Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Snow falling lightly upon the windowsill. All of these things evoke the Christmas spirit. For many Britons, and for many American and international sci-fi fans as well, there's another tradition: The Doctor Who Christmas special. (Not to generalize, of course, but hey, the Christmas special is a big deal as a Christmas tradition!)

For the uninitiated: Doctor Who is a series about an alien named The Doctor, who flies around time and space in his spaceship, the TARDIS, helping people and making very bad decisions, oftentimes with a human companion at his side. This explanation is incredibly simplistic, but for new viewers, that's all you need: The Doctor and companions have fun and adventures. There's much more to that, of course! Every year, there is a Christmas special, and 2016 is no exception. Since there hasn't been an episode since last Christmas, Doctor Who fans--me included!--have been super excited for this special!

In this Christmas Special, "The Return of Doctor Mysterio", The Doctor bumps into a young man named Grant in New York City on Christmas who adores superhero comics, and after some miscommunication, gains superpowers. (Oops.) The episode follows The Doctor's interactions with Grant as he grows up, and also brings the viewers to the present day, where Grant works as a superhero named The Ghost... and also as a nanny for the woman he has a crush on, a journalist named Lucy Fletcher.

The Doctor and a young Grant chatting on a rooftop. (Source: Nerdist)

After some brain aliens want to take over humanity (par the course for a Doctor Who Christmas), it's up to Grant, The Doctor, Lucy, and The Doctor's companion Nardole to stop them. But, more importantly, can Grant keep up his dual life as The Ghost without Lucy figuring out who he is?

I'm not gonna go into massive detail, as walking into this special blind was great fun. Peter Capaldi, as always, aces being The Doctor. Nardole (Matt Lucas), a side character from the last Christmas special, returns as the audience surrogate/companion, moving past being a gag character as he had been in his last appearance (even if he still definitely is the comic relief!). Grant (Justin Chatwin) and Lucy (Charity Wakefield) are tons of fun, evoking the Clark Kent and Lois Lane of yore. The Superman and Batman references will delight any fan of American comics, and this episode clearly comes across as a love letter to the golden age of comics with a slightly modern twist--what if Clark Kent was a nanny?

The Doctor and Lucy listening in on some sketchy plans from the evil alien masterminds as The Doctor enjoys a lunch bento (in this case, a sushi box). (Source: The Official Doctor Who Tumblr)

While not necessarily being original, it is trope-y as heck, and definitely an homage done with love and a wink to the audience that, yes, some aspects of the plot (and of superhero comics in general) are ridiculous, in the form of The Doctor repeating exactly what I was thinking: "Just tell her [about your dual identity] already, Grant!" To that effect, while this episode certainly wasn't the best episode ever, it was a solid effort, and definitely way better than a couple of other Christmas specials in the past. (Last Christmas, I'm looking at you.)

For Doctor Who fans, there's also some fun continuity winks: Previous Christmas episodes and characters are mentioned, along with the title of the episode and The Doctor's "superhero" name being the actual name of the series in Mexico (the series was titled Doctor Mysterio there!). Since Peter Capaldi is as big of a fan of the show as I am, if not making me look chill in comparison (he also ran a Doctor Who fanclub in college--shameless plug, BTW, to check out Woovians!)--that little touch really made me smile.

All in all, this was a nice appetizer to Season 10, which returns this upcoming Spring. To watch the episode, you can check out BBCAmerica's website and log into your respective cable provider. For past episodes, you can watch them on Amazon Prime, free with a subscription!

Still: The Return of Doctor Mysterio was a super fun Christmas gift for Doctor Who fans, and even if you aren't a DW fan, it's a fun hour if you want to unwind.

Rating: 4/5 Superpowered Crystals