['Doctor Who' - 'A Christmas Carol']

The very existence of a 'Doctor Who' Christmas special actually broadcasting on Christmas Day highlights the cultural differences between England and the United States. Would any of the major U.S. networks broadcast an episode of one of their original, scripted series on Christmas? Likely not.

The episode itself, written by 'Doctor Who' showrunner Steven Moffat, was a prime example of the right person in the right job. In anybody else's hands (looking at you, Mr. Davies), this masterful tale would have simply been fair at best.

The story was loosely based on Charles Dickens' classic of the same title and starred the usual cast of characters: the Doctor (Matt Smith), Amy Pond -- now Amy Williams (Karen Gillan) -- and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill). They were joined by Michael Gambon (of the 'Harry Potter' movies) as the Scrooge-like Kazran Sardick and opera singer Katherine Jenkins as Abigail Pettigrew.

It was nice having the opportunity to watch this episode at the same time as the Brits. The plot in brief (for those who didn't watch, shame on you): Amy and Rory were celebrating their honeymoon in the future on a luxury starship (wearing very familiar outfits) when things went wrong and they found themselves crashing into the hostile atmosphere of a human-occupied but alien planet. The Doctor had to negotiate with Sardick, who controlled the atmosphere, to allow the ship to land safely.

Moffat's expertly-woven story even made use of Jenkins' singing talent (which is probably why she was cast in the first place). If I had to compare, Moffat would be the modern equivalent of classic 'Doctor Who' scribe Robert Holmes. As he previously did during his reign on this show, he used time travel as a literary device. It was awesome when Sardick was watching old home movies of himself when the Doctor appeared in them and history was rewritten.

Very different from previous in-your-face Christmas specials, this one had no alien bad guys. Sardick did have to be convinced to step away from the Dark Side -- and there were some nail-biting moments involving a flying shark -- but mostly it was a diatribe on why people should be good rather than bad (which was the point of the original Dickens classic).

Despite the technology available, the society that existed in Sardicktown was proto-industrial -- mirroring the society of Dickens. Even Sardick's last name was reminiscent of the author. It's a wonder Dickens himself didn't appear in this Christmas special, but of course he already appeared on the show way back when during the Eccelston era.

'A Christmas Carol' had some nice subtle winks to previous events and incarnations of the program. In addition to Amy and Rory's outfits, there were also a familiar fez and a very familiar scarf from the Christmas montage in which Abigail was awoken from her cryogenic chamber each Christmas.

In short, this episode was fantastic. As with Matt Smith's introduction in 'The Eleventh Hour,' it's a good jumping-on point to introduce any non-fan friends to 'Doctor Who.' You only need to understand a minimal amount of what has happened before to get the plot. That is, unless your friends are the sort that cannot appreciate subtle, nuanced storytelling. In which case, just leave them to their 'American Idol.'