour once again belongs to Jackie and Mickey, there are some great lines throughout, my favourites being Jackie's 'I'm gona get killed by a Christmas tree,' and Harriet's 'did we ask about the Royal family, oh they're on the roof,' love it!! The concept of the killer Santas acting as pilot fish for something bigger is a clever one. Harriet Jones (love or hate I know) shines once again, she goes from scatty and lovable to cool, controlled and scared at the end where she destroys the Sycorax. The Sycorax themselves are extremely well designed. We only get about 16 true minutes of David Tennant, but what we get is brilliant. Moment of the episode must be the destruction of the Sycorax ship, and the Doctor's reaction to Harriet.The imagery again is superb, it looks so good, its production values are extremely high, the scene of the mass of people walking onto the rooftops is a very powerful one. I applaud the Christmas Invasion for its originality, it would become the format for the annual seasonal adventure. Had this one not worked it would never have recurred. The Christmas link is well devised, it doesn't feel forced. It's a great episode, with some real high points, it's hard really to pick fault with it.What is the significance of the 6 words? was it paranoia that caused Harriet's demise?I was a huge Eccleston fan, but it wasn't long before Tennant surpassed Eccleston in the role to become arguably the best Doctor to date. I can remember watching the Coming Soon trailer, and being utterly blown away by it.9/10

bob the moo Fresh from a transformation, the Doctor and Rose return to Earth to spend Christmas with her family. However when trees and Santa's start playing up it is apparent that this is no ordinary Christmas and some sinister force is at work. Still in a weakened state, the Doctor loses consciousness and cannot be revived by Rose. Meanwhile a spaceship positions itself above London and uses some power to control a large section of the population and make them stand on high buildings, ready to jump. The Prime Minister is desperate but seems left with no option but to make a deal with the powerful Sycorax.I watched this special again last week on UK Gold, away from the hype and worry that came with it the first time round. This was the bridge between the "first" "new" series and the second or, more importantly, the bridge between Eccleston being the Doctor and David Tennant taking over the reins. As such there was always going to be an element of making that leap and then also the emphasis on Tennant making the role his own so that the new series could just start with the majority of the fuss over and done with. The first half of the special keeps the Doctor tucked away and builds the plot while also using this as a way of emphasising his entrance when it comes. The story is a good one which does more or less manage to bring in all the elements that the family audience (and big audience at that time of the year) requires. Although it is obviously restricted by the child element of the audience, the tension is built well and the aliens have a genuine threat. The spinning trees etc were all a bit silly but I suppose that does seem to come with the territory now.Of course the big thing in the special was Tennant and I have to say that this didn't win me over to him. As his seasons at the helm continue I have come to like him more but I suspect that has an element of me accepting him rather than him being brilliant. Here I felt he was too over-the-top and I wanted someone to tell him that just because it was Christmas it didn't mean he had to go over the top as if he was in panto at Blackpool. This is maybe a bit harsh but in the series he tends to get a mix of this and quieter stuff to work with to act as balance – for most of his short time here he does rather overplay it somewhat. Of course it works for the type of thing this special is aiming for but viewers who like their sci-fi to be a little darker will have been worried by his appearance in this manner – particularly coming after the slightly grittier turn from Eccleston. Piper continues to be as good as she was in her first season and it is to her credit that she does pick up well with her new co-star. Wilton Jones was good as the PM but Clarke's Mickey continues to grate somewhat.Overall then an good special that does the two things it sets out to do (entertain the family and get the new Doctor in the door and settled before the new season starts) and does it in a reasonable good way even if no one part of it is done really well. Fits well with the tone of the season that followed it though.

trekkstr I wonder if the character of Danny Llewellyn is in reference to Robert Llewellyn who played the android "Kryten" on "Red Dwarf"? And major Blake of U.N.I.T. reference to "Blake" from 'Blake's Seven"? Just a thought. I will look for other references as time goes on.I really liked this episode. One it brought back U.N.I.T. and mentioned the spin off show, Capt Jack will be part of "Torchwood". I hope U.N.I.T. will be part of the show more often as they were with the second and fourth doctors. It will be good to see Capt Jack back as part of his own spin-off show. A very different character type that you don't see in any "Dr. Who" episodes. Trekkstr