The Doctor has met all kinds of famous people over his half-century of adventures on the small screen, but there’s one famous fellow with whom he’s not yet had the pleasure. All of that will change on Christmas Day when “Doctor Who: The Last Christmas” brings together the last of the Time Lords and Santa Claus himself, played by Nick Frost, on BBC America.
Teasers for the latest holiday special haven’t yet told us how St. Nick comes to be a character in the story, and Peter Capaldi‘s Doctor certainly looks as if he doesn’t quite believe what he’s seeing either, but “Doctor Who” has proven it can get very clever indeed in coming up with ways to explain away the seemingly impossible.
The latest preview takes place in the North Pole, with the Doctor and Clara (Jenna Coleman) in the midst of what looks like some kind of confrontation with the usual “Who” monsters-of-the-week. Everything comes to a standstill, though, when an orange ball bounces in, followed by multi-colored Slinkies and walking robots.
The toys herald the arrival of the man who brings them to all the good little boys and girls of the world. Astride Rudolph — looking more reindeer than ever — Santa has arrived. “What seems to be the problem?” he asks. “This is the North Pole. We don’t want any trouble here.”
And then, to prove that this whole thing is rather silly and they know it perfectly well, he silences Rudolph by hitting the alarm button on his keychain, turning off his nose.
There is a lot of anticipation going into this holiday special as well, with some speculating that it may be the final run on board the TARDIS for companion Jenna Coleman. She helped ease the transition from Matt Smith‘s Doctor to Capaldi, which has been quite a jarring experience for her. Their personalities clashed all season long, making for memorable episodes, but a contentious and tumultuous friendship at times for the two.
“Doctor Who: The Last Christmas” airs Thursday, Dec. 25 at 9 p.m. ET on BBC America.