Written by Steven Moffat
Directed by Alex Sanjiv Pillai
The Doctor: "How I get to be you?"
The Doctor: "You will find out."
For his second Christmas special, we've got Christmas everywhere all at once. Yes, I'm sure a certain movie was the inspiration for that line of dialogue. Seriously though, a Time Hotel had the potential in the world. This episode kind of utilised it but could've done more with the idea.
The episode opened with the Doctor going from World War II, the Orient Express, a mountain track before heading into the Sandrington Hotel where the Doctor found himself meeting Joy Almondo (Nicola Coughlan). Yes, the big name guest companion of the piece.
Except for a large chunk of the episode, the Doctor found himself having to take the slow path and ended up forming a much deeper connection with receptionist Anita Benn (Steph de Whalley) than he did. I mean, I actually wanted Anita to end up in the TARDIS with the Doctor instead of her eventual outcome in the episode.
As for the guest companion herself. I'm a big fan of Nicola Coughlan. In the last few years she's made the name for herself with Derry Girls, Bridgerton, Barbie and Big Mood. Her casting was something that actually pleased me and I thought both her and Ncuti Gatwa played off each rather well.
Unfortunately, while Joy had a sympathetic backstory that involved her mother dying alone in hospital during COVID, I felt the potential with the character wasn't as well realised as it could've been. Add in the Villengard star plot and we got a fate for Joy that felt reminiscent but not as effective as a similar one we had with Astrid during Voyage Of The Damned. I mean her farewell was emotional but I felt enough time wasn't spend on Joy for it to make a big impact.
As for the rest of the guest characters, there was Trev (Joel Fry) and a Silurian Hotel Manager (Jonathan Aris), both of whom factored into the Villengard plot. I'm beginning to wonder if Steven Moffat continues to write for this current era of the show will that shady organisation keep factoring into things.
Now for that last scene. We've had so many "controversial" things happen with the show since 2020 that I felt a bit nonplussed with the star of Bethlehem bit. I think it helped that it was rumoured for a bit and it felt like the episode was leading to it as well. Honestly, it didn't bother me as a reveal.
- Ruby Sunday was not only referenced several times but we briefly saw her in one scene, looking up at the Joy star.
- A very brief trailer for the next series showed the Doctor with new companion, Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) and several returning faces.
- The Doctor collected TARDIS minis while the real one didn't have a fridge.
- Ham and cheese toastie with a pumpkin spice latte? I did laugh when it was revealed it was the Doctor's own order.
- This was the first time we had a Christmas special not written by the current showrunner. It's also Steven Moffat's ninth Christmas special.
- Chronology: 2024-2025 Sandringham Hotel, London, 1940 Manchester, 1962 Italy Orient Express, 4202 Time Hotel and 0001 Bethlehem.
Joy To The World does use some old ideas and while not as effectively as they could've been used, it's still a good special. Nice performances, some fun set pieces and a slightly more Christmassy vibe than last year. It's not Moffat's best but it's a good hour.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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