As sad as it will be for me to see Peter Capaldi leave Doctor Who, I’m looking forward to this year’s Christmas special with immense excitement. As a child, I didn’t have a Doctor Who Christmas special. It was all Daleks and alien monsters all the time. There’s a sense of childish joy that washes over me now as New Who gets closer to the Christmas special time every year. Some of the best and most creative shows in the series year-after-year are the Christmas specials that bring a soothing zephyr of freshness after months of reruns on BBC America.
This year’s “Twice Upon a Time” promises to be nothing shy of all the above. It’s bringing a big show with lots of thrills, a sad end to an era, and a new beginning. If it lives up to all, it’s hype it could become one of the top three Christmas specials of all time. Here’s why you cannot miss this year's show.
David Bradley as the first Doctor
It is not the first time they have brought back past Doctors. Every time the writers bring back a former Doctor you know, it’s going to be an epic episode with a fantastic plot and lots of twists. At the end of series 11 when I saw the first preview my brain did a skip, followed by a Looney Tunes shake as it thought, this can’t be. William Hartnell died in 1975. David Bradley of Harry Potter and Game of Thrones is an intense actor who is a spot-on replica of the original Doctor.
The Cast is amazing
Have you been reading all the show rumors on your favorite geek/pop culture pages and blogs? Not only is Bill coming back, who was such an engaging character after the drudgery of what felt like seasons upon seasons of surviving the monotonous, spoiled, know-it-all, do-as-I-will, granddaughter-like Clara Oswald. The on-screen chemistry between Pearl Mackie and Peter Capaldi is dynamic. They fed off each other making the companionship more amicable than the Capaldi/Coleman combination.
Mark Gatiss, who has been a writer on Doctor Who will also be acting in this episode as an ill-fated and very confused soldier. If you’re a fan of Doctor Who or Sherlock, then you know how amazing he is. Not only has he written nine Doctor Who episodes but Gatiss also acted as four separate characters in five different episodes. No doubt in his 6th acting episode he will be nothing less than astounding.
To add to the classic Doctor Who characters, Moffat is bringing back Ben Jackson and Polly Wright. Again, the actors were chosen to look as close as possible to the original performers. I can’t deny that being a child raised on classic Who back in the 70’s and 80’s; I’m having a bit of a nerdgasm over all these classic character returns.
Number 12’s specials have all been amazing
Admittedly “Last Christmas” was par to other Christmas episodes but let’s face it. The show was fast-paced, fun, and it had Nick Frost, who is amazing even without Simon Pegg, possibly even better after watching him kick ass in Badlands. “The Husbands of River Song” was a fast-paced, fun, and heart-breaking special all wrapped up with a mega-hit of feels as we embraced the fact that it hailed the end of River Song and the Doctor’s relationship. Moving from emotional to the comic, comic book hero themed “The Return of Doctor Mysterio” brought back a Doctor Who favorite character, Nardole, played by the talented Matt Lucas. It was like watching a childhood dream of being a superhero unfold before your eyes. Nothing like combining comic books and Doctor Who for the geek’s soul.
Still, this year, with the return of the first doctor there is the potential to be equal to or dang close to being as epic as “The Time of the Doctor.” Breathe, breathe, give it a chance. I have a feeling it’s going to be one of the top ten Doctor Who episodes of all time.
The 13th Doctor
With the regeneration of the 12th Doctor, we welcome the first female Doctor, Jodie Whittaker of Broadchurch fame among other thespian achievements. We all knew the time was coming for this amazing transformation. First, we saw The Master come back as the vibrant Missy, who was a sassy trickster in contrast to John Simm’s spiteful, vengeance-driven Master. It’s possible that there was a bit of foreshadowing in “Hell Bent” when the General regenerated into a woman. Still, a female doctor is exciting, as is the decision to give her not one, but three companions.
The End of the Moffat Era
This final reason for excitement is a bit sorrowful. The showrunner, producer, and writer we love to hate, Steven Moffat, is passing the torch to Chris Chibnall, alumni of Torchwood and Broadchurch. As sad as it is to see Moffat leave keep in mind that Chibnall is also a Doctor Who alumni having written a few Doctor Who episodes already including “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” and “The Power of Three.” As excited as I’m getting for the future of the new series, I still have some tissues ready for the feels I’m going to have as Moffat leaves the show.
This year's Doctor Who is a pivotal episode in the renewing of the Whoverse, which is as exciting as it is frightening. The storyline of two doctors struggling to come to terms with their end is noteworthy enough alone. All the bring backs, and changes are compounding the potential for the immense impact this Christmas Special will have on Doctor Who and its fans. It’s going to be amazing to watch as one Doctor, and one era ends, and the anticipated fresh newness begins.
