A ship’s horn blows mere moments before crashing into the TARDIS. The Doctor shaken and bewildered, picks up the lifebuoy.  He, along with the audience, can see the ship’s name – TITANIC. The Doctor looks up and uttered one word three times: WHAT??!?!?

The Voyage of the Damned

This scene, located at the end of the Series Three finale, set the stage for the 2007 Doctor Who Christmas special. Fans would wait and speculate about the Tenth Doctor’s visit to the Titanic for months before the episode broadcast on Christmas Day. With Martha Jones’ departure, The Doctor would be without a companion for this adventure; but Australian artist and actress, Kylie Minogue, signed on to portray Astrid Peth, a woman who the Doctor meets while aboard the Titanic.

The episode aired in the United Kingdom on the 25 December 2007. Overnight viewing figures showed 12.2 million, but this number increased to a final total of 13.31 million. This is one of the highest rated since the programs return in 2005.

Naming the ship Titanic offered the writers a clever misdirection for creating fan speculation about the episode. In reality, this was not the ship that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912, but was the Starship Titanic. This explanation made a ship crashing into the TARDIS more conceivable than the TARDIS materializing underwater. I re-watched the scene cited above while composing this article. No water is present at the moment of the crash!

The Ship’s Passengers

This episode presents an almost forgettable villain in the form of Max Capricorn. Instead, the true stars of the show are the people who The Doctor randomly encounters. He repeatedly finds those who others either don’t notice (Astrid), make quips about (the Van Hoffs), are down-and-out (Mr. Copper), are unpleasant but with potential (Rickston Slade), or are an outcast in society’s minds (Bannakaffalatta). And, in true Doctor Who fashion, meeting The Doctor transforms them either to their betterment or detriment.

Capricorn’s intention to crash the Starship Titanic into the Earth becomes the hub around which all other storylines converge. By the episode’s resolution, Capricorn, Bannakaffalatta, the Van Hoffs, the ship’s captain, are all dead.

Morvin Van Hoff falls to his death. Afterward, Foon Van Hoff conquered her fears and bravely saved the rest from a Host. Bannakaffalatta (CYBROG!) gave his power source – and his life – for the rest. These characters were memorable, entertaining, and valuable. Their sacrifices, after meeting The Doctor, helped prevent Capricorn from winning.

Astrid Peth

Bravo to the actors portraying the characters mentioned above! I give an extra congratulation to Kylie Minogue for portraying Astrid as believable. Her portrayal made me accept her as a possible companion, even though I knew before seeing that Catherine Tate would return as Donna Noble for Series Four.

The Doctor, immediately captivated by Astrid made me like the character, but wonder why he didn’t become equally fascinated by Martha. Was it because the Doctor met Martha so quickly after loosing Rose? He offered her the chance to travel with him, and she accepted.

And then she died.

Astrid’s death is the first companion death since the program’s 2005 return. But, by signing someone to play a one-off role, the production staff created a character whose arc would begin and end in a single story. Minogue’s performance was classy and equally fearless. She showed compassion when necessary but was forceful when needed. In her death, her courage made the audience wish what if? Alas, her song ended.

This is the true beauty of Doctor Who. The program reminds us that our time isn’t infinite. Some of us grow old and die, but some of us are gone before we even reach for the stars. Astrid’s story gives us a glimpse of a possibility that could have been. But her destiny wasn’t to be a Bad Wolf or an Impossible Girl. She wouldn’t be a Cyberman or a member of the Doctor’s “fam”.  She would just be Astrid.

Random Thoughts:

Bernard Cribbins makes his first appearance as the character who we will know in Series Four as Wilfred Mott. In this episode, they credited his character as Stan; even though his name wasn’t mentioned.

They dedicated the episode to Verity Lambert, the original Doctor Who producer who died in 2007.

The scene with the robotic-but-angelic Hosts appearing to ascend with The Doctor is my only complaint of this episode. Millions of viewers around the world watch this program. And, it bears no need of assumption to say that various viewers have their own religious beliefs. I think it is ok for The Doctor to encounter religion, maybe even offer commentary regarding, but the writers cross a line (at least for me) when casting The Doctor as a godly being.

Bannakaffalatta (CYBROG!)