S00.E142: Last Christmas

[BizBuzz]

The Doctor and Clara face their Last Christmas. Trapped on an Arctic base, under attack from terrifying creatures, who are you going to call? Santa Claus!

 

Gonna leave this open instead of locking it. 

[Kalliste]

Last Christmas could mean anything.. I don't like that it's capitalised. That suggests Last Christmas is a thing and that they're being 'clever' and trying to trick us and Clara is around forever.

 

Hopefully this is the best christmas and our present is her leaving.

[alrightokay]

Nick Frost was fantastic, really funny; he and Capaldi sparked off each other nicely.  I also liked the actors playing the scientists at the base, especially Ashley and Shona.  The plot was a bit too similar to Inception, but all in all, it was one of the better Christmas Specials.  My only frustration has to do with the ending

--I wish the episode had ended 2 minutes earlier.  I was hoping we would move on to a new companion for S9, but if it has to be Clara, then at least their interactions will be lighter/happier from here on out.  Both Twelve and Clara are now free to enjoy their adventures, without any guilt or lying or self-doubt.

[Anisky]

Deeply, deeply needed to end 3 minutes earlier.

 

Also, did anyone else wonder if the "Every Christmas is Last Christmas" sentence construction was related to "Three words: My. Little. Pony."?

Edited December 25, 2014 by Anisky

[Lokiberry]

I knew Clara wouldn't die, I never get what I want for Christmas.

[TheOtherOne]

I honestly think I enjoyed that the most of any episode in Capaldi's run. It was simply, wonderfully, breezily entertaining from start to finish. If it had ended with Clara's death, it would have been a nice bookend to last Christmas' special and a satisfyingly bittersweet way to end her story--yet I don't begrudge them the happy ending. In the end, I realized that after this episode, I would actually enjoy seeing more stories with Clara and this Doctor, which wasn't always the case over the course of the last season. They just felt connected in a way they didn't in much of Series 8, Clara wasn't annoying or dull, and the partnership was clicking in a way it often didn't. I think I'm back on board.

 

Merry Christmas, indeed.

[shapeshifter]

I honestly think I enjoyed that the most of any episode in Capaldi's run. It was simply, wonderfully, breezily entertaining from start to finish....In the end, I realized that after this episode, I would actually enjoy seeing more stories with Clara and this Doctor, which wasn't always the case over the course of the last season. They just felt connected in a way they didn't in much of Series 8...

Yes, for me it was the moment in the sleigh when Clara conveyed that The Doctor was Santa Claus for her, and she leaned forward from her seat to wrap her arms around his neck as they flew cheek-to-cheek in a very grandfatherly/granddaughterly way. Plus, it happened after they had confessed to each other that Danny was dead and Gallifrey was gone, and they had lied to each other so each could have what they wanted in the spirit of Gift of the Magi.

Plus, twice in the last fortnight I've had dreams in which I woke up but was still dreaming--which I haven't done in many years--and for one, I had actually gone to bed wearing red flannel pj bottoms with snowmen on them, so when I "woke up" in the dream, was able to figure out that I was still sleeping because I was in a public place still wearing the Christmas pajama bottoms--something I'm way too old to do.

[tankgirl73]

So at the start, the Doctor says to Santa "I know what's going on here" before leaving in the Tardis.  So why did he seem to only realize they were dreaming later on?  And he told Clara right there in the Tardis that it was vitally important that she believes in Santa Claus, life or death, etc -- then only later realized that it was important for them to believe in Santa?

 

I knew most of the time that they were already dreaming within a dream.  I've been inoculated to this plot thanks to Inception and also to that neat ST:TNG episode.  For my 8yo daughter though, it was a new concept.  And with the first "we're still dreaming" reveal, she exclaimed "A dream WITHIN a dream!!"  And then later on, she guffawed "A dream within a dream WITHIN A DREAM!"  She was practically apopleptic by the end.

