The countdown is coming and time is running out for Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor.
As fans catch their breath from Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary Special, “The Day of The Doctor,” the creative team behind the “Mad Man with a Box” are gearing up to unleash the newest Christmas Special, “The Time of The Doctor.”
Usually the “Doctor Who” Christmas Special is a time for great rejoicing, but this year it’s become a bittersweet moment. After three years as the Doctor, Smith will be hanging up his bow tie for good.
With an eye-popping poster, and an all-too-brief trailer, expectations for the Christmas Special are riding high. We here at CraveOnline are also excited for this transitional episode, and have a few questions we hope to have answered. In other words, it’s list time! Here are 10 Things We Want To See In The ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas Special.
Some potentially minor spoilers are ahead. Including one big one in item # 5, but we’ll give you another spoiler warning before we spring that one on you.
10 Things We Want To See From The Doctor Who Christmas Special
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10. Three Words: Matt. Smith. Wig
After filming the 50th Anniversary Special, the current Doctor, Matt Smith shaved his glorious locks for a role in the film How To Catch A Monster.
Returning to film the Christmas Special, the shaved-head Smith was forced to don a wig replicating his former larger-than-life hair.
We’re interested to see how that looks. Smith’s hair was a big part of his character, to the point one of his first lines as the Doctor was to wonder if he had been turned into a dog because of his hair. Let’s hope the last Matt Smith episode of "Doctor Who" doesn’t suffer from a bad wig.
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09. The War Doctor And Gallifrey
Now that a new course has been set for the Doctor, one where he searches to find Gallifrey, has been secured, how will that play into the Christmas Special? Is this episode the first step in the long journey to find his home?
We’re also curious to see if the War Doctor is mentioned, or perhaps makes a top-secret appearance.
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08. No More Trenzalore?
It’s been said one of the big arcs in the Christmas Special is the Doctor returning to his burial site on Trenzalore. Does the Doctor change history? Does Trenzalore become just another planet, or does it tie into the Eleventh Doctor’s regeneration? Is the soul of Doctor somehow used against him?
From "The Day of The Doctor, we know that Peter Capaldi's Doctor managed to walk away from Trenzalore, so how will his return impact the destiny of the planet, and its most famous dead resident?
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07. What Brings The Bad Guys Together?
The last time that all of the Doctor’s bad guys got together to slay him, the Doctor managed to jump-start the universe to defeat them. What brings them together this time, and how does it tie into the 300 Years War?
Then there’s The Silence. How do those creepy bastards get into the mix?
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06. BTW, 300 Years?
According to various sources, the Doctor engages in a war with Weeping Angels that spans 300 years in one episode.
Really? How is that going to play out?
We know Clara Oswald is in the Christmas Special, but how can she last 300 years? Possibly she just hangs out in the Tardis and continues looking good in skirts.
We also want to know how the Angels wage war. They are one of the most terrifying of the Doctor’s villains, but not exactly the most mobile. How does the war involve Daleks, Cybermen, Christmas Town, and Trenzalore?
We are also curious to see how Steven Moffat and crew cram a 300-year war into one show.
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05. Out on a Limb
If true, this may be the biggest spoiler on this list, so skip ahead if you want to be completely surprised by something that may or may not happen!
Still here? Keep in mind that this is strictly conjecture and not confirmed. But if it is true, it’s going to add an entire new slant to the dramatic tension of the show.
According to some reports, the Doctor loses one of his legs via one of the Weeping Angels. We think this would be a wonderfully dark element for the show. Only time will tell if the Christmas Special goes down this harsh road.
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04. The Crack In Time
Wasn’t the Crack In Time already solved? We were under the impression, that the first oddity the Eleventh Doctor investigated had been taken care of when the universe was restarted. Guess not.
Apparently the Crack In Time has something to do with saving Gallifrey. How it does, or why the crack is has been shadowing the Doctor this long is still shrouded in mystery. Here’s hoping the crack finally gets sealed.
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03. How Will The Doctor Die?
Trenzalore. Christmas Town. Daleks. Cybermen. Blink Angel. A 300-Year War. The Silence. So many things chasing down the Doctor. How does he actually buy it?
What final blow forces Matt Smith to regenerate into Peter Capaldi? It may seem callus, but deep down we all want to know exactly what kicks the Doctor’s bucket. It will also by interesting to see Clara’s reaction.
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02. The Actual Regeneration Scene
Usually the actual regeneration leaves the episode on a comedic note. When Christopher Eccelson changed, David Tennant talked about his weird teeth, and then smiled. That small intro indicated how charming Tennant’s Doctor would be.
The crashing of the TARDIS, with all of its slapstick, gave insight to the physicality Matt Smith would bring to the role. How will this regeneration give us a brief glimpse into the personality of Peter Capaldi?
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01. The Whole 13th Regeneration Thing
Life was so simple before the War Doctor. Matt Smith was the Eleventh Doctor, Capaldi would be the Twelfth Doctor, and all would be well.
Then came the War Doctor. Even though he wasn’t the Doctor in name, and he was a forced regeneration, the War Doctor still counts. This means, according to Doctor Who folklore, Matt Smith is 13th incarnation of the Doctor (Tennant's Doctor counts twice because he used a regeneration to heal himself while creating the Doctor/Donna). As laid out in the original series, Time Lords only get 12 regenerations.
Obviously that’s not how things will go down, but how does the Doctor get out of this one? Will he be given a new set of regenerations, or will it only be one? As mysteries go, this is one of the bigger ones that fans are looking to be solved during the Christmas Special.
