Christmas and New Year TV - the inthenews.co.uk view
David Tennant's time ended as Matt Smith's began.
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By Adam Leveridge
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Tuesday, 05, Jan 2010 02:07
There was a mixed selection of festive treats and turkeys on offer over the Christmas and New Year period although if you are not a David Tennant or soap opera fan the choice was admittedly somewhat limited.
Leaving aside the murder of Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb) in EastEnders, the most watched programme on Christmas Day, along with whatever was happening in Corrie and Emmerdale, the biggest treat on Christmas Day was undeniably The Gruffalo.
The BBC's adaptation of Julia Donaldson story about a mouse taking a word through the deep, dark wood may only be 700 words long, but filled 30 minutes of TV gold effortlessly. It was fantastic family viewing, perfect for Christmas.
The animation, although slightly shaky in parts was bright and colourful, creating a rich world of fantasy as the mouse (James Corden) strolled through the wood. The characters of the Gruffalo, the fox, the owl and the snake where all bought to life with great facial expressions and captivating voices from Robbie Coltrane, Tom Wilkinson, John Hurt and Rob Brydon respectively.
Entertaining, charming and a sheer delight, this was a rare treat in a Christmas show providing a welcome break from a schedule filled with murder, death and disappointing specials.
The biggest event of the holiday period was David Tennant's final adventure in Doctor Who before regenerating into Matt Smith. The plot, which saw the return of the Time Lords and The Master (John Simm), was also Russell T Davies' last as show-runner before handing the reins over to Stephen Moffat.
The two-hour special was far from great, but in some respects that doesn't matter. The plot was ultimately irrelevant, merely paving the way for David Tennant to revisit all the stars to feature over his run before departing the show for good.
It may not have been the spectacle it was billed to be - the threat of The End of Time didn't seem that big a deal compared to some of the plots we have seen in the past - but it was fun nonetheless. The final ten minutes though was superb and very emotional, capturing the essence and heart of the show in a tidy end to the past four years of story.
It wasn't all about Doctor Who though; I was personally far more interested in David Tennant's outstanding performance in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Hamlet.
As 2010 began, it was time to say goodbye to Gavin and Stacey. I have to hand to James Corden and Ruth Jones - the show is irresistible. A year ago I never thought I would be saying that. The 2008 Christmas Special was rather poor in comparison to previous instalments. The third and final series though has been a triumph.
The final episode was nothing special, had no big plot twists - that the audience hadn't seen coming at least - but felt like a tidy end to the lives we have become immersed in. It truly is one the best shows of the past ten years.
Who said light entertainment was dead? Ant and Dec's Christmas Show, although largely silly was pure comfort TV to enjoy whilst munching on leftover turkey sandwiches. A number of famous faces, dodgy Christmas jumpers and comedy sketches were all on show here as well as games, embarrassing audience members and musical performances. It is nice to see shows like this still have a welcome place in the TV schedules. Robbie Williams stole the show with a fantastic sing-off with Ant and Dec at the end of the show, which featured a medley of Christmas hits and Let's Get Ready to Rumble.
Elsewhere on the network were new offerings from Poirot and Taggart, both fulfilling the crime/mystery drama space, a regular popular fixture. Comedy on the other hand was provided in the form of heart-warming The Fattest Man in Britain starring Timothy Spall and Bobby Ball.
As per usual, Channel 4 gave us all manor of complication shows reflecting back on the past decade with The Greatest TV Shows and Songs of the Noughties as well as its annual Big Fat Quiz of the Year. The result saw the unveiling of Top Gear and Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars as the Greatest TV Show and Song of the past decade respectively. One show that did not make the list of the greatest TV shows of the Noughties though was Big Brother.
With the festivities well and truly over, the latest headline grabbing television fix for the next few weeks has now descended upon us. Yes, the final series of Celebrity Big Brother kicked off in hellish form on Sunday.
The house may look like an old manor house, the diary room chair a cart from a dodgy theme park ride, and the celebrities may be decidedly average but no doubt we are in for some fun ahead. Vinnie Jones has to be the biggest star turn amongst the other former stars like Dane Bowers and Jordan's current squeeze Alex Reid.