 

I wish they could have left it with old Clara.  It made parts of the plot make much more sense.  She was so stunned to actually see the Doctor on her rooftop, makes more sense if it's been 60 years (and so much more poignant).  And it would explain why she was so reluctant to leave Santa's side -- she could stay young just a little longer.  And it was sweet that she was dreaming that she was young. And it makes a really lovely counterpoint to Clara missing out on Eleven's growing old, but coming to him one more time in his very old age, at another place called Christmas.  And it would be a neat (and, frankly, pretty brave) way of sending off her character.  Plus, we had the setup of several potential companions -- frankly, I liked the young one who ended up forgiving Dave (I've forgotten her name) who just wanted to "hang out sometime".  Reminds me of Ace a bit, perhaps.  After leaving old Clara, Doctor goes off to find wassername. 

 

But there are other reasons why that wouldn't have worked.  Unlike for Amy and Rory, there was no time lock on Clara's life.  He has no reason to miss 60 years.  If he wanted to, he could go visit her in her past whenever he wanted to.  And if 60 years had gone by and she'd had "several proposals", then the hurt over Danny Pink would not have still been so raw -- she would still hurt of course, and it would still be believable that she'd dream about being with him, but not with the same intense ferocity she showed here. 

 

Speaking of Danny -- when the Doctor almost reached through to her in her dream state with the chalkboards and you could hear his voice, and she looked up and you thought she was about to say "I hear you Doctor -- help me, what do I do now?" but instead she blinked and *erased it all* and *chose* to ignore reality to go live her fantasy with Danny...

 

I'm sorry... just... getting my hanky here... no biggie...

 

I was never even THAT attached to Danny, but that moment was really effective.

 

So I guess she wasn't pregnant with Pink Jr after all.  So how do we explain Pink Jr Jr Jr Jr Jr that we met before?

 

Where was the Doctor, with the fires of hell and the head crab and all that?  Was that supposed to be someplace on earth?  If not -- ok, so the Doctor said that the head crabs 'read' Clara from his mind and sought her out because of that and the others were collateral damage, were the crabs already on earth and got a psychic signal from their friend on the Dr?  How did they get to her (and the others) *simultaneously* with the Doctor?  Recall that only a few minutes passed in real time during the whole long dream adventure.  Therefore the crab got Clara *within minutes* of getting the Doctor, otherwise he would have been dead before they got to her.  It certainly does seem that these creatures exist everywhere, they were just in random flats (random, in England, of course), so THAT's creepy, but why doesn't this sort of thing happen more often?

 

Was the whole notion of 'they only awaken/attack if you think about them' just a red herring?  That was within the dream, after all, and symbolically representative of the parts of them that wanted to give up, etc, so there's no necessity that that is the real life rule.  Which is kind of too bad, because I thought that was a *fascinating* creature feature, just as original as the weeping angels and just as creepy.  (I said to my daughter, 'don't think about a pink elephant' and she opened her eyes wide and said "you put a pink elephant in my mind!!!" "exactly," I said.)

 

Santa was great.  I admit that I was skeptical, from the promos, about how they'd explain away a 'real' Santa Claus.  But having him be a specific manifestation of the ridiculous in their dream state was great.  The elves were hilarious.  "Bigger on the inside", guffaw.  Santa blowing up stuff with tangerine grenages -- bahahaaaa.  I rolled my eyes at Rudolph's car alarm being set -- too far, I thought.  But it was *supposed* to be too far, so that was great!

[truther]

So none of those other people were real then?  Isn't that what the last awakening meant?

[bmoore4026]

Ah, nothing says Christmas like head-sized psychic ticks that look like prunes.

Edited December 26, 2014 by bmoore4026

[LiveenLetLive]

Well I, and the Doctor apparently, are so relieved that Clara is still young (rolls eyes.) The Doctor is a crone, but the companion is forever young, and that is all that is important I suppose (and, oh yeah, bah humbug!)

[GenieinTX]

So there were rumors that Jenna was leaving, then changed her mind that she wanted to stay so they had to reshoot the ending.  Could be true, or that could have been the planned ending all along.  Either way, Clara will be back with the Doctor.  Boo.  I was ready for her to go and really loved the old Clara ending.  They should have stuck with that one.

 

But overall I liked it.  It was an enjoyable episode.  I think the Danny dream was the best part though.  I wasn't expecting Danny feels for the Christmas ep and I thought they were really well done.

