Doctor Who ~ Last Christmas

As I have said recently, I was going to and indeed did enjoy the helping of festive viewing this Christmas. And as I also said recently - the latest Doctor Who special was chief among them. For me, like most Whovians, this annual Who event not only has to be enjoyable (which for me it surely was) but it also still has to mean something within the annals of the Doctor Who series, and the current Doctor carrying the keys to to the TARDIS.

Just as last year's Christmas Doctor Who was important in that it was the superb swansong of Matt Smith (for my review of this see my BLOG ARCHIVE) so to this year's special was important because it was going to be the first time new twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi took the reins at Christmas. For me, a Christmas special has always seemed to be a little rite of passage within the realms of new Who; I always resented that Christopher Eccleston never got one, and messrs Tennant, Smith and now Capaldi almost always excelled in theirs. Thankfully, Peter Capaldi's first festive special did not disappoint at all. 

This is always expected with Who now (particularly in the current Moffat era) but the way in which this episode was marketed was in several key areas vastly different to how it played out. Yes there was a distinct, nay vital, flavour of festivity (but not quite how you might expect) the usual Moffat chills and thrills were all there, and the fate of a certain companion was definitely sealed (at least for the time being).

One of the big exciting plus points of Last Christmas was that it would star Nick Frost as Santa Claus. Cast member and character match made in heaven or what? There is no denying Frost was superb; quite possibly the best TV representation of St. Nick I have ever seen. There is also no denying that this was Santa with quite a Doctor Who twist. Without wishing to give too much away, as well as having all the right amounts of sass and bad-ass attitude (again - which Frost brought to life brilliantly!) there is again a sting in the tail of Santa that, whilst appreciated, is not entirely what you might have been expecting.

The main antagonists (i.e. "monsters") were admittedly (even Moffat does) huge Alien rip-offs, but nevertheless they were fed into the story brilliantly and pivotally. Indeed, the Dream Crabs did enough in this one episode to give them a good chance of getting onto Doctor Who's extensive list of most chilling monsters. 

Another lingering and pressing question weaving its way through the build up of this episode was over the fate of Clara Oswald, aka Jenna Coleman. There was plenty of whisper that this would indeed be her last time on Who. There certainly was plenty of misdirection from Moffat and co. to support this, but there was always a nagging feeling at the back of many-a-Whovian's mind (including yours truly) that Clara could simply not be done, and that it would be cruelly mundane to end her there.

Happily, not only were we reassured that she was to stay, but we were treated to a total renewal of the character. Indeed, Clara's relationship with Christmas, her relationship with her old demons, and most importantly her relationship with the Doctor were all examined and just about resolved in time for New Year; all embodied by the beautifully brilliant Jenna Coleman.

Speaking of the companion - let's look at the Doctor himself shall we?  I suppose it could have been tempting for Capaldi to change tact slightly seen as it was Christmas; to allow a bit of bend in his steely, edgy yet terribly enigmatic Doctor. Not a bit of it. The genius of his performance was such that this episode was a smooth and flawless transition from when we last saw him (freshly triumphant and fully-fledged at the end of his last series). Capaldi merely directed his Doctor at this Christmas special, and the chaotic magic ensued. We got all the right amount of crisp magic and sparkle from Capaldi's Doctor - including an engaging powerhouse performance opposite his companion Clara, some sizzling interplay with Nick Frost's Santa and, when the occasion warranted, a complete and utter mastery of the scene showing that, when all is said and done, he is still the Doctor in Doctor Who after all!

Last Christmas faults? Not many at all! OK, yet again there was a bit too much Moffat meddling for my liking (in an otherwise wonderful plot line) and I feel we could have done without seeing Danny Pink again (though I do get that for many it was a bit of a treat cameo). But that's about it.

Overall I really am happy with this special, as I was with Capaldi's first series. It is further proof that his Doctor is a great one in his own right, and will surely go on to greater things, plus Last Christmas gives us yet another cracking Doctor Who Christmas special.