Inspirations: A Christmas Carol

Thank you very much for making this an easy one, Mr Moffat.

This is basically Doctor Who's version of Charles Dickens' 1843 short novel of the same name. The famous festive ghost story had previously acted as one of the inspirations for the whole Trial of a Time Lord season.

Notorious miser Ebeneezer Scrooge is visited on Christmas Eve by four spirits beginning with that of his old business partner Jacob Marley, who died 7 years ago to the day. Marley warns Scrooge that a terrible fate awaits him on his demise if he doesn't change his ways - and to inspire him he's visited by the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future.

Kazran Sardick is the Scrooge figure - a rich, mean-spirited individual who is reluctant to help anyone, be they an individual, group or his society as a whole.

Christmas Past is the Doctor, who goes back in time to start manipulating Kazran as a boy - in the hope he will grow up to be less sociopathic.

Christmas Present is Amy - appearing to him as a hologram. She and Rory are on their honeymoon (having got wed in The Big Bang), but their spaceship is about to crash unless Kazran does something to help.

Christmas Future is Kazran himself - as the Doctor allows his young self to witness the cruel behaviour of the man he is going to become.

This is all handled in a terribly timey-wimey way.

The planet where the action takes place has a society seemingly based on Victorian England - again tying in with Dickens. However, this is very much a steampunk version of Victoriana. Note costume choices such as the top hats worn with goggles, or the machine-like buildings.

Presumably this was an Earth colony and the city grew up around the spaceship which brought the pioneers here.

The Doctor attends a Hollywood-style party in the 1950's at which Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and Santa Claus are present.

Monroe (1926 - 1962) was the hugely famous blonde film star and pin-up who died tragically young, immortalised by Andy Warhol in screen-print and Elton John in song. Some aspects of her death are popular in conspiracy theory circles.

Francis Albert Sinatra (1915 - 1998) remains one of the most famous popular singers of all time. Leader of the Rat Pack, who mixed with Presidents and Mafioso, he's best known for his many farewell tours, and for doing things his way.

According to the Doctor, Santa's real name is Geoff. He previously encountered him at the North Pole when millions of children wanted TARDISes for Christmas - according to TV Comic at least.

I've no idea why this story features sharks - unless it is a reference to the movie Jaws (1975) which is a blockbuster - and big movies always used to premier on TV in Britain at Christmas back in the day. Terribly tenuous if that's the case.

Music plays a big part in the plot. But then we have classical singer Katherine Jenkins in a significant supporting role. You don't cast a singer then fail to give them a song or two - though saying that, Sinatra made quite a few movies in which he never warbled once.

Kazran's cloud-influencing machine looks like an organ and the controls are said to be isomorphic - just as those of the TARDIS were supposed to be (as first mentioned in Pyramids of Mars).

Next time: it's the Doctor's turn to be killed, but first he inspires the Watergate scandal. Astronauts crop up in the oddest locations, though we finally do get to see a famous one on the Moon. The rest is Silence...