[Lantern7]

Dang. Just we needed for Christmas: Inception and Alien in a pureed package. Oh, and the hopes that Clara would be too old to travel with Peter P- . . . I mean, the Doctor. Maybe Clara won't bug from here on out. Maybe Moffat will stop trying to cram her down our collective gob, and maybe he'll plant his focus on the Doctor. Christmas is about lots of things, and why wouldn't hope be one of them?

[ketose]

Bastards!

 

Anyway, I'd like to see a mini-reboot of Clara and the Doctor, sort of like how Six and Peri started actually getting along in his second series. It would make her considerably less annoying. They managed to do it with Amy when they finally stopped making her the most important girl in the universe.

 

This confirms that Danny was nothing more than an obstacle. Clara can have her sad for 5 minutes a day and doesn't have to worry about him disapproving of her. Plus, that whole "Doctor putting her in danger" thing apparently doesn't matter to her now. I assume they'll just come up with an alternate universe Danny or something anyway.

[RandomWatcher]

Not sure why, but I interpreted the ending as them going off to find a way to save Danny.

[ohjoy]

Sigh. I've already seen Inception, and I don't like Alien-type movies, so I immediately knew what was going on and was not really interested in watching most of that process. I did enjoy the sequence with Danny; I've always liked Danny, while simultaneously recognizing and being annoyed that he was being used almost exclusively as a plot point or source of conflict. (It became clear as the series went on that Danny was never going to get to become "his own man," a character in his own right even quasi-independently from Clara.) I couldn't help but enjoy him nonetheless when Clara was loving her dream and unwilling to let it end; it was pretty sweet to watch. And I loved the sleigh scene. The joy in the Doctor's face as he drove the sleigh, the peacefulness as he let Clara hang on to him and they enjoyed the ride together -- I could watch that all day. So here's hoping that's the relationship we get next year, instead of secrets, lies, or belittling.

[shapeshifter]

...Was the whole notion of 'they only awaken/attack if you think about them' just a red herring?  That was within the dream, after all, and symbolically representative of the parts of them that wanted to give up, etc, so there's no necessity that that is the real life rule.  Which is kind of too bad, because I thought that was a *fascinating* creature feature, just as original as the weeping angels and just as creepy.  (I said to my daughter, 'don't think about a pink elephant' and she opened her eyes wide and said "you put a pink elephant in my mind!!!" "exactly," I said.)...

Good question. IDK, but it is sort of the bizarro opposite of waking from a dream and trying to recall it as it slips away.

...So I guess she wasn't pregnant with Pink Jr after all. So how do we explain Pink Jr Jr Jr Jr Jr that we met before?...

Alternate universe. For example, in one alternate universe I'm a rocket scientist. In another I'm a biochemist. In various other alternate universes I accepted different job offers and married different boyfriends. It keeps me from living with regret.

Or there's:

Not sure why, but I interpreted the ending as them going off to find a way to save Danny.

RandomWatcher, I think you're just still under the influence of the spirit of Christmas cheer. Don't worry, it wears off about 10 days after New Year's Eve. j/k. I'd be happy if they find Danny. But what time of year/how long ago was the last episode supposed to be? Are we sure she can't be pregnant?

[tankgirl73]

it was long enough ago that he felt guilt over not coming back sooner, and she was stunned to see him - the guilt was magnified in the dream to the 60 years thing, but the root emotions for both of them do reflect at least a certain passage of time.  Long enough since Danny died that she would be clearly pregnant by now.

[shapeshifter]

One last observation about the episode: The focus on dreams and dream states--especially being unable to control them--is very much a take off on Dickens' dream ghosts of Christmases past, present, and future.

Edited December 26, 2014 by shapeshifter

[random chance]

Doctor Who has become a horror-filled bummer of a show, for me. I'm glad it didn't air until tonight, so that it didn't cast a pall over my entire damn Christmas day. I'm also glad there's no New Years special to start my year off with gloom, fear and hopelessness.

[ohjoy]

One last observation about the episode: The focus on dreams and dream states--especially being unable to control them--is very much a take off on Dickens' dream ghosts of Christmases past, present, and future.

Oh, thanks for that. That seems so obvious to me now, but sometimes I miss the obvious. :-) The Santa thing was so on-the-nose that I really couldn't get into it, but the subtlety of Christmas-ghost theme -- I can actually see this as a Christmas episode to me now.

