#Doctor who last christmas special movie
#Doctor who last christmas special series

Through the reappearance of Danny and the resurrection of the arguments over him, to another unfortunate trip to the Doctor Who Ageing Make-up Department (if that happens again next year, weвЂ™re calling it a Christmas tradition, and not a good one), it seemed that the apparent destination of Doctor Who series 8 was set to be confirmed.But then, woven throughout the dreams, is Santa. This time with the Doctor taking more of the lead. That said, what Last Christmas ultimately boiled down to, though, was that relationship between the Doctor and Clara once more.

Aide memoires of this were provided, in case you hadnвЂ™t twigged. The point is perhaps double bagged too that to Clara, the Doctor is basically Santa. The reappearance of Danny Pink was clearly pivotal to Clara (вЂњI died saving ClaraвЂ¦ the rest of you just got luckyвЂќ) вЂ“ who else was going to convince her to wake up? вЂ“ but it felt like heвЂ™d already had one powerful ending, and didnвЂ™t really need another. If thereвЂ™s a grumble here, then there was a slight overreliance on retreading one or two story threads that the series before had dealt with. And was it us, or was his Doctor just a little bit lighter in this episode? It goes without saying that Peter Capaldi continues to strike each one pretty much perfectly. Comedy remains a real strength of his writing, and Doctor Who continues to crackle with successful one liners.

#Doctor who last christmas special movie

She mixed her role with a tinge of sadness at the end as she tried to organise a reunion, and MarsayвЂ™s performance was excellent (check her out in the marvellous movie Pride too, if you havenвЂ™t already).ДЇurthermore, MoffatвЂ™s script had a lot of fun with Christmas itself. A special nod to Faye Marsay though, who вЂ“ to date вЂ“ is the only person to try and fight off a Doctor Who monster by dancing to Slade. In fact, all the guest stars here вЂ“ including Dan Starkey (out of Strax make-up) Michael Troughton, Nathan McMullen, Natalie Gumede and Maureen Beattie вЂ“ were good value. Accompanied by a strong Murray Gold score he tightened the screws, upped the tension, and even managed to make a simple chalkboard responsible for one of the episodeвЂ™s most creepy effects. Not that it needed to be: the close up monster with the drool coming from its mouth more than did the job of putting it in our minds.Дirector Paul Wilmshurst, one of the stand-out stars of Doctor Who series 8, clearly loves this kind of material too.

Earlier this year, Kill The Moon paid a homage of sorts to the films, but here, Alien is addressed by name. DonвЂ™t think about them, donвЂ™t look at them? They sounded a bit holding-your-breath-whilst-not-blinking-esque-critters, but the Dream Crabs also owed an ultimately overtly acknowledged debt to the xenomorphs of those Alien movies. Certainly, thereвЂ™s enough in Last Christmas to put the frighteners up one or two younger viewers in particular.В That said, the monsters here felt familiar, even if weвЂ™ve not seen them before. ItвЂ™s a rather scary one for Christmas day, too (well, not just for Christmas day). вЂњThereвЂ™s a horror movie called Alien? ThatвЂ™s really offensiveвЂќ ThereвЂ™s Nick FrostвЂ™s excellent Santa Claus flitting in and out, but the core is the Doctor, Clara, and a small group of people apparently stuck on a polar base. Moffat chose, for the bulk of the episodeвЂ™s running time, a base under siege idea, albeit with a trip via Inception, Miracle On 34th Street and the well-used Alien boxset. Last Christmas, however,В had just one main issue to resolve вЂ“ that of Clara and the Doctor вЂ“ but for the most part, it was a little freer. It had its moments, but, on the whole, it didnвЂ™t quite give Smith the send-off he deserved. That, and it took a tour via lots of other Doctor Who threads. It had 60 minutes to wrap up the tenure of Matt SmithвЂ™s Doctor and quickly introduce (for the second time) Peter CapaldiвЂ™s take on the Time Lord. Last yearвЂ™s oft-criticised The Time Of The Doctor had a lot of work to do, in its defence. A poignant tangerine, that also seems to suggest that Santa is real. As he confirmed at the Q&A after the press screening, everything you see in the episode, from the first scene onwards, is strictly a dream, up until the finale, and the placing of Last ChristmasвЂ final tangerine.