Review: 'Doctor Who' - Voyage Of The Damned

When the Titanic burst through the wall of the Tardis at the tail end of "Doctor Who’s" third season in "The Last of the Time Lords," it looked like this Christmas fans would get to see David Tennant setting off on an exciting voyage across the Atlantic as part of the first and final journey of the infamous unsinkable.

But Russell T. Davies does like to mix things up and, as the camera pans out of the blue police box, we are treated to a wonderful shot of the starship Titanic – an alien cruise liner filled with upper-class tourists from a variety of alien worlds – as it soars above Earth’s atmosphere.

It’s a wonderful shot with some fantastic effects from the talented people at The Mill and carries with it some of the romanticism of the original Titanic story with a slightly magical touch that comes with Christmas.

And just like last Christmas, “Voyage of the Damned” introduces another guest companion to assist the Doctor on his festive adventure.

It has been almost a decade since Kylie Minogue has appeared in a substantial production outside of her singing career, and so it was a pleasant surprise to learn that she still carries the same charm and elegance that helped make her a superstar.

Davies effortlessly works her character of Astrid into the show as the hired help aboard the luxury liner and manages to create a fresh and fun relationship between her and The Doctor that is both fresh and different from Rose, Donna and of course Martha.

Unfortunately, the fun doesn’t last forever because after the rocked out Christmas version of the opening credits, it becomes clear that there is something more sinister at work other than intolerance towards the working classes of the galaxy. Queue a meteor storm, a captain with nothing to lose and a galactic billionaire looking for revenge and the voyage of the S.S Titanic is destined to become the voyage of the damned.

As the meteors hit, The Doctor and Astrid embark on a “Poseidon”-like adventure in a desperate attempt to survive the disaster and learn who exactly is responsible.

Talk about this story