In the 2014 Christmas Special, the Doctor and Clara reunite and join up with Santa Claus to combat an alien force that threatens the world. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Trigger Warning: For body horror, consent, nightmares, claustrophobia<\/b>.<\/p>\n
My god, WHAT A FANTASTIC EPISODE. This might be my favorite Christmas special for a number of reasons, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to talk about them right now.<\/p>\n
Influences<\/b><\/p>\n
I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think Moffat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s script is hiding the fact that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s basically Alien<\/i>, The Thing<\/i>, and Inception<\/i> all at once. WHICH ARE THREE THINGS I ADORE WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. Like, you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even understand<\/i> my love for those three films. I re-watch The Thing<\/i> and Alien<\/i> every Halloween because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re among my favorite horror films, my favorite thrillers, and my favorite movies period<\/i>. Elements of each of these films appears here in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Last Christmas\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (with Alien<\/i> directly invoked), and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s done in a way that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s respectful and<\/i> thrilling.<\/p>\n
The Dream Crabs are much like the facehuggers of the Alien<\/i> world, and I found that it was necessary to the story that these creatures attached to humans as they did. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where the horror comes from; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such an absurdly terrifying visual that we believe the threat that they represent. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s even scarier when you consider the element of isolation. I wonder if the group\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s collective fear of such settings from<\/i> horror movies is the reason they were all transported to a science base at the North Pole, you know? Regardless, it worked. The setting created an atmosphere of fear that made everything even more terrifying.<\/p>\n
And then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the dreams. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not one to enjoy the whole, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everything was a dream!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d trope, but goddamn, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s done so well here. The dream layers reminded me of Inception<\/i>, but executed in reverse, since the group had to come back out<\/i> of the dreams. Moffat had a great grip on the logic of dreams, too, and the way our subconscious can both frighten us and comfort us. In hindsight, the clues to each layer are planted well within the logic of the show, too! Like, this is Doctor Who<\/i>, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. Santa Claus showing up? I believed him to be real. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that brilliant sequence where Santa reveals his purpose to the group, pointing to the Doctor and his TARDIS as evidence of the weirdness of this dream. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s funny as well, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a slight nod to the audience. Doctor Who<\/i> is a weird fucking show at times, so how do we know whether or not we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re watching a dream?<\/p>\n
We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s both exhilarating and terrifying.<\/p>\n
Lies<\/b><\/p>\n
And this is where \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Last Christmas\u00e2\u20ac\u009d makes me appreciate why<\/i> this non-stop horror show exists. Within these dream worlds, the Dream Crabs do everything they can to make a person feel safe and serene and happy. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s natural, then, that Clara would drift to a world where Danny is alive and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re celebrating Christmas together. Early in the episode, both the Doctor and Clara reveal that they lied to each other prior to parting, and thus, the dreams act as a way for both characters to accept the truth. In order for Clara to escape from the Dream Crabs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 influence and control, she must reject Danny. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heartbreaking to watch because Danny is a perfect angel who should be in everything ever, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also hard because the Doctor has to guide her right back through all that trauma and grief.<\/p>\n
So Danny and Clara have their last Christmas together. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a shame that it was also their first.<\/p>\n
Last Christmas<\/b><\/p>\n
Moffat accomplishes something there that we saw glimpses of in series eight. I actually like that Twelve is such an angry character, and his rage fits Capaldi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s skills beautifully. I admit that this felt like a strange Christmas special because I realized I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been tricked into thinking it had something to do with Christmas. Unlike past specials, this had very little to do with the holiday; it was mere coincidence that the Dream Crab attack happened on the eve of the holiday. However, in the final scenes of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Last Christmas,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Moffat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s script reveals why<\/i> this had to be a Christmas special. I think that Clara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dream sequence with Danny gave us the framework for the ending, too.<\/p>\n
And why is that important? Because of the sense of hope that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re given. Treat each Christmas as if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the last you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll spend with those you love and care about. There was something magical about the group using Santa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sleigh in order to free themselves of the dream, but seeing the Doctor take the reigns, his face an explosion of joy and elation, was an absolute treat. I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the only time in Twelve\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s run that we get to see him act truly excited. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a gift to us, and I feel like all of series eight built to that point.<\/p>\n
So what does the Doctor do with his Christmas? He treats it like it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s his last by asking Clara to be his companion again. y god, that whole scene is so INCREDIBLE. First of all, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a relief because I honestly thought the show was about to kill off Clara and NO. DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T. DON<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T<\/i>. But I loved how pure that final scene felt. I loved seeing the Doctor act like a child again. I loved that Clara and the Doctor are ready to travel with one another again. It was a fitting end to a story about learning to appreciate the people you care for.<\/p>\n
The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Last Christmas\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entirely possible that this will be unnecessary, but just in case! I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m writing in advance of my final leg of tour<\/a> in 2015, where I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be traveling through the Southwest of the US. I want to make sure to get the posts done that will go up through October 16. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m on schedule to finish a few days before I leave for Fencon, but just in case, Double Features will take a brief break \u00e2\u20ac\u201c maybe a week or so off \u00e2\u20ac\u201c so I can get the main posts done. Then, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll resume with Kings<\/i>, a show I know nothing about.<\/p>\n I still have not chosen what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m watching after that. I should get on that. Anyway, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll also watch series 9 once it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s finished airing and I have time to stick it back in the schedule.<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – I am now on Patreon<\/a><\/b>!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME<\/a>. In the 2014 Christmas Special, the Doctor and Clara reunite and join up with Santa Claus to combat an alien force that threatens the world. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-4962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-who","tag-mark-watches-doctor-who"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4962\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– The Mark Does Stuff Tour 2015 is now live and includes dates across the U.S. this summer and fall Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be the remainder of\u00c2\u00a0The Legend of Korra<\/i>, series 8 of\u00c2\u00a0Doctor Who<\/i>, and Kings<\/i>. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards<\/i> series will replace the Emelan books.
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"