When we crank up the old rooftop optimism generator, we typically plug it into Doctor Who stories that didn’t receive the best or warmest reception, and find the reasons to enjoy them on a number of levels, be it story, dialogue, cast performances, effects…perhaps even a really snappy score. It’s the Yuletide season, so why not find the reasons of the season, eh?

Staying in bright holiday spirits, we are visited by a ghost…or rather, The Ghost, the focal point of the Twelfth Doctor’s third holiday special (depending on how you count them). Though the story occupies a middling-to-low rank among Doctor Who holiday offerings, we find a number of things we love about the offbeat, intentionally campy ode to comic book heroes, not the least of which is Peter Capaldi’s performance as the Doctor that sits in the absolute sweet spot of his tenure: a mix of sadness and hope; faith in humanity but doubt within self; love of childlike adventure and adventurous children; and the beginnings of the wild “space floof” silver mane that he should never, ever attempt to tame.

Seriously. That stress-relief squeeze toy had nothing on P-Cap’s hair.

NEWS:

• Dalek marketing on the official BBC social media feeds is strong: #DalekDay
• Chibnall shares a few details about the holiday special and Series 13 in production