Doctor Who Blog

Dreaming of a White Christmas

The 2014 Doctor Who Christmas special has aired. What did you all think of Last Christmas? So good that you must be dreaming? A horrible nightmare? A story worthy of a soundtrack by Tangerine Dream? Please let us know what you thought in the comments section, whether you had a white Christmas or not.

9 Comments...

Not nearly as good as last year’s Christmas special. I am still not sold on Peter Capaldi as the Doctor.

Posted by Doug  on  12/26  at  09:39 AM

And Clara’s confirmed to be staying for all of series 9, which for me is unfortunate. She’s easily my least favourite companion from the returned series.

Posted by Andrew  on  12/26  at  10:42 AM

I have no problem with Clara in the companion role but I agree she is the wrong one for this Doctor.

Posted by Doug  on  12/26  at  12:26 PM

That’s actually curious, as I prefer her with Capaldi than Smith. Still, I’d rather not have her at all. I’ll give her another chance, and if the writing can even out her character and remove her paper thin stance flip-flops then Jenna’s got a chance to recover a believable performance. It will certainly help to not have the Danny misfactor.

Posted by Andrew  on  12/26  at  12:41 PM

I believe the Donna Noble persona would be right for this Doctor.

Posted by Doug  on  12/26  at  01:09 PM

Did anyone else recognize Ian the elf?

The tooth gap should have been a giveaway, but he also dialed down his Sontar, er, Welsh accent a bit.

Also nice to see another Troughton on the show.

And, FWIW, I think Capaldi is fantastic and I’d never kick Jenna out of my TARDIS.  wink

Posted by Mark  on  12/26  at  09:59 PM

A mid-pack Christmas Special for me. Not as good as The Runaway Bride or The Snowmen, but not as bad as The Time of the Doctor or The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe.

What reduced its effectiveness for me was the constant reuse of the “are you still dreaming” catch. If there could have been a reason why Clara and the Doctor were the most affected by the Dream Crabs, that might have made the “Russian doll” plot a bit more acceptable.

Furthermore, unlike a fair number of people here, I do like both the 12th Doctor and Clara. What I think I’m beginning to miss are the old-school stories: show up somewhere for no particular reason, find out something is wrong, then right the wrong and leave. No long-term plot consequences, no meta-story arc. Just an old man in a box with a young companion.

Posted by David H. Olivier  on  12/27  at  05:20 PM

Re: Donna Noble and Capaldi. I too have had the same thoughts. Capaldi is simply too old for Amy, Martha, Rose and of course Clara but he and Donna would make a great pair. Sort of a old couple who bicker constantly but get the job done. The repartee between them would be hilarious.

Posted by Bill IMHO  on  12/28  at  11:45 AM

Once upon a time, we were far less concerned with the age gap between Doctor and companion(s). It’s only in the modern series, with its hints (or more) of possible romance that the age gap seems an issue. Of course, it’s a lot easier to feel that such a gap is wrong when we’re all used to the idea of Doctor/Rose, Doctor/Martha, or Doctor/Amy. The 12th Doctor/Clara just feels all wrong and allows no room for shipping without feeling all creepy.

If there’s a similar dynamic in the original series it would be the one between the Third Doctor and Jo Grant. The gap between Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning was a couple of years less than that between Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman but the nature of that older Doctor/younger companion is still there. Where it differs is that Clara is no Jo, starting off clumsy and lacking self-confidence, then maturing under the paternal Doctor’s tutelage. If there’s one thing Clara Oswald does not need, it’s self-confidence. In some ways the roles are reversed, especially in the new incarnation’s formative period.

I don’t say this is a perfect pairing. It will be interesting to see what - if any - character development we can expect in the new series. That will probably solidify for me whether this pairing works or if Clara is a convenient plot device with no room to grow.

Posted by David H. Olivier  on  12/31  at  11:13 AM

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