Can I skip this year's Doctor Who Christmas special?

June 24, 2011 7:52 AM

Doctor Who continuity: How important is it that I watch "A Christmas Carol" before the Series 6 DVDs? And if so, where can I obtain it as legally and cheaply as possible? [In case it isn't obvious, I haven't seen anything after "The Big Bang" yet, so let's try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible]

I usually watch my Doctor Who via Netflix DVDs. As far as I can tell, Netflix will be releasing the Series 6 episodes that have aired to date (up to "A Good Man Goes to War") starting on 7/19, but this collection doesn't include "A Christmas Carol". In fact, as far as I can tell, Netflix doesn't have this special available in any format. So as I see it, my options are either:

1. Skip the special and dive in to the proper Series 6. Keep an eye out for Netflix to make this show available via streaming or DVD and watch it then.
2. Beg, borrow, steal, or purchase the special from some (ideally legal) outlet, and watch it before the Series 6 DVDs.

For those of you who have already watched all of these episodes: which option do you think is best? Are there Major Plot Developments in "A Christmas Carol" that make it worthwhile/essential to watch first, or can I just skip it until it's available via Netflix? And, if Option 2 is the best, what would be the best place to obtain it? (I'm in the United States, if that affects your answer.)

posted by Johnny Assay to Media & Arts (14 answers total)

Best answer: From a continuity standpoint, it's indeed okay to hold off until you can get it on Netflix. It's got some cute moments, but no plot points you'd be missing.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:54 AM on June 24, 2011

In fact, I think a lot of the "Christmas" episodes tend to have more of a "standalone" feel to them anyway -- the only one that really had serious bearing on stuff that came later was Donna Noble's first appearance, but they did a good job of catching you up to who and what her story was when she came back later at the top of Season 4, so if you hadn't seen "Runaway Bride" it was okay.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:56 AM on June 24, 2011

It's standalone.
posted by rmd1023 at 8:00 AM on June 24, 2011

Best answer: Yep - definitely standalone. I didn't see it until I'd seen several season 6 episodes.
posted by jb at 8:01 AM on June 24, 2011

Yep, you're fine. As far as watching it, is it available from Amazon Streaming Video? I had to rent one of the David Tennant specials that way that Netflix inexplicably didn't have.
posted by sugarfish at 8:04 AM on June 24, 2011

Best answer: Yup, you don't need to watch the Christmas special before Season 6. But you can download it from Amazon if you really want to!
posted by pemberkins at 8:06 AM on June 24, 2011

Definitely not necessary to watch it first, it was a complete standalone episode. In fact I'd say it was my least favourite of Matt Smith's episodes so far.
posted by maybeandroid at 8:07 AM on June 24, 2011

Oh yeah, no, what you do with "Doctor Who" in America is hoard the Christmas specials until you run out of other "Doctor Who," as the regular episodes must be watched in order within seasons, and also, though less urgently, in order season-by-season. So then when you're all out of "Who" you have a Christmas special, ta-da!

(God bless you for watching legally. I don't know how you manage.)
posted by RJ Reynolds at 8:09 AM on June 24, 2011 [6 favorites]

I'd say skip it. About the only continuity thing I can think of is that Rory inexplicably has Roman armor. But mostly it's just a stand-alone adventure of the Doctor being the Doctor and also being Father Christmas to new characters. I'd even say, "skip it" if it were not for the fact that the series may drop a throw-away reference to it at some point in the future.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 8:35 AM on June 24, 2011

About the only continuity thing I can think of is that Rory inexplicably has Roman armor.

....I thought they kind of implied that it was Amy and Rory's honeymoon and they were in the middle of some kind of...er...."role play" activity.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:04 AM on June 24, 2011

I don't think they "kinda" implied that at all - it was pretty darned overt. And grod bless them for putting Pond in her copper uniform again.

I purchased via Amazon m'self. If you watch the deal sites I feel like there are often Amazon promotions offering watch-instantly credits when you buy other things. Depending on your consumption habits you might snag more than enough credit to cover the $3 cost.
posted by phearlez at 9:17 AM on June 24, 2011

As everyone's said, it's a standalone. Also, as it's a christmas ep it might work better if you're stuffed with food and half cut while watching. Though even being drunk didn't help with the Kylie one.
posted by spectrevsrector at 9:19 AM on June 24, 2011

iTunes has it, too. I really loved this year's Christmas episode.
posted by davextreme at 9:36 AM on June 24, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks for the replies, everyone!

In fact, I think a lot of the "Christmas" episodes tend to have more of a "standalone" feel to them anyway -- the only one that really had serious bearing on stuff that came later was Donna Noble's first appearance, but they did a good job of catching you up to who and what her story was when she came back later at the top of Season 4, so if you hadn't seen "Runaway Bride" it was okay.

Some of them, yes. But David Tennant's first and last (major) appearances were in the specials "The Christmas Invasion" and "The End of Time", which are both pretty important episodes, so that's why I asked.
posted by Johnny Assay at 9:53 AM on June 24, 2011