Doctor Who - Last Christmas [TV Christmas Special Review]

Best Christmas Tradition. Ever.
No, I'm quite serious. I love watching the Doctor Who Christmas specials.
This year the special would include Nick Frost... as Santa. Best Santa casting. Ever.

Santa and the Doctor are too alike to get along.

Okay, I have to admit that I had some serious reservations coming into this episode. If you go back and re-read my reviews of the past season, it was not the best Doctor Who I've seen.

4.5 out of 5 stars

There were some pretty good points (Listen was my personal favorite episode), and there were some rather bad ones (some of the stuff in Death in Heaven was just awful). But this episode had an added worry factor - Santa Claus. This is the first time that Doctor Who has played the 'real' Santa card, always before he was robots, or pilot fish, or something. With reindeer. With bleeding reindeer. 

Now this did have me a touch worried.

And a Rudolf. A Rudolf whose nose is actually a car alarm... yeah. That's a spoiler by the way, but don't worry, it is not plot relevant. 

However I was pleasantly surprised. The episode was strong, well done (if a bit predictable), and good. No character acted out of character, and I did not spot any major plot holes for an episode that was so (semi-)convoluted... well, watch and you will see. 

The monsters were suitably creepy, and they even admitted
to the correct homage in the episode. It was excellent.

Nick Frost did a good job pulling off Santa, and that is one of the stronger points of the episode. The Doctor and Santa are too similar to get along. They snap at each other. It is some seriously fun dialogue.  

Danny Pink has a role in this episode as well. His role made me a little sad. He has an excellent speech that gives us the episode title, and I can understand where he is speaking from. I missed seeing my family this year due to extenuating circumstances. I know of what he spoke.

Danny's role does not in any way, shape, or form answer the lingering questions that remained at the close of season 8. P.E. (as the Doctor refers to him) remains one of the strongest characters in the episode, despite his short appearance. I honestly hope that he plays an important part in the next season, despite him pushin' up the daisies. You know, being dead.

The best news came at the end of the episode, a small short little blurb of text that simply read "The Doctor and Clara will return next year in The Magician's Apprentice." Both of them will be back, and maybe just maybe we can get the answers to all our questions.

Now sit back, watch some more Doctor Who with me, and let me anticipate the upcoming Top Gear Patagonia Special. 

The next special I am looking forward to this holiday season.