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Jackie Tyler prepares for Christmas, but wonders if she will see Rose again. A distant sound suggests that perhaps her wish will come true. Mickey, working on a car, also hears the distant noise and he too dashes out to see if Rose will finally return. Jackie and Mickey watch as the TARDIS materialises overhead and then crash to Earth. A strange man emerges and wishes them all a merry Christmas before collapsing.
Jackie allows the strange man to recover in her guest room, but for everyone the overriding question has to be - is he the Doctor? For the time being they must try to resume what remains of their lives. Christmas is coming and there are presents to buy. Rose and Mickey set off to do some Christmas shopping but this normal activity is soon subverted when a group of Santas attack them. Guessing that this attack is related to the Doctor, Rose dashes home only to discover that her mother has taken delivery of a brand new Christmas tree. Except its no ordinary tree as it begins to spin and move around the room, destroying everything in its path.
All this turns out to be the prelude to an alien vessel arriving on Earth. Its occupants, the Sycorax, demand that the people of Earth surrender. The Prime Minister, concerned that there is no sign of the Doctor, and with Torchwood not ready, must take on the Sycorax herself. As one third of the Earth's population stand poised, on the brink of suicide Rose can only watch as the Doctor's condition seems to deteriorate.
REVIEW BY
(d) D.S.Carlin