S8E13: Last Christmas (SPOILERS)

So, the story has been described as The Thing meets Miracle on 34th St. Hmm.

after the Christmas special, when is the next show, Easter??

Caretaker maine wrote:

after the Christmas special, when is the next show, Easter??

Well if it's the same as this year, it won't be until August.

I imagine the show will go back into production in February as with last year.

Can't wait to see what will go down in this special!

The Gene Lantern wrote:

Yup, crackers are definitely NOT a thing in the US.  I was wondering about the paper crowns as well...LOL! Thanks for clearing that up, Scary

Ronpur wrote:

Wow, I suppose it may depend on where you are in the US, or maybe family history.  We have had the my entire life every Christmas.  Oh, they are sold in the store I manage, which is a nationwide chain.

Same here, Ronpur! And no UK family roots. But we're in "New" England so I'm sure a lot of things carried over . As far as the orange, I don't recall that being any tradition, but those chocolate oranges are all over the place this time of year in any CVS / Walgreens / etc., so in a way we have that tradition too.

edit - you got me thinking about them and I had to pick some up on the way home from work!

Saw an ad recently... I think it was Target... featuring two kds pulling on a giant cracker and toys and such coming out...

The Xmas specials are dumb...delightfully dumb. Most holiday entertainment is. When I sit down to watch one of these, about the LAST thing I expect is a serious story. I expect to be amused and to laugh.

With Nick Frost in the mix, I expect that's exactly what's going to happen with this one.

mysterylad wrote:

The Xmas specials are dumb...delightfully dumb. Most holiday entertainment is. When I sit down to watch one of these, about the LAST thing I expect is a serious story. I expect to be amused and to laugh.

With Nick Frost in the mix, I expect that's exactly what's going to happen with this one.

I think Christmas Invasion was the only "serious" Christmas special!

Ronpur wrote:

mysterylad wrote:

The Xmas specials are dumb...delightfully dumb. Most holiday entertainment is. When I sit down to watch one of these, about the LAST thing I expect is a serious story. I expect to be amused and to laugh.

With Nick Frost in the mix, I expect that's exactly what's going to happen with this one.

I think Christmas Invasion was the only "serious" Christmas special!

But even then, you had to laugh at the Christmas tree going ape wild in the apartment! Or the Santa robots blasting everything with their instruments

Voted 'bad'. Made no sense, was completely disjointed and impossible to engage with, and I was bored throughout just wanting it to end and playing on my phone to pass the time... Sounds really grumpy and 'bah-humbug' but it really did not mix well with me.

Aside from that... Merry Christmas everyone!

Well, I voted Fantastic! I loved it. I loved the idea of not knowing what was real. And Nick Frost as Santa was funny and fit the role perfectly. I thought Clara was gone at the end, and may have been originally, but then the little Santa bit at the end happened. I loved the elves and reindeer.

I am sure everyone will hate besides me, but I don't care, I loved it!

"You have a horror movie called "Alien"? That is offensive. No wonder you keep getting invaded!"

Ronpur wrote:

Well, I voted Fantastic!  I loved it.  I loved the idea of not knowing what was real.  And Nick Frost as Santa was funny and fit the role perfectly.   I thought Clara was gone at the end, and may have been originally, but then the little Santa bit at the end happened.  I loved the elves and reindeer.

I am sure everyone will hate besides me, but I don't care, I loved it!

"You have a horror movie called "Alien"?  That is offensive.  No wonder you keep getting invaded!"

I liked it better than series 8 (excluding Sherwood). I loved the "Aliens" quote.

...couple of good dialogue chuckles.

Maybe series 9 will all be a dream?...

good makeup job on old Clara too. "am I old"? "I can't tell"

and Straxx as an elf?

a dream within a dream within a dream. . .reminds me of a joke. . .did you hear the one about the dyslexic devil worshiper. . .he sold his soul to Santa. . .

I too loved it. I thought it was very much a Capaldi Chistmas special, in that it was appropriately dark and highlighted the Doctor-as-analytical-scientist that has so far been the hallmark of Capaldi's run. I was worried about how they were going to work Santa in, but I thought the solution was brilliantly playful.

