Thoughts on the Doctor Who Christmas Special: The Snowmen

I liked it, but felt it could have been better. The Doctor's new companion, Clara, is intriguing and I can't wait to see more of her. Going by the promos for the next season, she's definitely a firecracker!

Look at that dapper frakker.
And the Doctor doesn't look bad either.

I think what hurt the special was the difficulty of doing an Christmas themed episode year after year. Murderous snowmen was an interesting idea, though, even if the plot was a bit wanting.

Hit the jump for the rest, but fair warning:

Aside from Clara, I liked seeing Vestra and Jenny again. The first, and up until last night, the last time we saw the pair was in A Good Man Goes to War. I may have squeed a little when Vestra revealed that they're married now. The Sherlockians (fans of the BBC series Sherlock) especially lost it, because they assumed that it was a reference to their show. More than that, I really like the new TARDIS interior.

There are some people who don't care much for it, but I do. It looks like a very nice throwback to Classic Who, which is appropriate, given the approaching half century anniversary of the series. Seriously, the console looks a lot like the one used by the First Doctors and his successors.

I also dug the new intro. The time vortex was nice, but I think it was time to move on to something new.



The Game of Thrones reference wasn't bad either.

What really made the episode was the revelation that Clara's full name is Clara Oswin Oswald. Sound familiar? That's because it's the woman from Asylum of the Daleks, the one the Doctor spent the entire episode trying to save, only to discover that she had been turned into a Dalek? There were hints throughout the episode, when Clara mentioned liking to bake souffles and repeating the last words Oswin spoke to the Doctor at the end of Asylum. I was wondering how they were going to explain Jenna Louise-Coleman playing two different characters. Turns out, she wasn't after all, but is still playing Oswin.

The big mystery this season will be about Clara herself, obviously. Specifically, how she managed to die twice - Once in Asylum and again in The Snowmen. I think the bigger mystery is why Steven Moffatt keeps killing off certain characters, only to bring them back. Clara is like the female Rory! I can't wait until the new season starts in April.

No really, I can't wait. I'm considering having myself frozen ala Captain America until then.

Over all, I give The Snowmen a 9/10. The plot was lackluster, but the Clara and her subplot more than made up for it.

Picture via Anglophenia, The Mary Sue and unwillingadventurer.