07. The Husbands of River Song
The most recent addition to the Christmas specials, The Husbands of River Song is a episode that is both funny and sad at the same time. This might have been River Song’s (Alex Kingston) final appearance following her confusing timeline with the Doctor, finally reaching the last time she is with her husband and mismatched companion prior to the fateful trip to the Library during the Tenth Doctor’s visit. In this episode, the Doctor and River go through a wild goose chase as they try to steal a valued diamond from the head of River’s other husband, King Hydroflax (Greg Davies) who is a wacky head attached to what looks like Baymax’s body. There are some good laughs, though Matt Lucas’s presence is wasted, and River’s last farewell (debatable) was quite the emotional one.
06. A Christmas Carol
I wasn’t really sure where to put this episode. I only saw it once and thought it was average at best, so I put it in the middle of the list. In his first Christmas special, the Eleventh Doctor plays the role of Jacob Marley to a Scrooge-like figure played by Michael Gambon, hoping to change his views on Christmas so he can save Amy and Rory in a crashing spaceship. However, the Doctor does seem to break the rules of time travel a little too much, going back to influence Gambon’s younger self repeatedly and then even brings him to the future to scare his elderly self into changing his ways. Welsh signer Katherine Jenkins makes her acting debut, delivering a very good performance, but I think the flying sharks are both hilarious and absurd. I suppose that’s one way to jump the shark.
05. Last Christmas
Another Christmas special I’m not particularly fond of, but I won’t pretend it isn’t pretty good. The Twelfth Doctor, Clara, and a group of scientists try to salvage a North Pole research base under attack from creepy Dream Crabs that throw their victims into dream states to devour their brains. Combining elements of Inception and Alien is a nice idea, and the Dream Crabs are definitely more convincing as aliens than that stupid reality-warping plastic beetle Donna Noble encountered in Turn Left. Nick Frost shows up as Santa Claus, acting as both a deus ex machina and a plot device, but still gives a lovable performance. However, I admit that for me, the story was quite predictable, and I would’ve preferred Clara to have left the series on a high note rather than turning her into an aimless Mary Sue as seen during the previous season.
04. The Time of the Doctor
Matt Smith’s departure from the series was a bittersweet one in deed and it is only through numerous replays of his episodes that I realised how much I missed him. However, his last hurrah is a bit of a mixed bag. Steven Moffat tried to wrap up the big storylines established through Smith’s tenure – the cracks in reality, the death knell for someone asking what the Doctor’s name was, the battle on Trenzalore, etc. Well, that all happens, and while the stakes are present, the episode drags out the final battle, with the Doctor growing older and older to fend off his numerous enemies who are there to kill him for some reason. We also learn the origin of the Silence, which disappointingly, are just revealed to be an extreme bunch of religious nutters, though I do like it when their signature alien minions team up with the Doctor to take on the Daleks. Overall, it is a decent episode, and the Eleventh Doctor’s last five minutes are a real tearjerker.
