A Guide to Every Doctor Who Christmas Special

The Time of the Doctor (2013)

The one with: Matt Smith’s swansong, wooden Cyberman, monster cameos, a town called Christmas

Verdict: It was always going to be hard to top the previous story, the 50th anniversary party ‘The Day of the Doctor’, and to wrap up the Eleventh Doctor’s entire era at the same time. As such, ‘Time of the Doctor’ misses the mark more often than it hits. Smith’s regeneration scene is an incredibly emotional moment, though.

 

Last Christmas (2014)

The one with: Shaun of the Dead‘s Nick Frost as Santa (not an evil robot), dream-inducing face-hugging crabs, North Pole setting

Verdict: I’m not sure the idea to introduce Santa Claus into the Doctor Who world was a complete success but ‘Last Christmas’ is a clever Christmas riff on Inception with a bold subplot about grief and the sad side to Christmas. It was originally intended as Clara’s last story, and probably should have remained so.

 

The Husbands of River Song (2015)

The one with: River Song’s return, rampaging headless robot, Matt Lucas

Verdict: The slightest Christmas special yet, as the plot amounts to the Doctor running away from a robot. On the other hand, there is a touching love story for the Doctor reuniting with his wife River Song (without her recognizing him). It was meant to be Moffat’s final ever story, but he was coaxed into returning for another year.

 

The Return of Doctor Mysterio (2016)

The one with: Doctor Who meets superheroes, Matt Lucas (again), New York setting

Verdict: This year’s Christmas special will see Doctor Who do a riff on the classic Superman tropes. War of the World‘s Justin Chatwin stars as New York-based superhero The Ghost. Matt Lucas returns as comic relief Nardole, a role he will reprise in season ten. Upcoming companion Bill will not make an appearance.