[Lantern7]

I didn't it was that bad, random chance. Well, except for the "this Christmas could be your last Christmas" spiel. Now that's depressing. Seriously, here's to better stories for 2015.

[random chance]

I didn't it was that bad, random chance. Well, except for the "this Christmas could be your last Christmas" spiel. Now that's depressing. Seriously, here's to better stories for 2015.

Well that and the endless "you're dead, you're dying" speeches. :/

[Anisky]

Well that and the endless "you're dead, you're dying" speeches. :/

 

"You are all dead. Very, very, very dead. Merry Christmas!"

[Llywela]

Eh. Well, that was miles better than last year's Christmas offering, but since I hated that one, that isn't saying much. I was bored for large chunks of this episode, which kept taking time out from an actual Doctor Who story to play at being a soapy sitcom - which has been a problem with the Moffat era throughout, tbh. And people accuse the classic era of filler. Huge chunks of this episode seemed to be composed of people gabbing prolonged nonsense at each other, sitcom style. I longed for someone to get to the point already.

 

And I'm still annoyed about the fake-out ending. I was so happy when I thought old!Clara was real! I was content with that as an ending for her, that she and the Doctor had taken each other at their words and she'd led her whole life and was content and that would be that. But no, we're stuck with her still.

 

I wouldn't mind Clara half so much if the writing of her era wasn't so determined to create 'Issues' out of thin air, which we had a bit of again here. I never bought into her relationship with Danny because it existed only as a plot device, so why should I care about their schmaltzy soap opera here?

 

Overall, not bad (last year certainly proved how much worse things can get!). I liked the concept of the dream crabs, but thought the execution focused a bit too much on sit com and soap opera schmaltz and not enough on exploring and explaining the logic.

Edited December 26, 2014 by Llywela

[Kalliste]

Last Christmas could mean anything.. I don't like that it's capitalised. That suggests Last Christmas is a thing and that they're being 'clever' and trying to trick us and Clara is around forever.

 

Hopefully this is the best christmas and our present is her leaving.

Pretty much this..

 

I found Santa pretty annoying and the elves.. I wanted them to shut up in a hurry. I liked the 4 supporting characters though. If only the Doctor went to find them and one of them became the new companion - namely Shona as she didn't particularly want to go either, granted I guess that was because of 'Dave'.

 

They could have left it at Clara had a good life, being a teacher all over the world, which is apparently what she likes doing but no...

[Darth Nigel]

Not bad at all (until the end).   A good romp, with scary monsters and a somewhat unconventional Father Christmas (loved Nick Frost, and the writing of the character).  It even made a vague sort of sense, which is better than some Christmas specials.

 

I loved the ending with Old Clara, who had led a full life, and had had adventures on her own.  She was happy, and even seemed pleased to see the Doctor again, before she died. It also (in a sense) called back to the "School Reunion" episode with Sarah Jane Smith, except that Clara had been more content. So why did we get the last couple of minutes?  Completely spoiled it for me.

 

[MadMouse]

Hey kids Santa doesn't exist

 

Merry X-Mas from Moffat.

 

Shona's dancing was the highlight of the episode.

[wayne67]

I liked this episode better when it featured the Dream Lord and Amy and Rory.

 

The dancing was amusing but I was left with the burning question... Wouldn't they have all been permanently brain damaged ?

 

Perhaps that explains the Doctor wanting to take Clara along.

[Ms Lark]

Agree with those who think the episode should have ended at least 3 min. earlier! That would have been perfect. Looks like we're stuck with the "I'm smarter than the Doctor" Clara Show for yet another season. Bummer. I must've been very bad this year to get this lump of coal. Thanks a lot, Moffat.

[Toaster Strudel]

I tried to watch the first 10 minutes and was put off by the repeated use of the phrase "shut up."  I don't know if I should continue, since SmarterThanDoctorClara is back.

[millahnna]

I'm glad Clara is still around, even if the character hasn't always been handled well. I still want to know how and why the doctor kept running into iterations of her and nothing from the master episodes really settled that. But man old Clara really would have been a great send off for her.

