Dr. Who: A Christmas Carol
is a retake and satire of the classic tale with a 900-year-old, time
travelling, bow-tie wearing personality thrown in for good measure. Called “The
Doctor”, he spirits down to serve as the lifesaving spirit of Christmas for an
elderly miser. Also, he has a blue box that travels through time & space
and is bigger on the inside. Minor details taken care of, Allons-y!
Our
future-contemporary Scrooge is Kazran Sardick, a peevish and empty man. The
worst the world can offer, We the Viewers are led to believe, in his opening actions he withholds aid for a
crashing spaceliner, condemning 4003 passengers for personal spite. The
audience is made to believe he lacks empathy, mercy, human spirit. However,
while furious, he refuses to strike a child.
With a blue-box-trip to Kazran’s
past, The Doctor observes the violent relationship between Kazran’s father and
young Kazran. To save the 4003 crashing decades later, The Doctor decides to
serve as young Kazran’s better influence.
The perspective of Evil takes a
generational-curse stance here. Not being shown another negative source in his
life, the episode places the sins of the Father as the source of evil spread to
the son. A black & white worldview character, The Doctor places himself in
a place to change time.
The character arc followed by the
episode attempts redemption. Using The Doctor as a Kingdom arbiter, the episode
assumes promoting a life lived in joy will make Kazran a better man. This does
not hold true.
Failure occurs when the personal price of
Kazran’s redemption comes from the woman he falls for as a result of The Doctor’s
intervention. Well-meant intentions worked for Dicken’s ghosts, but The Doctor
is a mortal agency, and never considers the cost of his actions. In fact, he
absolves himself before his work begins. From the transcript Here:
DOCTOR:
There are 4,003 people I won't allow to die tonight. Do you know where that puts you?
KAZRAN:
Where?
DOCTOR:
4,004.
KAZRAN:
Was that a sort of threat-y thing?
DOCTOR:
Whatever happens tonight, remember... you brought it on yourself.
There are 4,003 people I won't allow to die tonight. Do you know where that puts you?
KAZRAN:
Where?
DOCTOR:
4,004.
KAZRAN:
Was that a sort of threat-y thing?
DOCTOR:
Whatever happens tonight, remember... you brought it on yourself.
By the
end of the episode, Kazran accepts the price of The Doctor’s failure. As a
Christmas story, a cheerful slant is cleverly applied, in Dickensian humor.
However, the assumption of The Doctor as a godlike figure is cast into a bitter
light. The conclusion asks We the Viewers “how far can we redeem ourselves?”
Their answer is “to a place neither black or white, a gray between” At the end of the episode:
the DOCTOR looks up at the sky.
DOCTOR:
Halfway out of the dark.
DOCTOR:
Halfway out of the dark.
1: Can “halfway out of the dark” be acceptable for a Kingdom
citizen, or even possible? How is our fallen state a place for Christian
culture to thrive?
2: The promotions for the show used the tagline “time- can
be rewritten”. Will the work of others allay our responsibility in past deeds?
How is our redemption not dependent on ourselves? How is it dependent?
