We meet a lot of fans at Retro Festive, pop-culture devotees and Christmas nuts. None are as fanatical as the fans of legendary BBC TV show, Doctor Who! For all you sci-fi fans, we would like to share some of our favourite Doctor Who Christmas connections. And check out the great Canadian connections too!
- Time-travelling Doctor Who was co-created in 1963 by Canadian film and television producer Sydney Newman (who, incidentally, also created The Avengers TV show). When the Doctor Who series re-launched in 2005, in co-production with the CBC, they also began a tradition of producing yearly Christmas Specials.
- “The Christmas Invasion” was the first full episode with David Tennant starring as the Tenth Doctor. This episode, featuring Santa Robots and Killer Christmas Trees, was also the first Doctor Who episode produced specifically for Christmas.
- “The Runaway Bride” was the first appearance of Catherine Tate as the season four companion Donna Noble and the Santa Robots come back!
- “Voyage of the Damned“, the third Christmas special since the show’s revival, starred Kylie Minogue as a waitress named Astrid who must help The Doctor avoid a spaceship collision with the Titanic during a Christmas party.
- “The End of Time Part 1” the last episode with David Tennant, who made his first visit to Canada last September, originally aired on December 25, 2009 and takes place on Christmas eve.
- “A Christmas Carol”, the 2010 Doctor Who Christmas special, was the first Doctor Who episode to premiere on the same day in both the United Kingdom and the United States; December 25, 2010.
- The very first Doctor Who Christmas special aired on Christmas Day in 1965. At the end of the episode The Doctor now-famously breaks the fourth wall by saying: “… a happy Christmas to all of you at home.”
- The 2012 Christmas special “The Snowmen” features a vicious army of snowmen, made of telepathic snow, commanded by the Great Intelligence to take over the world.
9. “The Time of the Doctor” was the 800th episode of Doctor Who, and the final regular appearance of the Eleventh Doctor, played by Matt Smith. In the episode, The Doctor and his companion Clara visit a town called Christmas.
10. As is the tradition to bring in a big guest star, British actor Nick Frost, “Shaun of the Dead” (we have zombies in Canada too) is set to guest star in the 2014 Doctor Who Christmas Special. He has said “I’m such a fan of the show. Every day on set I’ve had to silence my internal fan-boy squeals!”
Whovians can hop into their TARDIS and shop in person at Retro Festive in the Oakville Warehouse Store and the Toronto Christmas Market, or anytime at www.retrofestive.ca/doctor-who!
P.S. It has nothing to do with Christmas but the Doctor Who Information Network holds a monthly Doctor Who meet-up in downtown Toronto, in addition to their Doctor Who blog.
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