The 2016 Doctor Who Christmas special, “The Return Of Doctor Mysterio,” arrived after a year-long hiatus, promising festive fun and a superhero twist. Marketed with the enticing tagline “Doctor Who does superheroes,” it offered a fresh angle, something the long-running series hadn’t explicitly explored before. While delivering on its promise of lighthearted Christmas entertainment, the episode’s execution of its superhero premise feels somewhat out of sync, drawing more from classic Superman tropes than contemporary superhero narratives. For viewers seeking hints about Series 10, the trailer offered the only breadcrumbs, leaving the focus squarely on providing an enjoyable hour of holiday viewing – a goal it largely achieves, even if it doesn’t quite soar to superheroic heights.
Instead of engaging with the darker, more cynical superhero deconstructions prevalent in modern cinema, “The Return of Doctor Mysterio” unexpectedly leans into the wholesome, almost anachronistic world of Superman. This isn’t the conflicted Superman of recent DC films, but rather an earnest, old-fashioned hero embodying sentiments like “the real hero is Clark Kent,” a concept arguably out of step with today’s more complex superhero landscape.
In retrospect, this slightly off-kilter approach shouldn’t be entirely surprising. Steven Moffat, the writer, hasn’t explicitly positioned himself as a comic book aficionado, so his inclination towards a straightforward Clark Kent-Lois Lane-Superman love triangle feels almost predictable. To his credit, Moffat handles this classic dynamic reasonably well. It aligns comfortably with his storytelling strengths, and while the treatment isn’t groundbreaking, it effectively serves the purpose of a Christmas special. The aim for these holiday episodes is often less about innovation and more about delivering familiar, comforting entertainment. And “The Return of Doctor Mysterio” offers its share of small, delightful moments. Grant’s unexpected role as a nanny and Lucy’s amusing interrogation scene inject a unique flavor into the narrative, adding charming touches that elevate the episode beyond a simple superhero pastiche. Overall, the episode is undeniably sweet, presenting a superhero interpretation that, while not cutting-edge, feels refreshingly quaint amidst the often overly serious superhero genre.
However, the episode’s biggest weakness lies in its pacing, constrained by the limitations of its one-hour runtime. The story progresses smoothly until the Doctor and Grant’s storylines begin to diverge. Even the dinner scene maintains a light, farcical tone. But as the narrative accelerates towards its resolution, the time constraints become glaringly apparent. While the plot isn’t necessarily the central focus, and that’s acceptable for a Christmas special, the rapid succession of events after the Doctor reaches the spaceship creates a sense of rushed storytelling, where much happens but little truly resonates.
This rushed structure also inadvertently relegates the Doctor to a somewhat peripheral role in his own show. “The Return of Doctor Mysterio” is fundamentally Grant and Lucy’s story. The Doctor enjoys a playful cold open and delivers some memorable lines (the Pokémon reference being a standout), but this feels like Doctor Who operating in “excuse to do something else” mode. After a year-long absence, this approach feels somewhat underwhelming for dedicated fans eager for a substantial Doctor-centric adventure.
Compounding this feeling is the episode’s puzzling decision to conclude on a melancholic note, emphasizing the Doctor’s prolonged grief over River Song. This feels like a misjudgment of the prevailing narrative threads of Doctor Who in 2015 and 2016. While acknowledging that the Doctor can’t explicitly mourn Clara due to the amnesia surrounding their parting, it was Clara, not River, who represented the more significant emotional loss within the series’ recent arc. To have him seemingly stuck in mourning for a character from Matt Smith’s era feels as incongruous as the fleeting reference to him potentially trying to repair time to visit Amy and Rory. (The placement of the cold open within the Twelfth Doctor’s timeline remains ambiguous.) More crucially, initiating the show’s return after a year-long break with the Doctor in a state of grumpy mourning seems tonally inappropriate. It’s unlikely that viewers felt The Husbands of River Song left unresolved emotional business that urgently needed addressing a year later. Surely, “Doctor Who does superheroes” possessed enough inherent appeal to sustain an entire episode without needing to re-establish the show’s connection to its immediate past. While this might enhance a future Capaldi-era marathon viewing experience, as a standalone Christmas Day return, it raises the question: why this particular emotional beat?
This leads us to Nardole. He functions adequately within the episode. While not yet undergoing a Donna-esque transformation into a fully realized character, he’s been refined beyond his initial, gratingly over-the-top portrayal. He serves reasonably well as a slightly chiding presence, nudging the Doctor back on track. However, his necessity within this specific episode, beyond providing someone for the Doctor to explain the rapidly unfolding plot to in the final act, remains unclear. Furthermore, his continued presence in the upcoming series, especially with the introduction of the promising new companion Bill, feels even more perplexing. Nardole isn’t a detrimental addition, but much like the lingering threads of The Husbands of River Song, his purpose feels somewhat undefined.
The potentially concerning explanation, and hopefully one that won’t overshadow Series Ten, is that The Husbands of River Song provided a natural and satisfying endpoint for Moffat’s tenure, and this entire final season might simply be a period of marking time. This is likely an overly pessimistic interpretation, and the arrival of Bill will hopefully inject fresh energy into the series. Considering the season’s structure, with a concluding rush of Moffat-penned episodes followed by a final Christmas special, it’s plausible he’s reserving his more significant narrative contributions for the season’s climax. However, the fact remains that Heaven Sent/Hell Bent and The Husbands of River Song could have served as a perfect concluding statement, and based on the evidence of “The Return of Doctor Mysterio,” it’s not yet evident that an equally compelling narrative arc exists beyond them.
But such broader concerns are better reserved for the end of 2017. For now, “The Return of Doctor Mysterio” provides an entertaining hour of television that remains watchable at any time of year. Sometimes, Christmas offers more profound gifts, but expecting sheer brilliance might be overly optimistic. This special delivers exactly what it promises: fluff, but fluff of a generally enjoyable, Christmassy variety.
