WHO BOY! WHAT DAY IS IT TODAY?

I wasn't at all surprised that this year's Doctor Who Christmas special was going to be based on Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol.  It was inevitable that New Who would one day pay homage to such an iconic story.  What did surprise me, however, was that it didn't occur to them to do it sooner.

During the last year of David Tennant's reign - when we all knew he was on his way out, we just didn't know how and under what circumstances (and, from reading Russell T Davies' updated A Writer's Tale, neither did he) - I was convinced they were leading up to something along the lines of...

THE DOCTOR AS SCROOGE

A huge leap, sure, but if New Who has brought anything to the series, it's the idea of laying seeds to be picked up later down the line.  In this case, just look at the similarities already inherent between the Doctor and Ebenezer Scrooge...

• both old eccentrics
• hugely powerful and influential
• prone to lengthy, self-justified rants
• loners, but either in denial of this or in constant pursuit of other precious commodities (adventure in the Doctor's case, money in Scrooge's case)

And then add to this the continuing plot elements introduced towards the end of Tennant's run...

• constant reminders of his own mortality and approaching death
• lost or pushed away all those closest to him
• corrupted by power (his command over Time itself at the end of The Waters Of Mars)
• death/rebirth due to take place at Christmas

Can you see why I was led down the wrong path?

And it wasn't for the first time, either.  I was convinced they were going to do a version of A Christmas Carol in The Next Doctor Christmas special the year before, seeing as early rumours had it featuring a new Doctor and a Victorian Christmas setting.  What's more, they had already reintroduced the concept of multiple-Doctor episodes with the Time Crash Children In Need special the year before, so it seemed perfectly logical to me that they were setting up...

THE DOCTORS OF CHRISTMAS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

After all, it's not completely out of Doctor Who's remit to have a character travelling through time and being visited by otherworldly beings or people once thought dead - it's the series' bread and butter.  What's more - bringing back past Doctors is just the sort of high-concept tabloid-fodder the series has come to embrace.  In the end, the Fifth Doctor didn't reappear and Morrissey's Doctor turned out to be a bloke with amnesia, so my theory didn't exactly pan out.  However, fast-forward a year and the concept seemed to be presenting itself again.  The Tenth Doctor was all alone, soon to face his own mortality at Christmas and, with his abusing the laws of Time in TWOM, was more malevolent and dangerous than he'd ever been.

Perhaps, I thought, they were setting up a festive visit from...

THE DOCTOR OF CHRISTMAS PAST

...who would most likely be the Fifth Doctor, seeing as he had been reintroduced a couple of years earlier.  Perhaps a more fitting past Doctor would have been a reappearance from Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor - bookending Russell T Davies' time on the series with the shared screen time of both his Time Lords - but comments made in the press by Eccelston seemed to put a kibosh on this plan.  The most interesting by far - and many a fanboy's choice - would have been the return of Paul McGann's Eight Doctor.  It is generally assumed that it is this incarnation that fought in the Time War, and so any insights into this 'lost' period would be a real boon to the series.  Would any New Who viewers have cared, though?  I doubt it.

Which leads us to...

THE DOCTOR OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT

You would assume a dual role for Tennant would be the obvious choice for this character - perhaps as the Time Lord/Human hybrid last seen living happily ever after with Rose.  This would presumably have provided a bit of tension and jealousy to the emotional mix.  However, the fanboy left-field choice would surely have been the return of...

...Georgia Moffett's Jenny, technically a clone of the Doctor (although the science is all over the place) and so would fit quite nicely into the role of Doctor Of Christmas Present.  Plus, getting Peter Davison and his real-life daughter on the same bill would be a typical New Who piece of cute casting.

And finally...

THE DOCTOR OF CHRISTMAS FUTURE

...a role you assume would have been filled by Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor.  This would have either been a stroke of genius - giving the viewers a taste of the Time Lord to come - or a complete misfire - expecting a new actor to compete against his hugely-popular, four-series strong predecessor.

A more interesting, and less tricky choice would have been to have featured a possible future incarnation of the Doctor - one left twisted and corrupted by his abuse of Time.  While there's plenty of actors I've daydreamed about filling the role (David Warner for one), I cannot think of anyone more likely to have played this part than...

...the great Peter O'Toole.  Besides his obvious acting talent and gravitas, O'Toole played an older Tennant in Davies' Cassanova and so would have been perfect casting for Davies' swansong.

Finally, the other important roles.  Jacob Marley, Scrooge's former business partner who visits him as a terrifying spirit to warn him off his current path, could only be filled by...

...The Master, fellow Time Lord and a dark mirror image of our Doctor.  Why and how he would return to warn the Doctor is another matter entirely and presumably something that would be addressed in the story's main plot.  Other characters, such as Bob Cratchit and Scrooge's nephew, would presumably be filled by past companions - especially Donna Noble - left with such a downbeat fate in need of a pleasing resolution.

