I really enjoyed this holiday episode of “Doctor Who” and will review more in this year’s marathon.
Click here to watch “Doctor Who Christmas Specials” on Amazon
TITLE: Doctor Who (Seventh Season)
FILM YEAR: 2012
DURATION: 60 Minutes
COMPANY: BBC
Directed by Saul Metzstein
Written by Steven Moffat
Producer: Marcus Wilson
Executive Producers: Steven Moffat, Caroline Skinner
Music by Murray Gold
Starring:
Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor
Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara Oswin Oswald
Richard E. Grant as Dr. Simeon
Dan Starkey as Strax
Catrin Stewart as Jenny Flint
Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra
Tom Ward as Captain Latimer
Liz White as Alice
Joseph Darcey-Alkden as Digby
It is Christmas Eve, 1892, and the falling snow is the stuff of fairytales. When the fairytale becomes a nightmare and a chilling menace threatens Earth, an unorthodox young governess, Clara, calls on the Doctor for help.
I am a big fan of science fiction. “Star Wars”, “Star Trek”, “Battlestar Galactica”, “Buck Rogers”, etc. were staples of must see viewing growing up.
And as I get older, I told myself, I want to watch all of “Doctor Who” and also watch all of the “Doctor Who” Christmas specials.
While the former may not be possible to watch it completely (considering the BBC lost a lot of the earlier episodes), fortunately there is still a good chunk of classic and modern “Doctor Who” series that people can watch and enjoy.
One of my favorite doctors, if not my favorite of all doctors of “Doctor Who” is the eleventh doctor, played by Matt Smith.
So, to not be confused, The first 26 seasons featuring the first seven doctors from 1963-1989 are called “Classic Doctor Who”, while anything from 2005-present is known as the “Revived Era”.
The eleventh doctor is from the revived era which was aired on April 2010 through September 2012 which featured Matt Smith. The popularity led to this doctor having more episodes than moist doctors and introduced many people to the “Doctor Who” series.
And one of the things I wanted to incorporate into this marathon are holiday specials and even TV episodes as well. Last year, I did the 2014 “Doctor Who” Christmas Special with the twelfth doctor for last year’s marathon.
But I’ll probably be all over the place as I backtrack on holiday episodes.
This episode is episode 231 which came after season 7 part 1 (episode 230). Episode 230 was the final appearance of the doctor’s companions Amy Pond (portrayed by Karen Gillan) and her husband Rory Williams (portrayed by Arthur Darville). Now back in episode 226 titled “Asylum of the Daleks”, the series introduced us to Oswin (portrayed by Jenna-Louise Coleman). This was the first time we meet Oswin (a woman who’s spaceship had crashed on the planet a year ago and she remained stuck there).
Fastforward to this Christmas episode 231 and the setting is in the Victorian Era, where a boy named Simeon who plays with himself is building a snowman, which talks to him. Fastforward and sentient killer Snowmen are causing trouble.
As for the Doctor (portrayed by Matt Smith), he hasn’t been the same. Retired and in hiding, he is shocked when he comes into contact with a governess, Clara Oswald (portrayed by Jenna-Louise Coleman), who is investigating the Snowmen.
Meanwhile, a Silurian, Madame Vastra (portrayed by Neve McIntosh) and her wife Jenny Flint (portrayed by Catrin Stewart) discover that the person responsible for the snowmen is Dr. Simeon (portrayed by Richard E. Grant) and along with Strax, they hope the Doctor will help them.
Meanwhile, a curious Clara finds herself following the Doctor and seeing why he keeps going up in a ladder to the sky.
For the most part, this is a very interesting and fun special. As Clara is my favorite companion, she brings a vibrant atmosphere to Doctor Who’s life, no matter if he questions himself or things are going dark, she is always there with a positive attitude (no matter which Clara it may be).
The importance of this special is a buildup to the new Doctor Who companion, which is Clara (a different one from a different time period). So, if anything, fans invested in the series more than likely have watched this holiday episode. Unfortunately, this season came during a time I disconnected our satellite service, so no more access to BBC and since then, everything has been through Blu-ray or streaming video.
But I really enjoyed this holiday episode of “Doctor Who” and will review more in this year’s marathon.
Click here to watch “Doctor Who Christmas Specials” on Amazon
