I’ve had mixed feelings about Gatwa’s run so far but no grinching for me today, I absolutely loved that Christmas special. Magical, emotional and, most of all, fun.
Thanks Russell and Steven, it was a wonderful Christmas gift ❤️💚
An okay episode although Nicola Coughlan didn't seem to get much airtime. I thought the time hotel was an interesting idea but the episode didn't seem to know fully what to do with it and apparently neither did Moffat as he wrote most of the time hotel stuff first and realised there wasn't really a threat.
I love it when the show plays with time so that part was interesting and it always surprises me that as a time travel show that time isn't played around with that much. However as others have later stated, the doctor states he's never done this as in lived a full life in the right order but we know this is a lie as he's done it multiple times and spent most of his 3rd incarnation stuck on Earth.
A YouTube podcast I watch also pointed the issue with having the bigeneration. Why didn't the doctor just go to see 14 and borrow his TARDIS?
I pretty much feel the same as you.
Decent enough episode, especially for a Christmas Day one. The objective of these sort of episodes, or at least one that doesn't feature a regeneration, is to have a stand-alone episode and make it a bit of fun with a vague Christmas theme.
I agree with you about Nicola Coughlan. She was relegated to a side character feel. It'd have been better to see more of her. And I noticed the inconsistency about the whole "living in the right order" thing too. (As well as Pertwee, Peter Capaldi was guarding Missy for 50 years or so too. So The Doctor has experienced stuff like that before.) But a TV show that has been on as long as Doctor Who, there's always going to be stuff like that happen occasionally. You have 60 years worth of show for the writers to remember. I didn't sweat it too much. Though, the whole Doctor living in a hotel for a year thing didn't really seem to go anywhere. It felt a bit like filler in the episode.
The whole "borrowing a TARDIS" thing didn't occur to me whilst watching this episode. But it did when the Bi-Generation happened. In that, I wondered what would happen if Earth was under threat, are we to assume that The 14th Doctor just let 15 deal with it? I get that they wanted to give Tennant's Doctor a happy ending, but it seems out of character. And leaves that question hanging over future episodes.
Overall though, I enjoyed this episode. Felt an enjoyable watch on Christmas Day.
[deleted]