As for the actual plot of the special - I'm assuming it would follow its own path but utlisise elements from the Dickens classic as and when it suited.  Other incarnations of the Doctor would presumably have come together to help drive the Tenth Doctor towards his destiny.  Some sort of choice would be have had to have been made and their influence ensured he made the right one.  Doing the right thing leads to his rebirth (both physically and metaphorically) and regeneration into the Eleventh Doctor.

Call it fanboy drivel (which, in writing it down, it has pretty much become), but all of these points were taken from seeds sown in the series itself.  This is a hypothesis based on the casting history of the series and its production team (rather than my own squee-fueled wish-list - that would form an entirely different posting altogether!).  I suppose in a parallel universe somewhere - perhaps the one where Billie Piper now resides - they watched this episode last Christmas, rather than the prolonged slush-fest we were left with.

Superman's new boots

Superman: Today.

2006. Bryan Singer directed Superman Returns, a film written and produced in a manner heavily inspired by Richard Donner's 1978 film. I quite liked it, but it failed to capture the popular imagination, sell enough cinema tickets or action figures to be considered a viable model for future Superman films.

2010. Superman's owners, Warner Brothers, need to make another film soon or face a hefty financial claim from the estate of Superman's creators.

To this end, the director's chair has been handed to Dawn of the Dead (remake), 300, Watchmen and Sucker Punch helmer; Zack Snyder for a hasty reboot.

So what do we know, what can we guess?

1. Rushing

Superman: Already moving.

The rumors surrounding the development of this Superman make for pretty depressing reading. What we know for sure is that this it needs to go in front of the cameras soon, Mister Snyder is directing it and that comic book movie stalwart David Goyer has written it.

What does a David Goyer Superman script look like?

Goyer's successes have come when the material is steeped in darkness, horror, grime.

I like his Blade script, it's formulaic but it has... well, teeth, a villain willing to throw a child through a bus shelter, a vampire nightclub that rains blood from the ceiling, enough room and motivation for a lot of action, a bit of invention. It does it's job. With Superman he's out of his comfort zone.

Rumours abound that the Superman reboot will feature general Zod and a young Clarke Kent still traveling the world, wondering if he should become Superman (spoiler: He does).

We know Goyer's a geek, we know he likes comics and the rumor feels right for me, it's definitely not what's gone before and it speaks of a simple, classical structure.


2. Casting

Superman: Not this guy (and definitely not Tom Welling)

We know Brandon Routh will not be reprising his starring role from Superman Returns. He was a relative unknown with a tricky boots to fill and, frankly, a naff script to play off. He didn't shine, but was given little to shine with.

This is a mistake that won't be made twice.

John Hamm's revelatory turn as Don Draper, his physical resemblance to a square jawed, Fleischer-Brothers drawing and the early 60's glamour that oozes from TV show 'Mad Men' has got half of Twitter screaming that he should be Supeman.

But he won't.

Warner want a brand for the future, not one that ties itself to the past. Expect young and fresh, but not unknown...

3. Punching

Not Superman: Yargh!

Zack Snyder likes fights. He really does.

300 is a love letter to balletic, cinematic violence. Watchmen featured extended, slick, murderous kung fu (greatly extended and mutated from the book).

In truth, all he ever delivers is slick, cosmetic 'combat'. And that's what we'll see here.

It's interesting to note that the only bit of imagery that 'stuck' from 'Returns' was the extremely slow motion CG shot of a bullet hitting Supernan's eye. I wonder if that played any part in Snyder getting the gig.

You have to fear for the heart of the film, but I know visually, at least, we'll see something.


4. Cameoing?

Superman: And friends.

Are Warner Brothers (like Disney/Marvel) building a shared cinematic DC universe? The interesting thing about this question is that no one has concretely said so, there's hesitancy here, it seems.

George Miller's Justice League stalled on take-off, although utterly intriguing, it always struck me as a weird project, a full CG cinematic release featuring the same characters as their tent-pole, live action movies. I suspect that, amongst the reasons the project stopped (as well as tax issues in Australia), was that it muddies the IP waters.

To date. There's no hint I've seen that the in-production Green Lantern movie features any connection to Christopher Nolan's amazingly successful Batman films, but more DC movies are coming, and quickly, you'd expect a plan to be in place.


Predictions.

• The plot is a coming of age tale. Young Clarke Kent, traveling the world to find himself, feeling alone amongst humanity and racked with doubt about his place is forced to pick a side and choose Earth as his home, when General Zod arrives and claims the planet for Krypton. 
• Superman will be played by "Someone we've heard of", expect a raft of young actors with successful films under there belt to be floated, my wildcard pick, this guy. 
• Expect a number of actual fights with different, exciting, easy-to-mould-into-plastic villains to appear in extremely slick action sequences. Giant robots smashing up Metropolis? don't rule it out.
• A Green Lantern cameo, Nolan's Batman world mixes with 'grand fantasy' like oil mixes with water, but alien-superman and neon space-cops are far more comfortable sharing a stage. Warner's want what Disney/Marvel have, a credible shared superhero universe, but they won't risk tarnishing their most profitable superhero franchise... until Bale and Nolan bow out after completion of the 3rd film.