[NeenerNeener]

Ok show, Danny is still dead and Clara doesn't appear to be preggers, so Orson Pink will never be born and Clara will never hide under the Doctor's bed in a barn on Gallifrey and give him the pep talk that shapes his character. I'm more than fine with that, so Danny can stay dead for the rest of Clara's run.

 

At least she wasn't telling him to shut up and do as he was told at the end of the episode. I could put up with her for another season/series if they keep her mellow.

Edited December 26, 2014 by NeenerNeener

[cardigirl]

I'm glad Clara is still with us, and I've got my fingers crossed they figure out a way to bring Danny Pink back, cause I liked the actor and the character too  (In the minority, I know.)

 

As far as Clara saying shut up, the Doctor seems to say it a lot also, and he does his fair share of bossing.  That aspect of Clara seems rather moot to me. 

 

This was a pretty good episode.  Not as fun as the Snowmen one two years ago, but I enjoyed it.  I would have been pretty miffed if Clara's good bye was that the Doctor waited 60 years to go find her again, and then she died.  Rather a quiet send off that.

 

Now the long wait til the next season begins.  Oh Doctor Who, I shall miss you.

[Tarasme]

1. I spent most of the episode waiting for the Doctor to refer to Santa as "Jeff."

2. This plot only holds up until you start actually thinking... Why would the crabs- if they truly were using dreams as anesthetic- give anyone a nightmare? How did they end up unseen in everyone's households AND wherever the Doctor was? Bursts into dust, really? The Doctor begins questioning Santa's appearance on Clara's roof eight gajillion years after the rest of us? Everyone woke up and still no gaping head wounds? Are we supposed to be asking if everyone *did* in fact wake up? Am I supposed to be asking if *this* is all a dream? Tangerine on the sill means Jeff really did show up I guess... or back to the still dreaming junk, etc.

3. I would have LOVED if the physiognomy of the creatures was COMPLETELY different to signal the waking state (i.e. a minute freckle on the nose rather than the nightmare huggers) but I guess that would have removed the attempt at a vague ending.

4.  

 

Huge chunks of this episode seemed to be composed of people gabbing prolonged nonsense at each other, sitcom style. I longed for someone to get to the point already.

 This! I couldn't believe all the monologuing that was going on. Perhaps it was an attempt to get production's $$ worth out of Frost?

5. I couldn't help myself in comparing this to "Water." When they first homed in on the base, it looked like a Martian landscape to me- I was totally flummoxed that Doctor and Clara were walking into the base without gear and had to have "It's the North Pole" bash me over the head (which, with the dreaming, I guess it could have been the bottom of the ocean, but oh well). Good thing so many anvils were dropping or I might have missed it even longer. Anyway, I loved "Water" and had hoped this would be a similar vein of scary but heartrendingly poignant. It was coming close with the Not! ending, but missed by a wide berth by making that 60 years poof away. I'm not a Clara detractor but I was ready for a fresh start.

6. YAY!!! For BBC America broadcasting the special on Christmas day! This was the first time, right? Pretty sure the earliest Yanks have seen it in the past has been the 26th. Yippee!

Edited December 26, 2014 by Tarasme

[Sakura12]

For the past few years the Christmas episodes have aired on BBC America on Christmas day. It's been a family tradition to watch it. 

 

However this is probably my last episode of Doctor Who. I've never been a fan of the Moffat era even with Matt Smith. I just don't care about his characters, it's like someone wrote a summary of a character on paper and added nothing else to them when they wrote the stories, This one was no different. The dream within in a dream within in a dream was done with Inception, this episode did nothing to add to it. And it was very boring with people with barely a hint of a personality running around talking at each other. 

 

For me it's not JC or PC that have to go, it's Moffat. They need a new show runner to take the reins,

Edited December 26, 2014 by Sakura12

[Daisy]

(sigh) I always want to do this. Give stupid, crappy Moffatt some credit and think "oh my goodness! he's going to do something great!" annnnnnd pffft 

This wasn't really a bad episode, to say but again sort of the trop of "Everybody Lives!!" he doesn't know how to just "end" something either. I was thinking the entire episode, oh my goodness - the Doctor is actually auditioning for new companions, right in front of us! He likes the black girl, and Shona? (the dancing one) is going to tag along, because  Clara uses this to retire (or she actually decides to die so she can be with Danny (even though I still don't get why or how she's soo in love with him). 

