Tyypo I am going to have to side with remembrapril and his review. Yes, it was interesting and touching in many ways, but it violated a Cardinal Rule of Doctor Who continuity. That is: The Doctor cannot intentionally go back in time to make his present situation more favorable. That has been stated repeatedly. For instance, after the death of Adric at the end of Earthshock, The Doctor cannot go back in time to save him. If this is something that becomes a trend, it can easily become a deus ex machina plot device that can be used as a "get out of jail free card" in any circumstance. In fact, if he fails to do this in future episodes, then it will beg the question, "why doesn't he just go back in time and...?" The precedent has been set. As a stand-alone time story in the general "time travel" genre, it works. As a Doctor Who episode, it fails.

shadowman-4 I am a great fan of Dr Who and think that the new lineud's great and Mr Moffatt is a breath of fresh air from repetitive offerings of Mr T.Davies. So initially I was really looking forward to this and then I'd read somewhere it was going to be 'A Christmas Carol' with Sharks! My hopes were lowered at that point and I thought 'Hmmm', but I'll give it a chance. Wish I hadn't. IMHO the BBC signed up a couple of stars and then thought "How can we spin a story around these 2?", so they came up with a Christmas Carol (for pity's sake, just leave it will you, I'm sick of renditions of this average morality tail) and a flying shark. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? Gambon acted well as usual. Matt Smith was wasted. Katherine Kenkins tried (God Bless her), but she's not an actress. Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill may as well have not bothered turning up, they had no role to play. Far too much time spent on Christmas past and almost nothing on Christmas Present and Future. Unexplained character actions (why all the face slapping/non-slapping?) Flying Sharks? Maybe I missed something, but I get the impression I watched a different program to those who raved about it. I just hope the next season is better.

Maarten Labeeuw Highly entertaining and perfectly fitting for Christmas.Takes an old tale and masterfully reinvents it, meshing it seamlessly with the Doctor Who look and feel. Where many try to simply shift the story into a new setting, and by so doing botch the underlying message of the tale or make it so blatantly obvious as to strip it of all of its poetry, the Doctor Who team have managed to make it entirely their own while keeping its simple elegance.This once again reaffirms my belief that Doctor Who is one of the best series on television in quite some time, even after having watched now for five years, each new episode continues to be new and refreshing.One comment on the music ... beautifully executed, and magnificently sung by Katherine Jenkins ... did anyone else get the impression that "Abigail's Song" was strongly influenced by Philip Glass' "Open the Kingdom"?

iancampbell72 Have just finished watching, and it was a touching, sometimes funny, but at no time was it cloying or overly sentimental. It whipped along at a good pace, and the performance were all good from Gambon, which was only to expected, to Katherine Jenkins, who for someone who had never really acted before was a very pleasant surprise, even if she did have to sing to a shark, but that is not as silly as it sounds when you see why in the last ten minutes. The ending is sad, but in a way uplifting, and you try not to have a lump in your throat, or a slight tear in your eye. .Enjoy