"Last Christmas" is an episode of the British science fiction television series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' that was first broadcast on 25 December 2014. It is the tenth

Christmas special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared in in literature and Christmas music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth of material, with both adaptatio ...

since the show’s revival in 2005. It was written by

Steven Moffat Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as showrunner, writer and executive producer of the science fiction television series ''Doct ...

and directed by

Paul Wilmshurst Paul Wilmshurst is a British television director. He has worked on five seasons of the Sky One/ Cinemax action-adventure series ''Strike Back'' and directed on the first series of David S. Goyer's historical fantasy series '' Da Vinci's Demons ...

. In the special, alien time traveller the

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

(

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...

) is reunited with his companion

Clara Oswald Clara Oswald is a fictional character in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. She was created by series producer Steven Moffat and portrayed by Jenna Coleman. Clara was introduced in the Doc ...

(

Jenna Coleman Jenna-Louise Coleman (born 27 April 1986), known professionally as Jenna Coleman, is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Jasmine Thomas in the soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Clara Oswald in the science-fiction series ''Doctor Who'', Q ...

) as they must save a

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

science base from creatures called dream crabs that induce dream states whilst killing their victims, with the help of

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

(

Nick Frost Nicholas Jonathan Frost (born 28 March 1972) is a British actor, author, comedian, painter, producer and screenwriter. He has appeared in the ''Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy of films, consisting of ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz ...

). "Last Christmas" was viewed by 8.28 million in the United Kingdom and received positive reviews from critics, praising its story, acting and film influences.

Plot

On Christmas Eve,

Clara Clara may refer to: Organizations * CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization * Clara.Net, a European ISP * Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium People * Clara (given name), a feminine gi ...

finds

stranded on her roof. The Doctor arrives to take Clara away. Santa tells the Doctor that he will need his help before the night is over. The Doctor and Clara arrive at a

base where four of the crew in the infirmary are being devoured by Dream Crabs – blind aliens which induce dreams on their intended victims as a distraction whilst devouring the victims' brains and which use telepathy to see the surroundings of people thinking about a crab. More crabs attack the Doctor, Clara, and the unaffected crew, only for Santa to rescue them. Clara reveals that during their last meeting, she lied to the Doctor about Clara's boyfriend

Danny Pink Danny Pink is a fictional character created by Steven Moffat and portrayed by Samuel Anderson in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is a supporting character in the eighth series of the program, first a ...

coming back from the dead. The Doctor says that he lied about finding

Gallifrey Gallifrey () is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It is the original home world of the Time Lords, the civilisation to which the protagonist, The Doct ...

. The Doctor sends Clara to recover Santa's crab specimen, but Clara, thinking about the crab, makes it come alive and attack her. Clara reunites with Danny in a dream. The Doctor willingly falls victim to another crab to enter the dream. Clara still resists willing herself to wake up, until Danny tells her that she can miss him while also moving on with her life. Clara and the Doctor wake up, which kills the crabs devouring them. The Doctor deduces that they are not awake, but in a different layer of a multi-faceted dream and have been since the initial crab attack. He explains that Santa is the manifestation of their

subconscious In psychology, the subconscious is the part of the mind that is not currently of focal awareness. Scholarly use of the term The word ''subconscious'' represents an anglicized version of the French ''subconscient'' as coined in 1889 by the psycho ...

minds fighting back. Santa wakes the group up. Clara reminds the Doctor that they met Santa before arriving, proving that everything else has also been a dream and that none of the scientists are scientists. The affected personnel – manifestations of the Doctor, Clara, and the "scientists'" minds – attack and kill Professor Albert. The Doctor, Clara, and the "scientists" dream of Santa, who wakes them up to their real lives, one by one, until only Clara is left. Upon waking, the Doctor traces the psychic signal linking their dreams back to Clara. He pulls the crab off, and learns that Clara is now an elderly woman. The Doctor regrets not coming back sooner, when Santa appears. Realising that he is still dreaming, the Doctor wakes up again. He frees Clara, still a young adult, from the crab. Offering her all of time and space, the Doctor implores Clara to join him. Clara accepts.

