Hallmark couldn’t possibly be happy with only one channel showing Christmas movies way too early. They had to have their second channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, get in the game. Everyone else probably already knew this but, man, how many movies can Hallmark really put out in one year? Well, the first movie of the year that I have watched from Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is The Christmas Doctor. Why can’t anyone give these movies good titles?

The Christmas Doctor focuses on Dr. Zoey Garner (Holly Robinson Peete), a traveling doctor who doesn’t stay in the same place long. She gets an assignment for Willow Brook, NY. The local doctor is having shoulder surgery and will be out for two weeks. But Dr. Zoey isn’t used to sticking around for that long.

Sadly, I don’t have a lot to say about The Christmas Doctor. It was a little boring but otherwise perfectly fine. There was this weird little backstory about Dr. Zoey being a former military doctor that didn’t really have a lot to do with the plot besides being the reason Dr. Ray chose her to substitute for him.

I think maybe the movie was so boring because there wasn’t any conflict. Zoey’s sister, Debra (Nicole Anthony) is upset that Zoey never spends Christmas with her. Luke (Adrian Holmes), the love interest, is upset when Zoey tells Dr. Ray (Fred Henderson) that she is leaving town when her gig is up. All of the conflicts are literally things that people knew about beforehand. Debra knows that her sister is a traveling doctor who fills in at various hospitals when needed. How can you really be upset about a doctor having to work on Christmas? And Luke? He knew that Zoey was only in town for 14 days. Why is he upset that she’s not ditching her career to stay in a tiny little town with someone she barely knows? All of this gets resolved, of course. That doesn’t make the fact that they are stupid conflicts any better.

So, I guess watch it if you have nothing else to do? Turn it on for some background noise? I’m not saying don’t watch it but I’m sure you have a better way to spend two hours.