25 best Christmas TV episodes to watch this holiday season
Doctor Who – “A Christmas Carol”
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has been reimagined a million times before, by everyone from The Simpsons to Mickey Mouse, but when Doctor Who took on the beloved story for their 2010 Christmas special, obviously it had to make it completely unrecognizable from the original story!
Amy and Rory are honeymooning aboard a spaceship with a large number of passengers. They start having some difficulties as they’re flying through the atmosphere of an unknown planet, and the captain doesn’t know what to do. When Amy realizes what’s going on, she calls the Doctor to help them. Soon enough, the TARDIS appears nearby. The intergalactic cruise ship is about to crash, and nobody can help, not even the Doctor.
The only option is to land on the unknown planet below them, but there’s a problem. The planet is controlled by a figure named Kazran Sardick, and he’s the only person he can help them. He controls the atmosphere surrounding the planet, but he refuses to help save the ship. The only way to save Amy, Rory, and everyone else aboard is to convince the grumpy old man to help, and that proves to be difficult.
Sardick is Scrooge-like, hating Christmas and everything it brings. The man lends money to those who need it, but demands a member of their family be given to him in return. This was a greedy practice started by his father which he continued, and he keeps the family members in a cryogenic state until the money was repaid. Obviously this guy has some major issues!
The Doctor decides to go back in time and try to change Sardick’s childhood to make him a happier child and ensure a less bitter old man in the future. When he goes back in time, he releases Abigal from her cryogenic state, whom Sardick falls in love with, and then he returns on Christmas Eve every year to release her to make Sardick happy again. Every year they make a new happy Christmas memory, which helps present-day Sardick be less Scrooge-like.
Abigail’s Christmas visits are cancelled when she reveals she has an incurable disease and only a day to live, and Sardik doesn’t want to risk it. But when the Doctor shows young Sardick his future self and how sad he is, he vows to help save the ship, but it’s only Abigail’s singing (amplified by a sonic screwdriver) that can stabilize the atmosphere enough to save everyone. Even the Scroogiest of people deserve a happy ending on Christmas, even if it’s a little bittersweet.