Continuity

When the Doctor visits the elderly Clara, he helps her open a Christmas cracker, returning the favour she did for the

Eleventh Doctor The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as five specials. As with previous incarnations of the Doct ...

in "

The Time of the Doctor "The Time of the Doctor" is an episode of the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who'', written by Steven Moffat and directed by Jamie Payne, and was broadcast as the ninth ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special on 25 December 201 ...

" (2013) when he was too weak to pull a cracker open by himself.

Production

Casting

In September 2014 announcements were made for a number of the guest cast, including

Michael Troughton Michael Troughton (born 2 March 1955) is an English actor, teacher and writer. He is best known for his television roles including Melish in ''Minder'' and Sir Piers Fletcher-Dervish in ''The New Statesman''. He is the son of actor Patrick Tro ...

, Nathan McMullen,

Natalie Gumede Natalie Gumede (born 20 March 1984) is an English actress. She is known for playing Kirsty Soames in the ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', from 2011 to 2013. She previously played China in BBC Three comedy show ''Ideal''. She has also ap ...

and

Faye Marsay Faye Elaine Marsay (born 30 December 1986) is an English actress. Her notable roles include Anne Neville in '' The White Queen'' (2013), the recurring character Candice in '' Fresh Meat'' (2013), Steph in the film ''Pride'' (2014), Amy in ''Need ...

. Michael Troughton is the younger son of

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...

, who played the

Second Doctor The Second Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. While the Troughton era of ''Doctor Who'' is well-remembered by fans an ...

from 1966 to 1969, and the younger brother of

David Troughton David Troughton (born 9 June 1950) is an English actor. He is known for his Shakespearean roles on the British stage and for his many roles on British television, including Dr Bob Buzzard in ''A Very Peculiar Practice'' and Ricky Hanson in ''Ne ...

, who appeared in ''

The War Games ''The War Games'' is the seventh and final serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. In the serial, an unnamed alien r ...

'', ''

The Curse of Peladon ''The Curse of Peladon'' is the second serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 29 January to 19 February 1972. The serial is set on ...

'', and "

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...

". There were numerous rumours circulating that the special would be

's last on the show. Coleman and lead writer

remained quiet on the issue and insisted that people watch the episode to see whether she would be continuing into the ninth series. During the episode's climax, Clara decides to continue travelling with the Doctor, and Moffat revealed following the episode's airing that Coleman would appear in all of the ninth series. According to Moffat, Coleman was "to-ing and fro-ing" over her future in the series before ultimately deciding to continue. In a 2018 interview, Moffat confirmed that the script for "Last Christmas" originally contained Clara's exit from the series; Coleman reversed her decision to leave following the first read-through, and the episode's ending was subsequently re-written to allow the character to continue. Marsay's character of Shona was considered by Moffat to be Coleman's replacement as the companion for the ninth series, though nothing was fully formed. With Coleman electing to stay on the show, this would mark Marsay's only appearance. Elements of Shona were later reworked into the character of Bill Potts, who was the show's companion when Coleman left after series nine.

Filming

Filming on "Last Christmas" was scheduled to start two weeks after the

Series 8 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

World Tour Promotion. Paul Wilmshurst directed the episode. The

read-through The read-through, table-read, or table work is a stage of film, television, radio, and theatre production when an organized reading around a table of the screenplay or script by the actors with speaking parts is conducted. In addition to the ca ...

for the episode took place on 3 September 2014, and filming began on 8 September in Cardiff, with Wilmshurst tweeting that it would likely take four weeks to complete. Scenes were filmed at

Vaendre Hall Vaendre Hall (or Faendre Hall) is a large detached house in the Cardiff suburb of St Mellons. Set in of grounds, it is bordered on three sides by St Mellons golf course. It was developed by the shipowner and industrialist John Cory in the mid 19 ...

in the Cardiff suburb of St Mellons.

