Doctor Who Christmas Special: The Snowmen

[TimeLord]

So what did you think of the episode?

Love love love the new TARDIS interior and the new titles! Always good to see friendly Sontarans and the Doctor's 'crew'.
Although they still pulled the 'human emotions saved the day' idea which I'm not a great fan of.
Still, it turns out it's the same character that was in the first episode 'Asylum of the Daleks' so I'm interested in how this works and whether Oswin is really human or not.

 

[Ninjamedic]

"Hello, I'm a Lizard Woman from the Dawn of Time. And this is my Wife"

Yep, really looking forward to the next season.

Slightly Off Topic: I got the boxset with the first Three ever stories.

 

[Gizmo1990]

It happened. It finaly happened. An episode of of Doctor Who with Matt Smith in it that I liked! With the exception of the titles and the version of the title music they are using right now their is not a thing I did not enjoy.

This proves that it was the Ponds, and She who must not be named, that have been ruining it for me.

Edit: I did hate one thing. I hate it when anyone say 'Doctor? Doctor Who?'

 

[Ldude893]

Confusing at times, and I think the new TARDIS seems a bit too monotone (though I love the design callback to the very first TARDIS, except it could be a bit more brighter). But overall, the humor was great, Oswin seems like a promising companion, and it was a fun ride for the holidays.

Also:

Spoiler

OH MY GOD, SHERLOCK REFERENCE THE DOCTOR DEDUCTING AS HAMMY SHERLOCK HOLMES WITH SUSPICIOUSLY SIMILAR BACKGROUND MUSIC AS IN SHERLOCK. GOD DAMN YOU MOFFAT, I DO LOVE IT SO.

 

[Plinglebob]

New titles - Not quite sure at the moment. Somehow it feels very 70s/80s in both music and look and not in a good way. Considering its Doctor Who and knowing what its previous titles have been like, I guess it could be worse.

New TARDIS interior - Awesome. I was never a fan of the RTD era TARDIS as it felt less like a machine and more like the inside of a sea creatures stomach. The first Moff one was a massive step up and was a big fan of the different levels etc, but this new one just screams "Cool Space Ship".

Episode - I've always set the bar low when it comes to the Christmas episodes. While I get its a bit of an excuse for the writer to have a bit of fun with the character, they've normally ranged from forgettable (Christmas Carol), down to horrendous (The Next Doctor) so was pleasantly surprised when this came out as a clear 4/5 stars. The script was a lot of fun with some nice one liners (I love how no-one so far has said how its bigger on the inside) and the cast were obviously enjoying themselves while also turning in decent performances. The plot was good with a nice bad guy and it was interesting to see a "Depressed" Doctor. I still can't make my mind up about the new companion. She was a lot of fun and while it was nice to have someone very on the ball regarding whats going on, I can see her getting really annoying really quickly.

Edit: I did hate one thing. I hate it when anyone say 'Doctor? Doctor Who?'

50 year long running gag. Resistance is futile!

Still, it turns out it's the same character that was in the first episode 'Asylum of the Daleks' so I'm interested in how this works and whether Oswin is really human or not.

Spoiler: Just in case

From the episode I got that she wasn't the same character, but something closer to a reincarnation cycle/cosmic echo. There's part of me which would love for her to be a Kenny (Doctor meets a new incarnation each ep and she always dies), but that's the cruel, sadistic side of me. Maybe its just as his friend said and the universe does make deals. As a plot point/series arc, its definitely got me interested and really looking forward to seeing how it all plays out

 

[TimeLord]

Still, it turns out it's the same character that was in the first episode 'Asylum of the Daleks' so I'm interested in how this works and whether Oswin is really human or not.

Spoiler: Just in case

From the episode I got that she wasn't the same character, but something closer to a reincarnation cycle/cosmic echo. There's part of me which would love for her to be a Kenny (Doctor meets a new incarnation each ep and she always dies), but that's the cruel, sadistic side of me. Maybe its just as his friend said and the universe does make deals. As a plot point/series arc, its definitely got me interested and really looking forward to seeing how it all plays out

Yeah she can't be completely aware of her previous (or rather future) incarnation as a Dalek, if she remembered him from this episode then she'd have recognised him in episode one. I too am interested to see where this goes. She seems to be Rory but she actually dies instead of almost dying all the time.

 

[Zhadramekel]

Title Sequence - I like how they did the graphics but could they have chosen a more boring episode name?

Overall - Best of the Matt Smith christmas specials by a long shot but not quite the best of the revived series overall. Also, did it seem to anyone else like this episode was sort of a reset? Obviously mention of the word 'Pond' struck a nerve and Vastra, Jenny and Strax made a reappearance but the Doctor didn't seem bothered by Clara kissing him that much despite the fact that he's married!

Oswin / Clara - Very witty and although she has an attitude it's much less obnoxious than Amy's (I liked her but I'll admit it seemed like she tried too hard). I didn't get the multiple versions of her though so looking forward to exposition on that in the new series. But even despite that, new record for the shortest companion survival time so far.

Other Characters - Strax is now one of my favourite characters, he's so funny.

Enemies - Not really that scary despite their demonic looks. The ice lady was kinda creepy, but kinda hard to hear and also not that scary.

The Doctor - At first I thought he really was starting to go cold but then when he warmed up again in the middle of the episode and returned to his kooky ways, I was glad.

