The Doctor Who Christmas Special has a new trailer, and there are a few details that are worth noting.

This is the second Doctor Who Christmas Special trailer that the BBC has released. Previously, we got a taste of what was to come at New York Comic-Con. We also had the Children in Need trailer that sparked our Doctor Who Christmas wishlist.

Here’s what the BBC has to say about the trailer: “With brain-swapping aliens poised to attack, the Doctor and Nardole link up with an investigative reporter and a mysterious figure known only as The Ghost. Can the Doctor save Manhattan? And what will be revealed when we see behind the mask?”

This new trailer is short, but there are a few details that we picked up on.

Nardole is back

For those of you who don’t remember Nardole, we don’t blame you. He popped up last year in the Doctor Who Christmas Special “The Husbands of River Song.” Nardole was involved in a somewhat confusing switching of heads and bodies scenario that can only really be found on Doctor Who.

Regardless, Nardole is played by comedian extraordinaire Matt Lucas. All we can say is, “more please.”

The implication of ‘return’

This season’s Doctor Who Christmas Special is called “The Return of Doctor Mysterio.” Now, in order for there to be a return, there has to be a first appearance. We’ve been wracking our Whovian brains (not to mention Wikipedia), and we can find no previous references to a Doctor Mysterio.

For that matter, we can’t recall any other time a superhero and Doctor Who have had a crossover. Some things don’t mix, and Doctor Who and superheroes have, up until now, been one of them.

This all brings us to the question of the return. The return of who or what exactly? Is Doctor Mysterio someone we have met before, only now he’s in a disguise?

Brain power

According to the trailer it’s brains of an alien species that are presumably being intended for human hosts. This sounds slightly like Cybermen to us. Cybermen typically interface with their hosts’ brains, and they don’t have to go full metal suit.

Remember the Neil Gaimen penned episode “Nightmare in Silver” with the cybermites? Could these brain things be an extension of Cyberman technology?

Take me back to Manhattan

Doctor Who has gone to America any number of times both during the classic and reboot eras. This time they are in a city whose skyscrapers bear a resemblance to the New York skyline, and the official synopsis mentions Manhattan. Could there be any possibility of an Amy and Rory shout out since we last left them in Depression Era Manhattan? Maybe their descendants could help the Doctor out.

The Doctor Who Christmas Special will be out Christmas Day on BBC One and BBC America.