The Doctor's Christmas Carol

The 2010 Christmas Day special for 'Doctor Who' contains elements of  'A Christmas Carol', 'Mary Poppins' and even 'Jaws', including for good measure references to Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe. There is an impressive performance by Michael Gambon and some beautiful musical pieces by Katherine Jenkins. There was a sleigh ride - but no flying reindeer here! All in all the show is a real roller-coaster, entertainment in the style of the traditional BBC Christmas Day blockbuster. It's not surprising that the show featured in the Top Ten shows viewed on the day.

However, was it 'Doctor Who'? Purist SF fans would doubtless be concerned about the number of time paradox issues that this particular episode raises. The whole plot seems to centre on the fact that 'time can be rewritten'... a concept that some fans may find a little difficult to swallow. There was a tangible peril - 4003 lives at stake here, needing to be rescued from a crashing 'Galaxy Class' starship (a Trek fan like me felt right at home)...

However, let's take this whole story as a parable... a story with a definite moral, set in a fantasy world based on a Dickensian earth colony. There's plenty to receive from this show. Here we have a theme of cheerful sacrifice, with Abigail giving up what remains of her life to save her family. There's the clear possibility of redemption, of completely breaking away from your past, with the Doctor helping to rewrite Kasran's life because he could see there was still a possibility; all was not lost! Combine that with the underlying themes of dealing with bitterness and lack of compassion from the original Dickens story (see my earlier blog entries) and there was plenty to digest over the rest of the Christmas night.

Underlying the whole story is the traditional Christmas message, told via the medium of popular carols like 'Silent Night' and 'In The Bleak Mid-winter', emphasising the hope that the arrival of the Christ child offers. This underscore is simply stated, the carols are used to inspire hope. Hope we can all share. It was a pleasure to hear these carols sung so prominently on a Christmas night.

And of course the music clearly attracts the fish. Strange creatures that swim up in the cloud layers in the sky, coming down on certain nights to swim in the Dickensian fog. Kasran is said to 'let a few through on Christmas Eve' ... I am particularly smitten with the fish, it's a nice touch. Fish attracted by the Christian music, to the music with such an important message... hmmm...

Remember. Time can be rewritten. 

A Modern Christmas Carol - part three

Charles Dickens' short story 'A Christmas Carol' is universally recognised as one of the best seasonal tales, but there's so much more to it than that.

First published on 19th December 1843, the book was received by a public who were keen to explore the true meaning of Christmas. This was Victorian Britain, and puritan ways of the past were being quickly swept away with more festive celebrations. A wave of nostalgia led to rediscovery of carols, published in a series of carol books. New customs such as the Christmas tree and the sending of greeting cards were being introduced into the country. Dickens' addition to the season explored his own sympathy for the poor, and includes many ideas inspired by the Christmas stories of Washington Irving. The title of the work reflects the revival in carol singing at that time. It's partly a reworking on a earlier scene from Pickwick Papers (1837), where Mr. Wardle talks about Gabriel Grub, a sexton, who undergoes a miraculous conversion at Christmas after being visited by goblins.

Dickens' work goes far beyond the celebrations. It is a tale of one man's salvation, leading the reader through scenes of bitterness, coldness and death, and to a subsequent revelation by Scrooge - inspired supernaturally - that there is another way. His heart is warmed, and peace and goodwill come to the fore. A little further research into the book's history will reveal that Dickens clearly wanted to put forward a comment on how the poor were being treated, turning this from a simple story into a morality tale by publicising his own ideas of social justice.

Many see this as a secular vision of the Christmas season. I disagree; I see plenty of evidence that this clearly reflects the hope found in the Nativity story - and plenty more from the subsequent teachings and passion of Christ.

A Modern Christmas Carol - part two

As a result of my experiences from last Saturday (see my last blog entry) and the fact I now find myself with a little more free time in my schedule (more about that next week), I have taken the opportunity to revisit the classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge, from Charles Dickens' short story "A Christmas Carol". Although the tale set in Victorian England, it still has plenty to say to us in the 21st Century.

Scrooge is so bitter, but why is he so? Dickens paints the picture of someone who has literally had the joy of living sucked out of him, because of a series of acts of circumstance and cruelty. His mother died in childbirth; his father then abandoned young Ebenezer to a boarding school, not even allowing him home for Christmas. The only family member he can even rely on is his sister, Fan.

Lacking the comfort of a strong family unit, Scrooge compensates by throwing himself into his work, however this obsession loses him the love of his fiancee, Belle. Fan then passes away, and these two incidents hurt Scrooge so deeply, he shuts himself off from any love he may have had for the world. Scrooge still has a nephew in the form of Fan's son, but they aren't at all close.

The loss of his business partner, Jacob Marley, some seven years earlier, leaves Scrooge to run the business on his own. Marley's death occurs on Christmas Eve, which is yet another reason for Scrooge to distance himself from the festivities. He drives himself still further into his work, becoming miserly as he strives to hold onto the one thing he has left in this harsh world. The business barely survives. Here is a man who is truly 'In The Bleak Mid-Winter'.

His business (which is never actually specified by Dickens) involves money; some say he was possibly a professional money lender. If this is so, this will doubtless explain his cold reactions to pleas for charity - he has heard it all before, and has probably been taken in just once too often. In fact, Scrooge would far sooner have the poor of London trying to eke out a living in the horrendous Victorian workhouses than have them knock on his door. His experience tells him this - he has been once hurt too often!

Not unsurprisingly, Scrooge dislikes the merriment of Christmas. Dickens has made the word "humbug" into a household word; it is linked inextricably to this work and to Christmas. Why does Scrooge use it? This phrase is chosen especially to highlight analyse Scrooge's hatred of Christmas. He uses it when faced with the charity collectors, who call on him on Christmas Eve to solicit a public donation. When Scrooge calls Christmas a humbug, he states that people only give to charity and therefore show kindness as a show - perhaps to delude others, perhaps to delude themselves. He fails to see why people would help others without an agenda of their own. He thinks that no-one really cares about anyone else (because no-one cares about him).

Scrooge considers every "Merry Christmas" uttered as yet another attempt to fool him. An invitation to share a Christmas meal with his nephew's family is quickly shunned - no doubt, he thinks that they wish to take advantage of him. Scrooge even begrudges Bob Cratchit his sole paid day off for Christmas Day. Scrooge can only see the loss of a day's work, not at the reason for the day itself. He sees this as "having his pocket picked on an annual basis".

Do you know someone like this? They are still about, even in the 21st Century...

More later...

A Modern Christmas Carol

Here are some stray thoughts distilled down following the Christmas Tree festival that I attended this morning in town. We met, shared fellowship, sang carols to share together that old, familiar story. It was during the singing of one particular carol at that venue that I felt God really spoke to me, challenging me to face up to tackling an old familiar adversary in my life. And reminding me of yet another old familiar story...

It's the story of a miserly old man named Ebenezer Scrooge, who is just about surviving in a harsh economic climate. It's a particularly heavy winter this year, and despite having nearby family Scrooge deliberately sits alone, working until late in his counting-house. Relatives and friends try in vain to invite him to some seasonal festivities,but he simply can't see the point, he's too wrapped up in his own problems. Some visitors to his door receive a less than polite reply, loaded with bitterness and resentment. “Bah! Humbug!”

It takes a series of encounters with some supernatural beings to snap Scrooge out of his current cycle of bitter resentment and to instill a truly life-changing experience, just in time for Christmas.

I think I'd like to revisit this story again next week. Sounds like there's something I need to take from this...