-
(#11) Last Christmas (2014)
This Season 9 holiday special perfectly marries Christmas iconography with a dramatic thriller. It’s equal parts fun, creepy, emotional, and action-packed.
Santa, played by Nick Frost, comes to the rescue when Clara and the Doctor face a formidable foe known as Dream Crabs. When the face-sucking aliens - who induce idyllic dreams in their targets to distract them while the crabs consumer their brains - prey on our protagonists, the two have difficulty distinguishing their dreams from reality. Having recently lost her boyfriend, Danny, Clara must choose between facing her grief in the real world and living in a beautiful fantasy with lethal consequences.
-
(#5) A Christmas Carol (2010)
In Matt Smith’s first holiday special as the 11th Doctor, yet another spaceship is on a crash course, and it’s up to our favorite Time Lord to save the day. The high-stakes, space-age take on Dickens’s famous tale evens out the drama with Eleven's signature eccentricities, wacky details like a flying shark, and a wash of both romance and melancholy.
Our Scrooge character, a hardened millionaire named Kazran (Michael Gambon), travels with the Doctor through the timeline of his own life in an effort to regain his sense of humanity. According to the previously stated rules of time travel in the Doctor Who universe, meddling in one’s own timeline is off-limits, but perhaps these rules don't apply on Christmas.
-
(#9) The Husbands Of River Song (2015)
River Song (Alex Kingston) is part Time Lord, part adventurer, part outlaw, and part romantic - and many believe she's the one and only true match for the Doctor. This holiday special presents River with multiple “husbands,” each of whom serves her needs in different ways. Like everyone else, she believed the Doctor was out of regenerations, so she doesn't recognize Twelve (Peter Capaldi) when they first meet. River brings him along on her caper, during which she speaks openly about her love for the Doctor and their complicated relationship.
Once their quest is complete and the Doctor has made himself known, his signature grouchiness has melted away. The two travel to a planet called Darillium to enjoy a beautiful Christmas dinner date and spend their (very long) last night together.
-
(#2) The Runaway Bride (2006)
This Season 3 episode gives us our first glimpse of future companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), as well as a healthy dose of Ten's unflappable charm. Where the first holiday special was an action-drama, this episode provides action with a heaping side of comedy.
The Doctor is grieving the loss of his previous companion, Rose, when Donna is unexpectedly beamed into the TARDIS in her wedding gown. The episode gives us a giant-spider villainess and, once again, Christmas accoutrement gone wrong, like a weaponized Christmas star and ornaments, and dastardly Santa-bots. By the end of the special, it's clear that despite her cantankerousness, Donna is a good counterweight for the Doctor. He invites her to join him on his travels, but she turns him down - at least this time.
-
(#3) Voyage Of The Damned (2007)
The third holiday special finds the 10th Doctor at a Christmas party aboard a retro-futuristic spaceship called the Titanic. When the robot angel servants turn on the passengers and the ship begins hurtling toward Earth, the Doctor and a small group of passengers, including guest star Kylie Minogue, must fight for their lives.
This self-contained episode is one of the most-watched of the New Who era, likely due to its star power and familiar location. The Doctor once again asks someone to be his companion, but he's unsuccessful. Kylie Minogue’s Astrid is both brave and beautiful, but unfortunately, she doesn't make it out of the caper alive.
-
(#7) Twice Upon A Time (2017)
This episode marks the end of Peter Capaldi’s run as the Doctor and provides a brief introduction of Jodie Whittaker as Thirteen.
In this holiday special, the 12th Doctor meets the first - played by David Bradley in place of William Hartnell - and, to comedic effect, we see just how much the Doctor has evolved over the years. The episode gives us an up-close look at the true story of the 1914 Christmas Truce during WWI, as well as cameos from former companions Bill (Pearl Mackie), Clara (Jenna Coleman), and Nardole (Matt Lucas). The episode serves as a complicated yet touching farewell to Twelve.
New Random Displays Display All By Ranking
About This Tool
On Christmas Day, people will wake up early and open gifts under the Christmas tree, and have meals with their families. It is undeniable that many people like to watch the story of an alien man with a British accent who saved the universe. This is the must-see Christmas special of "Doctor Who" every year, which is part of the Christmas tradition for many people.
For more than ten years, every Christmas special of "Doctor Who" has continued the plot, although sometimes these specials are a bit far from the Christmas theme, they can always perfectly blend the festive atmosphere and the weird plot. The random tool list all of the 15 "Doctor Who" holiday specials you should know.
Our data comes from Ranker, If you want to participate in the ranking of items displayed on this page, please click here.