Watching a Doctor Who Christmas special has become as much of a tradition as watching It’s a Wonderful Life or A Christmas Carol. Such was the case Sunday evening with “The Return of Doctor Mysterio”. Warning, spoilers ahead…
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of Peter Capaldi’s Doctor but I rather enjoyed his performance in this years Christmas special. Since it’s been a year since we had a new adventure for the twelve doctor, in many ways this special was more or less a sequel to last Christmas and “The Husbands of River Song” episode.
I loved the comic-book style storyline that Steven Moffat created here. There is so many comic-book references present throughout but its main source of inspiration comes from Superman and in particular Christopher Reeve’s version. “The Return of Doctor Mysterio” tells the story of a young boy named Grant who accidentally swallows a gem stone that gives him super-power after he mistaken the good doctor as Santa. The superhero obsessed young man never outgrows his powers as the Doctor had hoped would happen. In fact, Grant (Justin Chatwin) grows up to be known as the crime-fighting superhero known as the Ghost, protecting the streets of New York.
When Grant is not fighting crime, he serves as a mild-mannered nanny for a reporter (think Lois Lane), named Lucy (Charity Wakefield). Lucy also serves as a potential love interest for Grant although neither initially make the first move. The main villain present here is a group of creepy looking alien brains who look to take over human host that possess some sort of power. Grant/Ghost becomes the perfect candidate. There was some action in this otherwise lightweight episode. I say lightweight because of the emotional roller coaster of last Christmas’ special that saw the end of River Song. Here is more a feel good matchmaking love story with comic-book twist and two very likable lead characters.
Finally, it was nice to see Nardole (Matt Lucas) who will be the Doctor’s companion for the time being when Season 10 begins in the Spring. Overall, this Christmas special was thoroughly enjoyable and a nice way to end your Christmas holiday.
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
