(It is frankly amazing the number of times Ron Grainer’s composition has been successfully rearranged, revamped, and reinterpreted over the past 45 years.) On the ship’s bridge, the stern-faced Captain Hardaker (Geoffrey Palmer) dismisses his crew. The reveal that this isn’t the real Titanic but some sort of spaceship replica makes for a somewhat lackluster intro-but Murray Gold’s new arrangement of the theme tune is strong enough to hold an underlying promise of greatness ahead.
Ladies and gentlemen-welcome to Christmas!” “Attention all passengers! The Titanic is now in orbit above Sol 3, also known as Earth. A quick peek through a window followed by an overhead announcement reveals the truth: Some weirdly out of place robotic angels and a diminutive alien tip him off that all is not as it appears. The Titanic inexplicably crashed through the exterior of the TARDIS…or has the TARDIS crashed into the nose of the Titanic? With a few flicks of the console, the Doctor (David Tennant) fixes the breach with ease, and rematerializes onboard the luxury liner. The precredits sequence begins where Season Three ended. (I believe the number translates into something like 50% of the TVs in Britain being tuned in.) Clearly Doctor Who isn’t losing any steam as far as the general public goes, but aside from all the flashy effects, frenetic pacing and high profile guest stars, is “Voyage of the Damned” any good?
It also snagged 13.31 million viewers upon its Christmas day BBC broadcast-one of the highest figures in Who history and the largest audience for the new series so far. Clocking in at 72 minutes, it’s the longest single episode of the new series yet. “Voyage of the Damned” is first and foremost a spectacle echoing the infamous disaster movies of the sixties and seventies (especially The Poseidon Adventure).
The chefs in the Doctor Who kitchen get more technically ambitious with each new season, and the annual Christmas specials are appetizers dished up to satiate diners between the seasonal main courses.