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Author's Note: The following article contains spoilers for the 2024 'Doctor Who' Christmas Special "Joy to the World"
The second Doctor Who Christmas special with Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor is officially here. Premiering on Christmas Day, the special has already done well globally, in addition to sporting an 80% critic's score on Rotten Tomatoes. "Joy to the World" is currently sitting in the Top 10 movies worldwide for Disney+. The Christmas special also marks the second return of Steven Moffat to Doctor Who since he stepped away as showrunner. The first was the Season 1 episode "Boom." For months, fans have been anticipating just what Moffat meant when he said the Christmas special is what the Doctor is like when he travels alone. The synopsis for the Christmas Special is as follows:
"When Joy checks into a London hotel in 2024, she opens a secret doorway to the Time Hotel — discovering danger, dinosaurs and the Doctor. But a deadly plan is unfolding across the Earth, just in time for Christmas."
The Christmas special, after a montage of the Doctor trying to find the owner of a ham and cheese toastie and a pumpkin latte (an odd combination but, go off), opens with just that concept. We see him exiting the TARDIS into the Time Hotel in the 43rd Century, with two mugs of coffee in hand, muttering how it's a habit and that he always forgets after they leave. They, meaning his companions, the latest of which is Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday. Eventually, he meets Joy (Nicola Coughlan), and the journey linked to a mysterious briefcase unfolds.
Did You Catch These Easter Eggs in "Joy to the World"?
Moffat is good at feeding fans that are particularly fond of his era of Doctor Who. Moffat served as showrunner during the Eleventh (Matt Smith) and Twelfth (Peter Capaldi) Doctors' runs. He took over for returning showrunner Russel T. Davies who began the rebooted series back in 2005. Both in the Christmas Special and his recent episode "Boom," Moffat dropped callbacks that delighted many fans. In the special, during one scene with Anita (Stephanie de Whalley) The Doctor references the Weeping Angels. In the Time Hotel, there's a bar called "DeTambles." While the name might not ring any immediate bells for Doctor Who fans, it actually holds a double meaning for Moffat's work.
DeTambles is the last name of the couple in the book The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Not only did Moffat serve as showrunner and writer for the short-lived BBC television adaptation of the book, but the novel in and of itself has made an appearance in Doctor Who. Moffat has revealed on more than one occasion that the timey-wimey relationship between The Doctor and River Song (Alex Kingston) was inspired by Niffenegger's book. He told RadioTimes back in 2022 that "it’s very similar in mood if not in detail. It’s about a time-lapse relationship, and I did it quite consciously - knowing I was doing The Time Traveler’s Wife."
And because nothing is ever that simple, Moffat adds, that in another book by the author, it "has a character in the book actually watching "The Girl in the Fireplace" on television, so I knew she was onto me. At which point I could be more obvious, so I made Doctor Who a wife - River Song." The Twelfth Doctor also kept the TARDIS key inside a copy of the book (because River Song always does what she does best, haunts the narrative).
In addition to callbacks to his era as showrunner, in the Time Hotel you can also see what looks like a Hobbit door, from the mind of JRR Tolkein. There was also "Mr. Benn’s Clothes Shop" in reference to an animated show called Mr. Benn that aired on the BBC in the 1970s. The premise, similar to The Time Hotel, where he'd leave a dress shop through a magical door and be transported into another world, dressed appropriately for wherever he was.
The 2024 Christmas Special "Joy to the World" is available to stream now on Disney+. You can read Collider's review here. Stay with Collider for the latest updates.
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The show follows the adventures of a Time Lord, “The Doctor,” who is able to regenerate, and the Doctor’s human friends. The Doctor and his companions journey through time and space in the TARDIS – a time-traveling ship shaped like a police box – saving the universe with a combination of wit, bravery, and kindness.
Release Date December 25, 2023
Main Genre Sci-Fi
Seasons 1
Character(s) Commander Millington , Polly , Gordon Lowery , Dervish , Wheeler , Radar Technician , Uncredited , Dr. Grace Holloway , K9 (voice) , Lieutenant Carstairs , Peladon , Chancellor Flavia , Curtis , Mike , Self , Ted Moss , Sarah Jane Smith , Miranda , Mykros , The Master , Arek , Megara Voice , Dodo Chaplet , Peter Warmsly , Jackson
Producers John Nathan-Turner , Innes Lloyd , Peter Bryant , Philip Hinchcliffe , Verity Lambert , John Wiles
Studio
Franchise Doctor Who
Creator(s) Donald Wilson , Sydney Newman
Story By Sydney Newman C. E. Webber Donald Wilson
Network BBC
Streaming Service(s) Apple , Britbox , M , Dis
Franchise(s) Doctor Who
Directors Douglas Camfield , David Maloney , Christopher Barry , Michael E. Briant , Barry Letts , Michael Ferguson , Richard Martin , Peter Moffatt , Pennant Roberts , Lennie Mayne , Chris Clough , Ron Jones , Paddy Russell , Paul Bernard , Michael Hayes , Timothy Combe , Morris Barry , Gerald Blake , Graeme Harper , Waris Hussein , Rodney Bennett , Mervyn Pinfield , Hugh David , John Gorrie
English (US) ·