Doctor Who Christmas special shines – but doesn’t fix the show’s biggest problem-Asyia Iftikhar-Entertainment – Metro

Doctor Who has returned for another festive special featuring timey-wimey adventures, Ncuti Gatwa’s trademark flare, and the inimitable Nicola Coughlan.

This special, aptly titled Joy To The World, also marked Steven Moffat’s first Christmas episode since 2017.

Of course, it includes many of the Whoniverse’s classic motifs from unwieldy hotels (think season six’s The God Complex) to enrapturing one-off guest stars – all with a fresh twist.

When Joy Almondo (Nicola) books into an unassuming London hotel in 2024, her hotel room soon becomes a portal into the mystical Time Hotel and the accidental epicentre for her world colliding with the 15th Doctor.

Along the way, we meet the usual circuit of weird and whacky characters like the endearing bellman Trev (Joel Fry) and the disarmingly charming hotel everywoman (seriously it’s unclear what her role is) Anita (Steph De Walley).

There’s no doubt that Nicola is the crowning jewel of this episode, showing off her magnificent acting range.

Joy and the Doctor meet in a hotel room – and go on a chaotic adventure (Picture: BBC Studios/James Pardon)

There’s a delightful chemistry between Ncuti and Nicola (Picture: BBC Studios/Lara Cornell)

We see her witty rapport with the Doctor as she fights to be heard in the face of a deathly threat in the form of a black briefcase that’s inexplicably attached itself to her.

And her character’s arc also offers plenty of depth for the more emotional moments, when she is forced to reckon with her lonely Christmas plans and, in turn, forces the Doctor to confront his own loneliness.

In short, she has all the perfect ingredients of a companion in the making which is why it is such a shame she has only been confirmed by the BBC for a one-off appearance.

The spark between her and Ncuti is only just beginning to blossom when the hour comes to an end, and leaves you wondering where their chemistry could have gone with a recurring guest appearance (if not fully-fledged TARDIS inhabitant).

Doctor Who is all too used to having impressive, but fleeting, guest stars like Kylie Minogue’s Astrid, Carey Mulligan’s Sally Sparrow and Jonathan Groff’s Rogue who proved themselves fandom darlings.

And it looks as though Nicola could follow that fate. Of course, it being Doctor Who, no door is ever totally closed but with Nicola’s rising stardom another appearance is unlikely.

During the episode, the Doctor mourns the loss of yet another companion, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). And, building on the issues present throughout his debut season, it is here that the story falls flat.

The episode struggles with the emotional motivation hooked to Ruby Sunday’s departure (Picture: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/James Pardon)

There are plenty of fun side characters we meet along the way (Picture: BBC Studios/Lara Cornell)

The story falls flat in its sometimes predictable plot beats, and Ruby Sunday storytelling (Picture: BBC Studios/James Pardon)

It’s difficult to believe the Doctor’s bittersweet anguish at losing Ruby when she is safe and sound at home, and would no doubt be delighted if the Doctor popped over for some Christmas dinner.

It makes his emotional journey in this episode feel surface-level and lacklustre, with the adventure plot doing most of the heavy lifting to keep viewers engaged.

If anything, considering Ruby’s planned return next season, this episode could have served as more screentime to build their relationship (and even explore her dynamic with other characters such as Joy who also worm their way into the Doctor’s heart).

Beyond the plot, Moffat’s vision for this episode is ambitious, dipping into different time zones – from dinosaurs to Mount Everest – as the Doctor races to save the earth.

The healthy Disney budget certainly helps bring this story to life and execute some high-stakes action sequences that the Doctor Who of yesteryear could have only imagined.

Although Joy To The World brings a reliable festive cheer, chaotically Christmassy plot and some memorable characters, the episode suffers from the lack of development sewn into the earlier season.

And the, at times, predictable plot beats reminiscent of Moffat and Davies’ episodes gone by, make it struggle to stand out from the sea of excellent Christmas episodes that have come before.

Doctor Who Christmas special, Joy To The World, will air on December 25 at 5:10pm on BBC One.

This article was originally published on December 20, 2024.

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