Doctor Who Today fans will get a special treat under the Christmas tree with the arrival of “Joy to the World” this year. Special holiday episode– but they're getting an even better gift. inside It: Because aside from the episode's broad festival recap, this larger adventure from within also has a side story that could stand alone as a great episode of WHO in its own right
About a third of the way through its runtime, “Joy to the World” moves sideways. After the establishment of the Time Hotel The Doctor is staying—a business with many doors that is now set to drop guests off every Christmas in history—and we are quickly ushered through those doors as he follows a strange suitcase. Jumping around while being handcuffed, it seems like a free host. The Doctor and the briefcase's current host, the Silurian manager at the hotel, find themselves stepping through a door to Christmas 2024 in London, where they meet a young woman named J. in her dilapidated room Some chaos later The Doctor discovers that the suitcase is decaying its host after it jumps to a new suitcase: the Silurian dies and Joy is taken on as the briefcase's latest carrier. causing her to sing an ominous warning about a blooming star seed. Before the doctor understood what had happened to the suitcase… The doctor walked through the door.
This doctor from a certain point in the future. Dispelling his predecessor's annoyance at not giving him any information on how to solve the mystery of the briefcase. As he begins to usher Joy out of the room and leave “our” doctor forced to figure things out, the door slams shut. And we still look at Dr. “our” next, who realizes that he is now stuck in 2024 with no TARDIS and no way back. All year round–
What follows is an extended sequence full of potential to be a killer episode. Doctor Who in its own right When you don't have money or a place to live. So the Doctor has to offer his services to the hotel manager, Anita (Steve de Walley, in a truly excellent supporting performance), doing odd jobs for rent. wash Joy Cream. The doctor is trying to find his suitcase during his downtime. But he was still forced to sit in one place for periods of time. and live a life that he normally does not need to experience
This is not an idea. Doctor Who Certainly not familiar at all. The first half of the Third Doctor's existence was built on the premise that the Doctor was exiled on contemporary Earth and forced to fend for himself. But he still goes on regular adventures as UNIT's scientific advisor. The Fourteenth Doctor's arc concludes with him finding grace in existence and living with Donna and her family. without the need to be a doctor In particular, “Joy to the World” author Steven Moffat was fascinated with the idea throughout his tenure as showrunner, episodes such as “The Lodger”, “The Power of Three” and even The previous holiday special, “The Husbands of River Song,” also touched on the Doctor's thoughts, whether through choice or circumstance. Causing him to give up his life for a moment. As a wanderer in the fourth dimension to live a “normal” life.
But in contrast to this sequence in “Joy to the World,” those previous episodes only examined them in the abstract. The fact that doctors spend a disproportionate amount of time in one place in a period of time Mostly behind the scenes The real reason for it And that's because, honestly, Doctor Who It's the show we all watch to see the Doctor travel through time and space. Fight monsters and save the world from catastrophic destruction. Making him live a normal human life is rare. Because in the beginning It's here that the Doctor is in trouble. It's a little boring for a sci-fi action-adventure show.
Still, for a third of the episode—and possibly the best—we're asked to sit with the Doctor as he lives through this year. To get to know Anita better Get to know what life is like like thisIt's better to the point where when the end of the year comes and you have to say goodbye to new friends, it's almost as heartbreaking as it is. with the loss of friends There are no big threats or mysteries, and the Doctor isn't counting down the clock in particular. Even though he knew that he had only reserved Joy's room at the hotel for a year, But the whole sequence turns out to be about exploring the potential of these different lenses. Come into the life and feelings of the doctor.
That's important as well. It was a necessary moment of healing for this doctor. To find friends and part with them in this way Not just because of last season's Doctor Who really struggle with Domestic elements To make the Doctor and Ruby feel like friends in a series that always tells us they are friends. But because Joy isn't the de facto “companion” of the special in which the Fifteenth Doctor deals with his loneliness after breaking up with Ruby, Only with Anita It was her connection and inspiration that pushed him forward after losing his first friend. which was one of the first people that he was impressed by this life This is something that past holiday specials have touched on as well – “The Runaway Bride” and the Tenth Doctor's feelings about Rose and “The Cursed Journey” and, uh, the Doctor's feelings. The tenth are about Martha – but their final conclusion is a reminder. The doctor needs someone to join him on his adventures.
In one of its brightest and brightest moments, “Joy to the World” asks us and the Doctor alike if life is an adventure he wants to share with someone. Isn't it time and place?
You can now watch. Doctor Who“Joy to the World” on Disney+ worldwide and on the BBC in the UK and Ireland
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