Promotion

A preview was shown during '' Children in Need'' which featured The Doctor, Clara,

as Santa Claus, and Dan Starkey (who also plays Strax of the

Paternoster Gang Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax (informally known as the Paternoster Gang, together with the Doctor), are a trio of recurring fictional characters in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', created by Steven Moffat ...

) and Nathan McMullen as elves. On 11 December 2014, the BBC released a 30-second trailer for the episode on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Broadcast and reception

The episode was watched by 8.28 million viewers, the lowest Christmas Day rating since the show's return in 2005, and was the sixth most watched programme on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

for Christmas Day 2014. The early figures for overnight viewing estimated that the episode was watched by 6.34 million viewers, making it the eighth most watched event on television for Christmas Day 2014. However, it received a total of 2.62 million viewers on

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary seri ...

, beating the previous record established by "

", and became the most watched episode of the revived series in the channel's history. It also got 1.07 million requests on BBC iPlayer. The episode received an

Audience Appreciation Index The Audience Appreciation Index (AI) is an indicator measured from 0 to 100 of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom. Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by the B ...

of 82.

Critical reception

"Last Christmas" received critical acclaim, with many praising the fun, scary nature of the episode and noting the influences of ''

Inception ''Inception'' is a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced the film with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infiltr ...

'' and ''

Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

''. It holds an approval rating of 92%, based on 12 reviews, and an average score of 8.76/10 on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

awarded the episode the highest grade of the site, an "A". Alasdair Wilkins praised Steven Moffat’s script as "inordinately clever" in using the trappings of a "fluffy, silly Christmas special" to make the story scary. He also praised Capaldi's performance in the special for depicting the unabashed joy common in the Tenth and

eras but was "never really" seen in series 8. Morgan Jeffery of

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

awarded the episode a 4 out of 5, stating that the episode was an "absolute cracker" that refused to be "throwaway" or "light on substance". He believed the influences of ''Alien'' and ''Inception'' on the script provided viewers with "both food for thought and fuel for our nightmares". Michael Hogan of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' awarded the episode a 4 out of 5, calling it "marvellously merry" and stating that it "had heart as well as head, so ended like a festive special should: happily, with a cockle-warming cosy glow". Chris Pyke of the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'' also praised the "Doctor Who spin" the various film references had. He also expressed praise over Clara's continuation, saying it was "the icing on the cake". ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' awarded the episode a 3 out of 4. Patrick Mulkern was "peculiarly touched by Clara’s sentiment, "Every Christmas is last Christmas" and her admission that the Time Lord is her very own Father Christmas".

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

awarded the episode an 8.8 out of 10, deemed "Excellent". Matt Risley labelled the episode "An entertaining and satisfying slice of Who that combines festive face-huggers with a Christmas miracle". He criticised the ageing Clara make up along with many other reviewers. He praised the episode as being both ''Doctor Who''s most "festive and least yuletide-y" Christmas special. Simon Brew of

Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a bi-annual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ...

heavily praised the episode for its writing, acting, direction and music, and considered it an improvement over the previous Christmas special "

". He felt that "Last Christmas" capped off what he felt was "one of ''Doctor Who''s strongest years in recent times".

Home media

"Last Christmas" was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 26 January 2015, in Australia on 28 January 2015, and in the United States on 17 February 2015. The ten Christmas specials between "

The Christmas Invasion "The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2005. This episode features the first full-episode appearance of David Te ...

" and "Last Christmas" inclusive were released in a boxset titled ''Doctor Who – The Christmas Specials'' on 19 October 2015.

Soundtrack

Selected pieces of score from "Last Christmas", as composed by

Murray Gold Murray Jonathan Gold (born 28 February 1969) is an English composer for stage, film, and television and a dramatist for both theatre and radio. He is best known as the musical director and composer of the music for ''Doctor Who'' from 2005, unti ...

, were released on 18 May 2015 by Silva Screen Records as the third disc of the soundtrack covering

series 8 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{Twelfth Doctor stories, selected=Television Twelfth Doctor episodes 2014 British television episodes Television episodes written by Steven Moffat Doctor Who Christmas specials Doctor Who stories set on Earth Santa Claus in television Television episodes about dreams