After the BBC released a prologue and trailer for this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special “The Snowmen”, showrunner Steven Moffat and star Matt Smith have spoken about the episode and what we can expect.
In the last twenty four hours we’ve learnt a lot about Jenna-Louise Coleman’s debut as the new companion. There were some teasing hints from Smith and the actress herself before the trailer was broadcast, joking about the fact she “couldn’t possibly” be playing the same character as she did in the series 7 opener “Asylum of the Daleks” (suggesting that despite the massive gap in their timelines, Oswin Oswald and Clara are more related than meets the eyes). Then came the footage itself. Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax (previously seen in last year’s “A Good Man Goes To War”) are back, and trying to pull the Doctor out of retirement. Things don’t seem to be going so well – and as Richard E. Grant’s villain unleashes evil snowmen on the people of Victorian London it’s up to Clara to bring the Timelord out of his mourning period.
Head writer Moffat was up to his usual ways, teasing fans with what twists and turns we can expect form his third yuletide effort. “The Doctor at Christmas is one of my favourite things – but this year it’s different. He’s lost Amy and Rory to the Weeping Angels, and he’s not in a good place: in fact, he’s Scrooge. He’s withdrawn from the world and no longer cares what happens to it. So when all of humanity hangs in the balance, can anyone persuade a tired and heartbroken Doctor that it’s time to return to the good fight? Enter Jenna-Louise Coleman…”
Lead actor Smith had this to add: “For this year’s Christmas special we have the wonderfully villainous Richard E Grant as Doctor Simeon – as well as lizards, Victorian assassins and deranged warriors from the future, who all return to convince the Doctor that he should board the TARDIS again and save the world. Add to that Jenna-Louise Coleman, and so begins the Christmas Special 2012. I hope everyone enjoys it!”
Doctor Who returns this Christmas, with a further eight episode scheduled for its 2013 run.