It’s a long story … well no, not really, its actually not that long at all so stick with me. Santa Claus is real – well you already knew that right? … well, maybe he’s real and maybe not. OK, I know – pretty wishy/washy, but what do you expect … it is Doctor Who after all so expecting something that completely makes sense is probably not a valid expectation. Expecting to have fun though … well he always delivers on that doesn’t he!
In Last Christmas a couple of questions are answered, some old friends are seen again but like all good Dr. Who episodes, we never get the whole picture. One question I (and I’m sure Parents everywhere) had was how would they include Santa Claus without ruining Santa Claus for a generation of kiddies? I’m happy to say that the inclusion of Santa Claus (played by the aptly named Nick Frost) was exceptional. The elves … really funny & extremely witty … were awesome and it was so nice to Clara and the Doctor back again.
Let’s talk Turkey (Christmas Turkey)
For those of you new to Doctor Who (where have you been) you might not know that this is actually his 10th Christmas special. Some of them have already been reviewed on this blog:
and while you’d like to think that a Christmas Special matches or exceeds the writing and story-line of the preceeding season, unfortunately that’s not always the case. There have been good Christmas episodes (David Tennant’s battle with the Sycorax) and bad ones (wooden creatures in the previously mentioned Christmas special) , but in most instances they have served to advance the story of the Doctor forward and I’m glad to say that this episode is no exception to that rule. One other positive about this episode … scary monsters!
So what is it all about?
If you’ve read my previous posts on Doctor Who – Death in Heaven, you’ll remember that the Doctor and Clara had both lied to each other as they thought that would make each other happy. The Doctor had lied about finding Gallifrey and Clara had lied about Danny returning from the dead. In reality of course neither statement was correct and when Santa Claus walks into the Tardis at the end of the episode I’m sure you too were thinking what the hell are they going to do now?! Basically and in a nutshell – this episode is Inception … in a different guise … stick with me and you’ll see what I mean.
Quick Synopsis
Clara having been woken by some strange noises on her rooftop comes exploring and there she finds Santa Claus and his elves. Initially disbelieving, she very quickly realizes that he is in fact real but before she can do anything, the TARDIS and the Doctor reappear. The Doctor tells Clara to come with him and they both enter the TARDIS. After insisting she doesn’t speak, he takes her to an arctic research station. Why? It’s a long story (you’ll find that repeated somewhat regularly) – one of many long stories claimed by the base’s inhabitants, all brushed over with pointedly fuzzy logic.
At the research base the four inhabitants are attempting something to escape the base for some reason. We’re not initially informed of what the evil baddie is, but when the Doctor and Clara arrive on the scene they quickly discover a new alien creature unlike any foe they’ve fought previously. These alien crabs (that look and act just like the facehuggers from Alien) are quite a bit more disturbing than the run of the mill villains in Doctor Who as they are basically not evil … they simply are. Once they latch on to a host, they anaesthetise victims with pleasant dreams while their brains are liquefied. A grisly fate to be sure, but one born of a biological imperative, rather than extravagant plans to take over or destroy the Earth.
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