Doctor Who Christmas Special - Review

It seems like a hell of a long time since the end of the last series of Doctor Who so I was happy the Christmas Day special was on TV last night.

No new assistant but for Matt Lucas’ Nardole the strange alien-creature we last saw a year ago in The Husbands of River Song but he was back again this time as the Doctor’s right-hand man.

Called The Return of Doctor Mysterio the writers were back on form after a few shaky episodes in the last series this was action-packed, heart-warming, and brilliantly funny. I noted on social media a number of negative comments but it is impossible to please everyone. I was entertained and that’s all I was looking for.

To start with, I was unsure with the Matt Lucas character but I soon warmed to him and from the trailer after this Christmas special he looks to be a regular in the new series. Take Superman and Lois Lane and the thick-rimmed glass and you have the Ghost, the nerdy hero Grant (Justin Chatwin) and Lucy (played by Charity Wakefield) with the glasses but the difference this super hero was made by the Doctor and he is a nanny for single mother Lucy so PC or what.

Lucy and The Ghost on date/interview

He was responsible for accidentally making an 8-year-old Grant a superhero when he swallowed an alien gemstone on a previous visit to earth. The name Doctor Mysterio came about after Grant asked his name of the Doctor. 24 years have passed, and Grant has embraced his superhero powers even though he had once promised the Doctor he wouldn’t use them.

Interestingly, for once it wasn’t the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) who saved the day but superhero The Ghost and it was a refreshing and necessary change. This story also felt more international thanks to its setting in New York City, which is likely to be a big hit with US fans of the programme. You’d never guess that this episode was shot in location in Cardiff given its incredible production values.

There are also some tender moments in the TARDIS when the Time Lord is told off by his friend for not driving the time machine properly - in a similar way to River Song telling him.

Those scenes make further sense later on when we learn that River has now died and that the Doctor is mourning for the loss of his beloved wife River, which ends things on a poignant note. Perhaps this is it for that timey wimey love story now.

This is a tightly woven story and is well-contained in the space of an hour that is absorbing and something a little bit different to the usual Doctor Who stories normal get at Christmas - and that’s probably why it works so well.