Or. when it's OLD Clara, i was like, ooh!! FINALLY they did a Peter Pan thing (which they should have done naturally with AMY but whatever), and Clara is enjoying her Last Christmas with the Doctor, she goes off, and the new episode starts with the Doctor and our brand new companion. 

Nope. Neither of that. Everybody lives that we see on screen, (sorry 4 other people who got eaten). Clara isn't old and had a full life, and I really, really really have to think a lot of i'm going to be back next season, because Moffat... just irritates me

[kminfinity]

Loved the episode.  A lot.  It's now my favorite Christmas episode. 

 

Part of it is because I adore 'is it reality?' plots and this one was well done.  I know a lot of people are commenting here and around the internet that it's a ripoff (homage, if giving a positive spin) of Inception...but Inception didn't invent this plot.  Any science fiction/fantasy fan of novels and shows since decades gone by could give other examples.  So as long as DW executed the plot well, and they did, and added their own flavor to the mix, and they did, then is is a win for me.  Plus the witty one liners, the well integrated Santa & elves, the lovely character moments, and that glorious sleighride thru London.

 

So this one goes on the 'nice' list, and maybe even, depending on rewatch, a more exclusive personal fave list.

 

I agree I would not have mourned if the show ended a couple minutes earlier.  I'm ready for a new companion.  It would have been a nice sendoff for Clara.  But imo the episode did reset her relationship with Twelve so that they can interact with a different vibe next season and so that's a good thing.

Edited December 26, 2014 by kminfinity

[cardigirl]

(sorry 4 other people who got eaten).

 

???   I thought the 4 people in the infirmary were the 4 people in the dream.  To me only one person "died" and that was the older gentleman of the "research crew."  He died in real life having not woken up from his dream.

[Archery]

???   I thought the 4 people in the infirmary were the 4 people in the dream.  To me only one person "died" and that was the older gentleman of the "research crew."  He died in real life having not woken up from his dream.

Seriously. The explanation of that was quite specific.

I love that the Christmas episodes are homage episodes: Inception, A Christmas Carol, Lion, Witch and Wardrobe, Poseidon Adventure, Don Quixote. It's very clever.

[Daisy]

???   I thought the 4 people in the infirmary were the 4 people in the dream.  To me only one person "died" and that was the older gentleman of the "research crew."  He died in real life having not woken up from his dream.

 

 

Seriously. The explanation of that was quite specific.

I love that the Christmas episodes are homage episodes: Inception, A Christmas Carol, Lion, Witch and Wardrobe, Poseidon Adventure, Don Quixote. It's very clever.

 

sorry, I didn't get that part, (but to be fair, i was nodding off, it was late when i actually watched it, and i just caught 4, then the other 4, and i thought the other 4 were dead). thanks for the clear up. 

[scarletregina]

 Looks like we're stuck with the "I'm smarter than the Doctor" Clara Show for yet another season. 

 

Still better than "The Pond Show: The Most Perfectest Snowflake Who Ever Snowflaked."

 

(I realize this is an unpopular opinion.)

[bugsmum]

Really, really liked this.  A lot.  As others have said, I wouldn't have minded if this had ended three minutes earlier.  More Clara, ugh.  But I'll be optimistic that the Doctor/Clara relationship can be reset next season.

 

I'm really loving Capaldi's doctor.  I just need him to be the center, not the sidekick to all-knowing Clara, thank you very much Moffatt.

[Bill C.]

I'm going to have to watch this one again, but at face value...Moffat used the entire special to basically repair Clara's relationship with the Doctor, and while I wasn't entirely opposed to that it did leave a faint bitter taste in my brain when the realization hit.  That aside, it did strike a few really nice beats: Clara surrendering to the illusionary happy life with Danny, the general dream-within-dream-within-dream-within-dream (I think that's right, yeah) vibe, most things Santa, the sleigh ride (if in a slight downer vein once we saw Shona, Ashley, and Bellows actually wake up), and old Clara...maybe minus the actual ending, though no doubt that had had to be tweaked once JLC signed on for S9/34.

