The first scenes of the annual Dr Who Christmas Special introduce the viewer to Nick Frost's guest turn as Santa Claus, complete with sledge, reindeer and two lippy elves but from there the story gets progressively darker, exploring the darker psyche of humanity as the Doctor, pleasingly reunited with Clara, lands at an Arctic scientific outpost where along with its four inhabitants, they find themselves in a waking dream scenario which threatens to kill them all.Writer Steven Moffat nods at various sci-fi / horror classic films of yesteryear, notably "Alien", "Nightmare on Elm Street", "Inception" even "Ghostbusters" as well as Christmas films "A Christmas Carol" and "The Santa Clause" and weaves a densely layered tale which takes a bit of following, but like Santa on Christmas Eve, gets there in the end.As one would imagine Santa Frost and his two impish assistants get the majority of the funny lines (when asked how he can deliver so many Christmas presents from a single sled, he knowingly counters "Bigger on the inside" and otherwise becomes the seasonal focus of the group's thought processes to thwart the Dream Crab's life-threatening menace. There were some neat touches in the story like Clara's death-prophesying blackboard and the way the Doctor uses random book-reading to alert them to their danger although some other devices were unnecessary in my opinion, most notably the "return" of Danny Pink into Clara's life and the once too often used collective resistance to break the monsters' spell.With barely any day-light shots and being even more set-bound than usual, this Dr Who tale effectively builds up its claustrophobic atmosphere of life-threatening dread until the bearded weirdie in red comes along to save the day. There's an interesting diversion near the end as the Doctor visits a much older Clara from 60 years in the future to play out a blame-and-redemption tete-a-tete before he saves the (Christmas) day and hooks up again with Clara in the TARDIS, just in time for the next series.This wasn't the best Dr Who Christmas special I've seen but had its moments and definitely deserved its prime-time slot on the Christmas schedules.

My summary says it all really. This is the tenth Christmas special since the show returned in 2005 and as of yet this is the best. After the last two years' more plot-based specials ("The Snowmen" & "The Time Of The Doctor") we needed something more accessible and "Last Christmas" delivers.The story is a clever one: Not many writers can get away with the whole It Was All A Dream ending but Moffat does exactly that with great success in a script that goes with a Base Under Siege story (akin to many Second Doctor serials; Two's son has a guest role) while also throwing in scenes straight out of the offensively titled "Alien" (as Troughton Junior points out) and "Inception". Since this is Doctor Who through and through, it doesn't become pure rip-off as Moffat puts his trademark timey-wimey spin on things from start to finish.It does all that without ever letting you forget that this is a Christmas special and that is an impressive feat indeed. It also takes time out to conclude some loose ends from "Death In Heaven" also, such as the true fates of Gallifrey and Danny Pink, without alienating the casual Christmas viewer.Though Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman (who it turns out is not leaving - HOORAY!!!) are both wonderful here it's the guest cast who steal the show, none more-so than Nick Frost as Santa Clause. He shows up in the opening scene and several times throughout even managing to get his name into the titles alongside Capaldi and Coleman. He deserves the titles credit because he is spectacular.This is a moving episode and an extremely festive one too. The scene when the Twelfth Doctor is given the chance to control Santa's sleigh as the group fly over London is sure to be remembered as one of his incarnation's finest moments with the look of pure joy on his face as he does so being something we'll never forget. It's a genuinely moving episode too, such as when Clara seems to be an old woman who is about to die (Spoilers: It's still a dream) or when Shona (Future companion? MAKE IT HAPPEN STEVEN!) doesn't want to leave before promptly leaving and setting out to forgive Dave. What should she forgive Dave for? Is it to forgive David Tennant for leaving Dr Who almost five years ago? That seems too meta, even by Dr Who standards! Maybe she will become a new companion and we'll get to find out?Previously the best Dr Who Christmas episode was 2010's "A Christmas Carol" but that crown has now been stolen by this work of brilliance. This is a great episode of Dr Who in all ways: Excellent one-off characters, unbelievably creepy monsters, clever timey-wimeyness and even a reindeer with a nose like a car door-lock. All this and it's Christmas too! An absolute must. Not as good as "Listen" but otherwise the best Twelfth Doctor episode yet.

I am not sure what to think of season 8. At times I am watching and confused on Clara and the Dr. I keep asking myself a lot of questions like What happened to River? I thought the Master was dead. etc and so forth. Dr. 12 is really morbid, sad and cranky! However, then I realize you can not always think too hard with Dr. Who. Lol! I am still not sure I like the new Dr at all. He seems so different and well, pun intended, Alien compared to the others. With that said, I really, really and thoroughly enjoyed this special. It was touching, sweet, funny, sad and scary. Kudos! Enjoy watching. I do believe in miracles, Christmas cheer and Hope!

Yes it was cheesy but thankfully never ridiculous or worse still outright stupid. Essentially it was what a Doctor Who Christmas special episode should be, and a far cry from the cartoonist plots and scenes that I felt dragged down much of the Tennant era, and threatened the enjoyment of Matt Smiths version - although he at least seemed to carry off the 'Scooby-Doo- esque' comedy much more naturally. Peter Capaldi finishes his first season with head held high.Peter Capaldi's one flaw is he sometimes comes across as too dour, but fortunately his acting prowess overcomes the urge to shout at the TV regarding his attitude - although its close at times. I had expected the lifting of some of the burden following the 'Day of the Doctor' episode but again he spends too long seeking the negatives - but I don't blame the actor alone, he only interprets the scripts...thank goodness for Jenna Colemans down to earth and generally positive Claro Oswald. Another fine set of acting.Nick Frost as was also good as Santa Claus, however he would have come to naught without his wisecracking Elf's who probably had the best moments and lines. Maybe not overly funny throughout, and certainly questionable as to whether it was full of Christmas spirit, I am at least glad to say what true humour there was did hit the mark - and so did the downers.It's already been said the episode feels like a combination of the Alien and Inception and I don't doubt these subconsciously played a part somewhere in its writing, and for the majority of the viewing it worked well - right up until the last twists and turns which I at least felt was almost too easy to figure out in advance. Sorry Doctor you lose a star for signposting once too often!So overall not a bad effort, and I feel Dr Who has bounced back well after going through a 'not essential viewing, I'll wait for the repeat' phase. Once again I automatically set the EPG for it above other programmes rather than umming and arr'ing...Now please Mr/Mrs writers...just lift The Doctors spirits a little and be kind to is poor folk who looks to smile occasionally without having to take a happy pill! (Another -1 star for too much annoyingly negativity)