 

[Flamezdudes]

Holy. Crap.

That episode was brilliant! Lot's of humour in this episode too. Te next series looks great too.

 

[JoJo]

Not a bad episode, not great but then it was better than your usual Christmas special and sufficiently dark in places. What really pricked my interest was the whole multiple Clara's thing, can't wait to find out the explanation for that!

 

[Albino Boo]

Liked: Strax, Oswin and the Sherlock jokes

Disliked: The snowmen, the waste of Richard E Grant and the typical knee jerk lefty attack on Victorian Values. Victorian values created the Union movement, the end of child labour and the start of compulsory child education. Moffat should be careful, one of the reasons why the old Doctor Who series got cancelled is because it became too political.

 

[Wolf In A Bear Suit]

I didn't like it. Yay friendship kills the snowmen. I just felt everything was secondary to showing of the new ( admittedly charming) companion. I don't like potato-head and the Lizard, they did nothing for me. The snowmen were dreadful villains with boring motivation and as I said were secondary to the plot. I did notice the souffle reference which had me thinking, and was a nice touch. I'm sure she will make a very good companion.
Lets hope River Song doesn't rear her head eh?

 

[Loop Stricken]

Title Sequence - I like how they did the graphics but could they have chosen a more boring episode name?

Presumably it's a reference to the fairly famous Christmas-time story, The Snowman.

 

[BrotherRool]

I love the new companion. So far she's better than Amy or Rory, but not as good as them together. And that's pretty impressive to get to that level of trust in just one episode. I hope the writers can keep up with her incredibly entertaining pace =D

 

[Crazy Zaul]

It was a necessary intro to the Oswin plot of the next season, which looks good, but the snowmen main plot was terrible.

 

[Buzz Killington_v1legacy]

It was a way to kill an hour, but I for one am getting pretty damned tired of the thing that defeats the villain-of-the-week being some form of parental or familial love. It's boring and it's lazy and I think it reached its absolute depth when James Corden's character managed to love-of-a-father-for-his-baby himself out of a goddamned Cyberman conversion.

As for the Oswin/Clara plot, I think they cheated themselves out of a great opportunity. Imagine--the Doctor would have had a companion who wasn't from the twenty-first century. When's the last time that happened? (Some time before the 2005 resurrection of the series, I think.) Even better, he would have had her along knowing the entire time that at some point in her future, he would have to let her crash-land on the Dalek asylum planet and be turned into a Dalek. No choice. No cheating. From his point of view, it's already happened and he can't alter it. You could get huge amounts of dramatic tension from that. Instead, they're almost certainly going to go with something much less interesting.

 

[saintdane05]

I think I just found a new favorite companion. Clara/Oswin/Oswald, whatever you call your self, you are amazing.

 

[Encurtidos]

Okay, good epsiode!! Was very well done.

Couple of questions: Why did they change the tardis? Doesn't it only change after a crash or a new doctor is regenerated, same with the credits shouldn't have changed!?

Also, Clara keeps showing up in different dimensions, how do you think she will manage to outrun the paradox?

 

[Remus]

Good episode. But every time they said "winter is coming" I couldn't help but repeat it in Sean Bean's voice. The new Tardis has a much more postmodern feel, with its LCD screens, rock music and round lights that look like subwoofers. Did Xzibit pimp out the Tardis? As to the new companion, it is entirely possible that Oswin cannot die, just be reborn later. Just like Jack Harkness, in her first adventure she gained a form of immortality, though not quite as literal as Jack's. Anyone else think that Ian is getting a bit too famous to carry many other roles beyond Magneto or Gandalf? It was great hearing him in this episode, but I only just saw The Hobbit (like most ppl) so it was a bit distracting.

 

[That Guy Ya Know]

As for the Oswin/Clara plot, I think they cheated themselves out of a great opportunity. Imagine--the Doctor would have had a companion who wasn't from the twenty-first century. When's the last time that happened? (Some time before the 2005 resurrection of the series, I think.) Even better, he would have had her along knowing the entire time that at some point in her future, he would have to let her crash-land on the Dalek asylum planet and be turned into a Dalek. No choice. No cheating. From his point of view, it's already happened and he can't alter it. You could get huge amounts of dramatic tension from that. Instead, they're almost certainly going to go with something much less interesting.

That would kind of defeat the point of the doctor having a companion. By having a companion from the same time periods as the viewers the writers have a character with the same general knowledge as the audience. This means they can ask questions the audience are thinking and be answered in terms the audience will understand.

That said I agree with the rest of the paragraph. It would have been interesting to see that relationship play out.

 

[Diablo2000]

So what did you think of the episode?

Love love love the new TARDIS interior and the new titles! Always good to see friendly Sontarans and the Doctor's 'crew'.
Although they still pulled the 'human emotions saved the day' idea which I'm not a great fan of.
Still, it turns out it's the same character that was in the first episode 'Asylum of the Daleks' so I'm interested in how this works and whether Oswin is really human or not.

Small thought, but I don't remember at any point they showing the family crying and power of loving the hell out the snowmen, the one crying was Clara and there's like you said we don't know what she is, so maybe was her and not the power of love... Thought I have a felling that they will never comeback to it... So yeah, in doubt was the power of love.

And can anyone explain what was that about tunnels. Was a gag, a important episode thing that I missed or something that will have importance later on maybe?