Every Whovian should know that the Christmas season is not complete without a good Doctor Who Christmas Special. Although there are a bunch of really great Christmas Specials, the “Doctor Who – A Christmas Carol” is by far one of NerdiPop’s all-time favorite Christmas episodes. This special episode stars the beautiful and talented Katherine Jenkins as Abigail, flying fish and a flying shark (100% serious!). We love this special and watch it every Christmas Eve.
Because we love this episode so much, we will not be sharing any spoilers in this article.
Synopsis: Amy Pond and Rory Williams are trapped on a crashing space liner, and the only way the Eleventh Doctor can rescue them is to save the soul of a lonely old miser. But is Kazran Sardick, the richest man in Sardicktown, beyond redemption? And what is lurking in the fogs of Christmas Eve?
8 Interesting facts that you might not have known about Doctor Who – A Christmas Carol
- This episode was Katherine Jenkin’s acting debut.
- The special was based on on Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol which coincidently is Steven Moffat’s favourite Christmas story.
- The shark, despite being a female, was named “Clive” behind the scenes. Matt Smith and Laurence Belcher also claimed to have called it “Percy” and “Clyde”.
- Nearly all windows in the town are round, reminiscent of submarines.
- When The Doctor travels back in time to visit Kazran in his bedroom, the TARDIS is hidden behind two large doors, with the TARDIS windows clearly visible even when the doors are closed. When he does travel back, he appears in Kazran’s recording, but you can still see the TARDIS’s window between the doors.
- Excluding the little fish eaten by the shark, this is the first Christmas special without a character’s death.
- Michael Gambon, who portrayed Kazran, is well known for taking over the role of Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, coincidentally the only Harry Potter film that includes time travel.
- The flying shark was inspired by Steven Moffat’s childhood fear of sharks rising out of water.
Listen to Abigail’s song here with the Tardis / Shark sled ride:
- The Christmas Invasion (2005)
- The Runaway Bride (2006)
- The Voyage of the Damned (2007)
- The Next Doctor (2008)
- The End of Time (2009)
- A Christmas Carol (2010)
- The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (2011)
- The Snowmen (2012)
- The Time of the Doctor (2013)
- Last Christmas (2014)
- The Husbands of River Song (2015)
- The Return of Doctor Mysterio (2016)
- Twice Upon a Time (2017)
- Resolution (2019)
- Spyfall, Part 1 (2020)