 

Flip side, the Dream Crabs were basically psychic Weeping Angels with a little more ick...

[AeshnaCyanea]

I liked it, as long as I stop myself from thinking about it. Once I start thinking about it, the plotholes swallow up the enjoyment.

 

Like several posters before me, I wish they had ended it with old Clara. It would have been a nice if somewhat bittersweet ending, and we could have started the next season with the Doctor picking up a new companion. Personally, I would have loved it if Ashley became the next companion. I thought she was great in the dream, working well with the doctor and showing a competence and practicality that I would love to see in a companion.

[benteen]

Moffat waves his hand again and the unhealthy and toxic relationship between the Doctor and Clara (and Moffat) continues for another series.  Yuck.  I suppose humbug is a better term but I'm going with yuck.

 

It wasn't a bad episode for the most part.  And I wasn't hoping for Clara to die at the end but I was hoping the show would move on from Clara's part-time, average-at-best companion and move on to someone much more suited for the Doctor.  Hopefully they'll be a bit more baggage free but considering that Moffat stupidly believes Clara is basically the main character on the show, I just wouldn't count on that.

 

I kept wondering if Shona was going to be the next companion as she referred to the Doctor as a magician and the series 9 premiere is going to be called The Magician's Apprentice.

 

Did love the Alien reference in the episode.

 

Also, I liked Dream Danny a lot more than Real Danny.  Liked the Doctor's initial efforts to warn Clara she was stuck in a dream...that scene was very well-done.

Edited December 26, 2014 by benteen

[MDL]

Anybody with more "inside" info than me ( I have none!) able to address this (sorry if it has been touched on already):

 

We know  that Jenna was thinking about leaving the show. Could TPTB have shot 2 endings: the one that we saw; and another wherein "old Clara" is left to the remaining years of her life-thus leading to a new companion.

 

1) to cover themselves if Jenna left or stayed  and

2) as a negotiating ploy,,,"see we can go on without you?

 

? Thanks.

[random chance]

I love that the Christmas episodes are homage episodes: Inception, A Christmas Carol, Lion, Witch and Wardrobe, Poseidon Adventure, Don Quixote. It's very clever.

I don't know, more and more I'm finding homage episodes of any show just plain lazy.

Could TPTB have shot 2 endings: the one that we saw; and another wherein "old Clara" is left to the remaining years of her life-thus leading to a new companion.

I don't remember where I read it now but she was going to leave and changed her mind and that's why the second young-Clara ending.

Edited December 26, 2014 by random chance

[truther]

I don't remember where I read it now but she was going to leave and changed her mind and that's why the second young-Clara ending.

That's how I saw it.  To me, the young Clara ending-after-ending felt tacked on, like they'd changed their mind about Clara leaving so they just put a new ending on afterwards.  I can easily picture them doing the same thing they did on Downton Abbey with Matthew leaving, where they filmed the car crash and then had two scenes, either alive or dead, to use after the crash.

 

One reason I think this is because the second awakening doesn't make sense within the rest of the story.  (I posted this above but I'm not trying to simply keep posting the same stuff.)  If even the ride in Santa's sleigh, with all the arctic base team members disappearing to their real lives one by one, was itself a dream from which the Doctor and Clara had to wake up, then it didn't really happen.  We just see the Doctor wake up again in a cave somewhere (in reused footage) and then he goes to get young Clara.  That's the only part that wasn't dreamt.  Ergo, none of those other people were real, any more than the arctic base was real.  (And why weren't Clara and the Doctor part of the team?)  The episode showed the team members all waking up to their "real" lives, which would have made sense if the episode ended with the old Clara.  But with the tacked-on young Clara that was all while the Doctor and Clara were still dreaming. 

[shapeshifter]

...at face value...Moffat used the entire special to basically repair Clara's relationship with the Doctor...

I didn't consciously notice that (maybe I was dreaming--heh) but it is true, which makes this an appropriate Christmas theme, as often holidays are a time when estranged family will get together, and occasionally heal broken relationships.

The death focus didn't bother me, but I could see how it would bother many. I wonder what Moffat's personal experience with death at Christmas has been.

...I don't remember where I read it now but she was going to leave and changed her mind and that's why the second young-Clara ending.

That makes sense to me now.