The Doctor: There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive.

Moffat lampshades this with some very humorous dialogue…Īlbert: They’re a bit like facehuggers aren’t they?Īlbert: You know, Alien. The Dream Crabs bear a more than passing resemblance to a certain iconic sci-fi / horror creature designed by H.R. In order to render their victims compliant, the Dream Crabs “anesthetize” their hosts with incredibly realistic dreams. They are telepathic parasites that latch onto a host and literally eat their victim’s brain.

The Doctor identifies the creatures as Dream Crabs. It seems that the Doctor, Clara, and the other half of the team are going to meet with the same fate when Santa Claus, the elves, and an army of wind-up toys burst into the room, giving them all a chance to escape to another part of the base. Four of the eight members of the team have been infected by creatures that have latched onto their faces. The two of them re-materialize at the North Pole, where a scientific expedition is under attack from alien life forms. Then the TARDIS reappears, and the Doctor urges her to ask no questions, and to get into his ship ASAP. So, to try to make that “long story” short: Clara, now back on Earth in 2014, is awakened in the middle of the night on December 24th to discover that Santa Claus, his sleigh, reindeer, and two elves named Wolf and Ian have all crashed onto the roof of her building. Moffat’s writing on “Last Christmas” very effectively entwines these disparate elements, creating a strong, cohesive episode. It seems to draw influence from several different eras of Doctor Who: the “base under siege” serials of the late 1960s, the Gothic horror of the mid-1970s, the surreal, philosophical quality of the early 1980s, and the seasonal, celebratory quality of Moffat’s own past Christmas specials.

The tone of “Last Christmas” is interesting. As a number of the characters in this episode comment, “It’s a long story.” Yes, “Last Christmas” actually features Santa Claus… well, kind of sort of. I finally had an opportunity to watch the new Doctor Who Christmas special, “Last Christmas” written by Steven Moffat and starring Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald, and Nick Frost as Santa Claus. Also, a big “thank you” to Cats at the Bar for promoting In My Not So Humble Opinion, along with a number of other excellent blogs, on The Weggie List. Happy New Year! I see that this blog has a few new people following it.

Doctor who last christmas special