The Doctor Who Christmas Special always brings up questions, and showrunner Steven Moffat answered a few for Hypable on Friday afternoon.
For starters, many fans have wondered about the time lapse between the end of season 8 and the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Many have theorized that Clara (Jenna Coleman) was pregnant with Danny Pink’s (Samuel Anderson) child at the end of the season, giving Clara a reason to leave off traveling with the Doctor and an explanation behind the character of Orson Pink. Clara is not visibly pregnant in the trailers, so have years passed?
Unfortunately for hopeful fans, the answer would appear to be no. When asked how much time has passed, Moffat stated, “As is always the case with Doctor Who, the amount of time sort of reflects the amount of time it’s been off the air. So, it’s the matter of months.”
Additionally, Moffat told The Radio Times, “Well, I can think of several explanations (regarding Orson’s character) but the obvious one is that Orson comes from another branch of the family. He knows about Danny’s heroic sacrifice, because Clara got in touch with the Pink family after the events of ‘Death in Heaven,’ and told them what he did, and why. And she gave them the little soldier, as a keepsake of a great man and a great soldier – and because she knows the toy soldier has to remain in the Pink family line.”
Moffat feels the Doctor Who Christmas Special has to be big and loud, with larger than life characters, and something of a one-off because, “We have people seeing it that night who don’t always watch it that often.”
Moffat then went on to state why the Christmas episode has to be particularly boisterous. “In Britain it’s an early Saturday evening. It’s surrounded by shiny floor shows. It’s shown in houses with children all yelling and talking at once, mum and dad cooking, maybe a hoover… it has to be a loud, clarion call of a show to survive all that. I know you guys watch it in the evening, and I think it must be a bit loud for nine o’clock,” he said.
One thing that Moffat quite enjoyed was the opportunity to cast Dan Starkey, who usually plays Strax, as an elf. “He’s been such a trooper for our show, sitting for hours in that make-up chair turning into an angry potato. It was nice to let him out of it.” Moffat continued, “As I was writing the grumpy elves I thought, ‘Oh, he’s got the comedic gifts, and the height frankly (Starkey is 5’2″) so let’s get him in to do it.’ He’s a very, very funny actor.”
As for the Doctor being a believer in Santa, Moffat wishes that he hadn’t cut a line in the “Robots of Sherwood” episode that took place earlier this year. The Doctor was originally supposed to state in that episode that Robin Hood was a mere legend, but Santa Claus actually existed. Moffat came up with the Christmas Special idea after the Robin Hood episode was completed, so the opportunity was lost.
In case anyone was wondering if Moffat collects Doctor Who merchandise, last year for Christmas his wife got him a life-sized Dalek that resides in his office. He always wanted a sonic screw driver as a kid, but alas, in the 1970s Doctor Who merchandising was not what it is today.
The Doctor Who Christmas Special, “Last Christmas,” will appear on BBC America at 9 p.m. on December 25.
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