Two Doctors meeting? No it’s not the set up for a Chevy Chase & Dan Akroyd movie. It’s the Doctor Who Christmas special “The Next Doctor” but is he?
The tenth Doctor meeting his replacement may not seem so strange in universe where time travel is only a phone call away, but what is strange is this latest incarnation doesn’t seem to recognize his former self.
And even if you didn’t know David Tennant was signed on for 4 more episodes, it was painfully obvious this was not the next Doctor.
In addition to the long-winded speeches, which make him sound like a con artist, this “Doctor” is missing all the trademark tools of a Time Lord. Well, he does have a sonic screwdriver but it’s just a regular screwdriver that he calls a sonic screwdriver. And as for this Doctor’s version of the TARDIS… let’s just say he’s full of hot air.
To his credit, writer Russell T Davies uses some splendid misdirection like when the Doctor tells his doppleganger how his memories may be locked within his fog watch, while that intense music that tells you something special is about to happen plays in the background, but upon closer inspection the watch comically falls apart.
Much like the other Christmas specials, “The Next Doctor” is more about fun than substance just like Xmas (zing). We’ll just have to wait till 2010 for the real ‘next Doctor’ and my money is still on a sassy old black woman (see The Eleventh Doctor).
