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If this thread's title doesn't specify it's spoilery, don't bring any up.
I think the Christmas specials should be considered an extension of the previous series, and NOT the premier to the next series. I have a few reasons to back up my opinion:
1.They aired in the same year as that series.
2.They continue directly on from that series(With the exception of The Next Doctor).
3.They are listed as part of that series by the bbc website.
4.They have been mentioned to be part of that series several times on Confidential.
However, if people continue to list them as part of the next series, then we should also consider the latest Christmas special 'The End of Time' to be part of Series 5.
And if we still cannot come to a conclusion to this matter, then I suggest that we do not list the Christmas specials under ANY series and Class them as standalone episodes.
- Where are they listed under the previous series by the BBC website? They are all under Specials in the episode list I see.
- They are always included in the boxed set of the next series, except The End of Time, and their production code is likewise. -- Noneofyourbusiness 03:46, January 27, 2010 (UTC)
Here is the link to the website.
- If the specials belong anywhere, it's in Series 4. Russell T. Davies and the rest of the production office have always referred to them as Series 4 Episodes 14-18, in DWM and probably in other places. Skteosk 00:45, January 28, 2010 (UTC)
- The original poster means the Christmas special of each season, not the 2009 Specials. -- Noneofyourbusiness 02:46, January 28, 2010 (UTC)
- I'm not quite sure I understand the controversy that this thread implies exists. I think, by and large, most people accept the definitions of series that've handed to us by the series DVD releases, which for most of the BBC Wales version, has been the same as the production team believed them to be. Indeed, I strongly disagree with the OP's assertions that the pre-2009 Christmas specials have obviously been a part of the narrative of the series that preceded it. Yes, they're connected, but they're invariably looking forward, if you ask me. TCI is a preview of the new Doctor in series 2. TRB is a preview of the necessity for the Doctor to replace Rose with Martha in Series 3. VOTD is a preview of the coming importance of the Noble family (though perhaps it wasn't meant to be originally).
- The narrative links are debatable though. What's rock-solid is the way in which they were produced. TCI was made in the same production block as New Earth, so it's very clearly a part of Series 2. TRB was production block 1 of series 3. VOTD was production block 1 of series 4. This production reality is carried forward into the DVD releases. So I really don't see any problem considering any of these Christmas specials as a part of the series during which they were produced. Historically, the first three Christmas specials will be remembered as the start of seasons 2, 3 and 4 — because that's how they've been marketed. Happily, the marketing actually agrees with the production realities on these three specials.
- It's only when you get to TND that things become a li'l messier. TND is technically quite different from the previous Christmas specials, because it concluded BBC Wales' fourth year of producing Dcotor Who. It was made immediately after Journey's End. But it's also narratively different, because it's the only RTD Christmas special that has no "present day" scenes. It literally has nothing to tie it down, save perhaps a passing, oblique reference to Donna. So, although it does form a part of the production schedule for series 4, and indeed the production team think of it as series 4, there's no real good reason to avoid the marketing thing here of considering it one of a five-part series of specials. CzechOut ☎ | ✍ 03:06, January 28, 2010 (UTC)