After a year, Doctor Who finally returned with another Christmas special which aired, of course, on Christmas day. It’s clear that this comeback was one anticipated by many – it was BBC America’s top telecast of the year across all key demographics with a total of 1.7 million viewers. It was also the No. 1 social media program on Facebook and Twitter.
And it's understandable why so many fans were looking forward to this episode - it had been a year since the last episode, which was also a Christmas special. But I, and many other fans, would agree that it was worth the wait. The story, although a Christmas special, focused on a superhero theme. They obviously used Christopher Reeve's Superman as inspiration, and they did it quite well. With so many serious episodes as of recent, it was a nice change of pace.
As great as this episode was though, fans now have to wait some more for the premiere of season 10 which, according to Peter Capaldi, may be in April. Obviously it's nice having an exact month to look forward to, but that's still three months away. Luckily, however, they knew that the Christmas special would only make fans more eager for the next season, so they released a new trailer. You can watch that right here:
Not surprisingly, this has brought up more discussion of the new companion, Bill. Here is another video that was released back in April when we were first introduced to this new character.
Obviously the premiere is still pretty far away and we don't know enough to know exactly what kind of season this will be, but one thing many fans believe is that Bill is similar to another companion: Donna.
Although I don't particularly like comparing companions, I do agree that there seems to be some similarities based on what we've seen. Of course we won't know for sure until April. But one thing that's safe to assume is that this companion is definitely not afraid to ask questions.
Another thing I noticed is that we may be getting a more relatable companion - something many fans have been wanting. Although Clara and Amy were both fantastic, both of their characters were made to be "special" and basically "meant to be" with the Doctor. Amy was the girl who's life didn't make sense and who the Doctor was fascinated with because of the crack in her wall. Clara was the "Impossible Girl" who also had a life that didn't make sense - she was a mystery for him to solve.
Besides the fact that so many loved Rose and the Doctor as a couple, people also liked her because she was just a normal girl who somehow happened to get the chance to join the Doctor and took it. The same can be said for Martha and Donna.
Another thing that can be taken from the preview is the lighthearted feel - this can be seen in the latest Christmas special as well. Another complaint that fans have is that the show had gone in the direction of being too serious and dark. It's still Doctor Who though so of course there's going to be danger and adventure. But fans have been missing the more lighthearted fun adventures (and maybe a less complicated story arc), and I believe that we may just get more of that this season.
"See the universe anew" can be seen toward the end of the trailer, and hopefully the new season will allow fans to do just that. Keeping a show going and popular for 50 years is no easy task, but if they keep that kind of fresh attitude, they should be able to keep it up.