It’s a happier ending for 2014 than that of the previous episode, which didn’t include much cheer, Christmas or otherwise. Shona’s handwritten list at the end is an elegant way to acknowledge the movie-roots of this story – Miracle on 34th Street (real Santa Claus?), the facehuggers of Alien, the frozen base of The Thing From Another World.
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Her boogieing across the base-under-siege is a delight, and it a “huh?” moment in an episode full of them. The two stand-out guest stars are Nick Frost as the big man himself, and Faye Marsay as Shona. It is a natural progression for this tale to then be the story of Father Christmas. Moffat though has used pastiches of existing stories associated with Christmas: A Christmas Carol, Narnia, C4’s The Snowman, then with the Doctor becoming the story of Christmas-town.
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RTD’s first two Christmas Specials were simply Earth adventures set on Christmas Day, the next had some Christmassy elements, whether Christmastime Movie or snowy Victoriana. This story is emblematic of the Moffat era with another aspect – that of it being a Christmas story that is about Christmas stories. The last few scenes raise this possibility before the twist of yet another dream-within-a-dream, while continuing one of the themes of the Moffat era: the mortality of the Doctor’s companions. The title is a tease for this maybe being Clara’s last episode (and indeed Moffat wrote 2 alternative scripts for either eventuality but Jenna Coleman made the right choice – to stay for another season – I would say as Eleventh & Clara make a great team). Same as the Wham! song but as usual there is no romance (but a lot of love) between this Doctor and his companion. The dream team is reunited – let’s hope neither of them wakes up.The Doctor: Do you know what the big problem is in telling fantasy and reality apart?ĭoctor Who Season: Between S34 and S35 (Christmas Special). Overall, it was the perfect mixture of festive froth and proper old-fashioned sci-fi we’ve come to expect from “Who” Christmas episodes, led by a Doctor with a naughty twinkle in his eye and a companion who’s teaching him to be nice. She’s what Rose Tyler could have been if she hadn’t met the Doctor, and only the Grinch wouldn’t hope that the TARDIS materializes in her living room in the not-too-distant future. But shop assistant Shona’s plea to stay in the dream a little longer to avoid waking up alone in her flat was heartbreaking. The reveal that Professor Bellows’ “real” self is in a wheelchair felt patronizing – it would have been easy to have had the character in a wheelchair throughout the entire episode, so it felt maudlin, manipulative and more than a little ableist. Of course, the North Pole scientists aren’t really scientists – in fact, they’ve never met, just four strangers who wound up in the same dream. Peter Capaldi calling fellow Scot and old pal Maureen Beattie (Professor Bellows) “sexy” is both sweet and right on the mark – it would have been nice to see both Beattie and Gumede given a bit more to do. Joining the jolly fat man in the red suit is a terrific ensemble cast that includes Dan Starkey, liberated from his Strax costume to play an elf (always a welcome sight), and a team of scientists at the North Pole led by Natalie Gumede.
Nick Frost makes for a gloriously grumpy Santa and the rivalry between he and Capaldi’s Doctor is worth the price of admission alone.
So it’s a relief to have Clara sticking around now that dream!Danny gave her some much-needed closure. She had an itinerary for Christmas Day which included forgiving someone called Dave and watching DVDs of Alien, The Thing from Another World, Miracle on 34th Street, (TV: Last Christmas) and a rerun of her guilty pleasure Santa Claus: The Movie (PROSE: Ian the Elf) along with watching a Thrones marathon. The episode's focus on Clara and the Doctor made 'Last Christmas' feel like an extension of Season 8 rather than just a one-off themed special, and therefore it was the most enjoyable special. After a rocky start at the beginning of the previous season, Capaldi and Coleman have hit their stride as a partnership, especially now that they’ve both come clean about the lies they told in the season finale – that Danny is alive and Gallifrey is found. Shona McCullough was a woman who worked in a shop.