#Doctor who christmas full

It’s far from the first time the show has played with genre tropes, but for all the playfulness that the episode title’s punnery suggests, “Spyfall” itself doesn’t sport enough fun, intrigue, or originality. Spy: Doctor Who Edition, and its characters jump in with James Bond-style cosplay. The episode announces from the get-go that we’re in for an hour of Spy vs. All over the world, undetectable aliens are attacking spies, and so the TARDIS team is on the case. While preparing to depart on another adventure, the Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, and Graham are kidnapped by a bunch of suits and taken to MI6 headquarters, where - surprise! - Stephen Fry is the head honcho and needs their help. It’s a shame, though, because “Spyfall” is utterly conventional, nondescript at best and dull at worst, in the way it picks up where we last left off. The second Doctor Who holiday special to not run on Christmas Day (after 2019’s “Resolution”), “Spyfall” dispenses with the show’s usual holiday themes for a straightforward dive into the new season.

#Doctor who christmas full

Between its sky full of fish and its magical singing love interests, “A Christmas Carol” is marked by nonsensical diversions in a story that doesn’t stand on its own. Why does the Doctor decide that his best plan of action is to literally change a man’s personality? Isn’t it bad to manipulate someone’s life? Didn’t we already learn how crossing one’s own timeline can be disastrous? For a show about a time-traveling alien and his human companions skipping through the universe and saving the day, we also get little of our protagonists, and the characters who are pushed into the spotlight - Kazran Sardick and his icebox sweetheart Abigail - aren’t nearly interesting enough to act as worthy substitutes. It’s a transparent attempt to adopt the plot of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol - indeed, even Matt Smith’s Doctor says it - but the episode’s logic and execution are both off-target. Alternatively, read our thoughts on why Ncuti Gatwa is a perfect choice for The Doctor's next incarnation, what's planned for Doctor Who's 60th anniversary, or why Blink remains one of the scariest Who episodes ever 15 years after its release.Following the trash fire that was the Pandorica arc, “A Christmas Carol” tells the story of a doomed spaceship and the rich miser who could save the day but refuses to do any such thing. It’s arguably the most magical of all Who’s Christmas specials, though Moffat doesn’t hold back on the ambitious sci-fi ideas that became a hallmark of his time at the helm.įor more Doctor Who-based content, find out which streaming service will be The Doctor's new home (outside of the UK and Ireland) from 2023 onwards. The Doctor plays the role of the ghosts, transporting a miserable old man (wonderfully played by Harry Potter’s Michael Gambon) back in time to show him the error of his ways – and hopefully save companions Amy and Rory in the process. Following in the footsteps of the Muppets, Scrooged, and Blackadder, the Eleventh Doctor’s first seasonal special riffs on A Christmas Carol, adding flying sharks and a woman in deep-freeze to the traditional Dickensian mix. Russell T Davies may have stood down as showrunner but new Who boss Steven Moffat wasn’t about to abandon the show’s now-traditional festive adventure. Of course Doctor Who put its own sci-fi spin on Charles Dickens' classic Christmas tale.