Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

hannah132016 If I was to summarise this episode in one word it would be crap. Didn't feel Christmassy in any way. Probably the worst episode of modern Who ever. After seeing the previous Christmas special "The Husbands of River Song" which was good, the 2016 Christmas special was a complete and utter piece of crap. Didn't make me feel in a Christmas mood at all, but instead made me as bored as hell. Why oh why did they have to put a flipping superhero into the mix. The worst episode ever! Do yourselves a favor and watch, the Time of Doctor or The End of Time for God sake two of the best Christmas specials so far. Although I reckon Twice Upon A Time will be amazing. Can't wait to see that episode and I definitely won't be switching off this time!

Michael Lysaght So because of the absence of Doctor Who episodes for the entirety of 2016, this is the first episode aired since the last Christmas special. I kinda knew just by looking by the advertising that I wasn't going to enjoy it, because the inclusion of superhero elements looked incredibly cheesy.This is meant to be a science fiction show. The laziest bit of writing I have ever seen is when the Doctor accidentally gives the little boy in the beginning a "wish granting crystal" which gives him his superpowers. If you're writing a science fiction show, at least have some fictitious science-y justification as opposed to full blown fantasy.Also, this episode is a straight up Superman ripoff, down to the hero wearing spectacles as his secret identity. All the tired clichés are still here, Capaldi is once again being let down by weak writing, and I just lost hope for the show at that point.Completely forgettable plot, Matt Lucas is brought back for no reason, and Justin Chatwin is playing the hero? Really? The guy who portrayed Goku in that abomination of a live-action Dragonball Z film? Sigh.Needless to say, I wasted an hour of my life.

fcabanski One plus for the Doctor Who creative team is they're consistent. 2015's Christmas Special was blah. 2016's Christmas Special was blah.I think I have this thing figured out. Cable TV stations run Christmas specials through November and December. The majority of these are what I call cut rate Christmas specials. They're romantic comedies that are set at Christmas time. Other than the time - there are a few Christmas decorations, some snow, maybe a Christmas dinner - the specials have nothing to do with Christmas. They're mostly about some girl and guy getting together.This episode is a cut rate Doctor Who episode. It takes place in a Doctor Who setting, but it's mainly about a girl and guy getting together. It's secondarily about the Doctor's grief at losing one of the many loves of his life.This one uses the now becoming generic Doctor meets someone when they're a child, and then Doctor checks in throughout their life.It also has the Doctor create one of his wonder machines. This is a machine that's so complicated the Doctor can't even begin to describe what it does or why he built it. He blathers some ridiculous explanation, then he immediately admits that explanation is baloney.The end of the episode is a coming attractions for Series 10 of "Doctor Whaaaa". There's a new cockney companion basically saying "Doctor Who is gonna be so COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

bob the moo There was really nothing that excited me about the return of Doctor Who for the Christmas special; generally they are only so-so episodes, and too often they overplay the seasonal aspect and throw lots of glitter-like aspects into the mix (by which I mean stuff that looks nice from a distance but is a mess and an annoyance when you get to it – source, I have a small daughter and lots of things with glitter stuck to them, and over everything else). On top of that the promotional poster looked cheap and silly – much like the superhero costume itself; and the title (The Return of Doctor Mysterio) screamed of cheese. So, like Doctor Who generally, I almost come at it now with a much lower bar for what will work for me – ie if it is not awful, then it must be one of the good episodes.And by that yardstick, this Christmas special was quite enjoyable. It featured a topical (if overdone) genre of superheroes, had some sinister creature elements, showed restraint in a lot of areas, and generally was interesting in what it did with the characters. Generally it was greeted by those around me in the same way – satisfied indifference, which I do think is sometimes what this show is happy with – particularly in these big seasonal event shows. However this is not to say that the special is a good watch, because it isn't, and there is a lot to be irritated by. It wastes the aliens – it has some sinister images and ideas but doesn't follow them up, and the invasion plot really has limited menace. It does have a nice romantic plot but it doesn't do it that well, it is very much BBC sitcom level (and that is not a good thing). I liked the restraint it showed regarding the seasonal stuff, and that Matt Lucas was not a big part of it and was really limited in his impact (enough to be a good addition, not enough to be too annoying).In the end it is an okay Christmas special but suffers from the same issue that much of Doctor Who – it really doesn't know what it wants to do, and feels produced by committee. The mix of content doesn't always work, and as usual we end with the Doctor being all dark and alone – something Capaldi can work with, but is never really fleshed out as it should be. In the context of Christmas Day though, it did work well enough to pass muster thanks to the state of the audience, and the low expectations/requirements the vast majority will have brought with them.