I worried for Clara's fate for a bit there. I can't help but wonder if the "leak" that Jenna was leaving earlier this year was deliberate misinformation or the result of Coleman changing her mind, but I'm glad she's staying for at least one more season. Her character was never more interesting than she was in S8.

We've had Christmas specials that range from "regular Doctor Who episode merely set at Christmas" (Christmas Invasion, Runaway Bride, Voyage of the Damned) to a pseudo-retelling of a Christmas classic (A Christmas Carol), so it must be increasingly difficult to successfully work the Christmas bits into these episodes. I thought this one got it right in that Santa & co. are part of the dream (and so intrinsic to the plot) and yet the spirit of what Santa represents was on display in the Doctor and Clara's reconciliation.

Now the agonizing wait 'til Season 9......

timewarrior wrote:

a dream within a dream within a dream. . .reminds me of a joke. . .did you hear the one about the dyslexic devil worshiper. . .he sold his soul to Santa. . .

or the Dyslexic pimp who bought a warehouse......

I voted good, I thought Clara was leaving so the old maid scene caught in my throat but then that was another dream.

Definitely liked the Satsuma on the window ledge.

Merry Christmas.

It was okay (basically one of the better episodes of series . Anything is better than last year's Christmas special which was plain bad. Hopefully that'll be it for Danny Pink because enough is enough of him.

Did anyone find the commercial insertions very bad on BBCA? It seems they kept cutting in the middle of scenes and, when back on, something seemed to be snipped out.

I think "Last Christmas" made "The Runaway Bride" look like "Pyramids of Mars". It was truly, truly BAD, and was like a horrible remake of "Inception" crossed with "Alien" with Nick Frost thrown in as a surly Santa. The only redeeming part was the hope they were getting rid of Clara, and they snatched that away in a cruel turn. And jeezus christmas, they had to throw in the freaking Clara/Danny Pink vomit inducing romance again???!!! Rating: No Stars

While the doctorwhotv.co.uk poll results will take a while longer to come out, the poll from Kasterborous is an interesting one:



Additionally, the Series 8 viewership has been consistently as high or better than the previous seasons.

Given the ending of 'Last Christmas'... the look forward at a second chance, perhaps to forget the small things and just go on adventures for 'as long as it lasts' without worrying about the ramifications it has on others in your life (as a companion)... the Doctor being less uptight, and perhaps Clara being more understanding and giving up some of that control... could set us up for a very 'traditional' and fun season. Kind of like the 'classic' series... heavier on adventure and barely a nod to introspection.

I voted "fantastic." It was probably only "good," but I ranked it up a notch out of relief that it didn't suck. It was an entertaining episode that largely avoided the schmaltz that's characteristic of the Moff Christmas specials (and really, the entire Moff run).

I still think this should be the end of the Christmas specials, though. The idea expressed in the story -- you never know if this Christmas will be your last -- would seem to make this one a fitting place to stop. And the last shot, with the tangerine in the foreground, could be considered a call-back to what the Doctor said in the first Christmas special. "But doesn't that just sum up Christmas. You go through all those presents and right at the end tucked away in the bottom there's always one stupid old satsuma." There's your Christmas specials neatly tied up in a bow, BBC. End 'em.

And while you're at it, please bring back Faye Marsay as Shona. I felt a bit of a Lucie Miller vibe coming from her. With all the "rumors" about Jenna Coleman leaving and next season's opener being called "The Magician's Apprentice," when Shona referred to the Doctor as "magician," I was sure the Doctor was in for a companion upgrade. Okay, Clara's coming back, but Shona did say she wanted to keep in touch...C'mon Moff, confirm that the Doctor can and should have two female companions.

The 2nd Doctor Roberts wrote:

And while you're at it, please bring back Faye Marsay as Shona. I felt a bit of a Lucie Miller vibe coming from her.

A bit? With her accent and attitude I felt like she was a clone, or at least would be Shona Miller instead of Shona McCullough!

Well, the AI (Audience Appreciation Index) continues to be low for the series. Last Christmas scored 82. Usually the show scored around 85 or higher.

An AI in the 80's is nothing to be disappointed with, esp. since the 'only number that matters' is the number of viewers. And let's not forget that "Fear Her" scored an 83... so, I really don't read much into the AI score