It may be the most wonderful time of the year but expect a lot less Christmas cheer from this year’s special, Twice Upon a Time, which Steven Moffat has promised will be a very dark final episode for both himself and the Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi.
Although the end itself will probably be a joyous celebration of his time aboard the TARDIS, much like your classic three act structure, we’re going to have to go to some dark places with the Twelfth Doctor and his first incarnation, played by An Adventure in Space and Times David Bradley.
Speaking at the London Screenwriters’ Festival about offsetting Sherlock’s selfish nature against his kindness, Moffat had this to say about the nature of virtue and the Doctor:
“Why would Superman be good? Because kindness stops you being lonely, would be the answer. That’s what that’s about, for Sherlock Holmes.
“He’s good because for all he protests about it, there are people he cares about. So, kindness is what makes a unit of us.
“So if you are sane and rational, kindness is by far the best path. There isn’t anything rational about being vile and awful and evil. It’s not actually a good strategy.”
He then added:
“Prepare for that to be contradicted on Doctor Who on Christmas Day…”
So will the never cruel or never cowardly Doctor really change? Just how far will he go before he regenerates into Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor? And just how much does this feel like Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol? Which, you know, we’ve kind of done before.
Doctor Who will return on Christmas Day in Twice Upon a Time on BBC One.