Picture courtesy of B.B.C. Television.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Richard E. Grant, Dan Starkey, Neve McIntosh, Catrin Stewart, Tom Ward, Liz White, Sir Ian McKellen, Juliet Cadzow, Joseph Dacey-Alden, Ellie Darcey-Alden, Annabelle Dowler.
What do you do when the girl you meet twice keeps dying? It’s enough to make a good man come out of retirement and regain that boyish inquisitiveness once more.
The 2012 Christmas special of Doctor Who, The Snowmen sees Matt Smith’s incarnation of the Doctor suffering from what can only be described as Timelord depression as he withdraws away from the world he loves more than any other as he grieves for the loss of two of the best friends he has had, perhaps two of the finest the Doctor has had in all his lives. All it takes is the incredible passion and zest for life of a girl he has met before but never seen to make sure that this Christmas special easily trumped last year’s meagre affair and also give perhaps the best festive episode in the 49 year history of the programme.
With the returning characters from the episode A Good Man Goes To War of Strax, Madame Vastra and her faithful sidekick and wife Jenny, portrayed by the ever likeable Dan Starkey, the superb Neve McIntosh and Catrin Stewart, doing all they can to convince the Doctor to come off his high perch in the clouds and once more make humanity his business, the story had the warmth and depth that was sadly missing from the 2011 special. What gave it the gravitas, that extra bit of Christmas oomph was the inclusion of two acting heavyweights in Sir Ian McKellen and the brilliant Richard E. Grant giving his iciest all as the villain Dr. Simeon.
The crowning glory though is the new companion, the intriguing and beautiful Clara Oswin Oswald, played by Jenna-Louise Coleman, who looks as if she is going to be one of the most complex characters to share the key to the Tardis. When it was announced that the brilliant Karen Gillan was going to be leaving Doctor Who, there must have been many fans of the series who wondered just who could fill the boots of Amy Pond. One (two if you include the opening episode of the series) moment on screen, the impish smile and almost captivating curiosity that Ms. Coleman brings to the screen is certain to make her a very much loved companion to the Doctor.
Mr. Steven Moffat has pulled a real cracker in this episode and when the series returns in the New Year it must be with a renewed exited vigour as it builds up to the all important 50th anniversary.
Ian D. Hall