Doctor Who is now a fixture in the festive TV line-up and nobody does Christmas quite like the Victorians. So it came as no surprise to find the 11th Doctor, moping over the sort-of death of Amy and Rory, hiding out in snowy Victorian London at Christmas 2012. This time, however, the snow was more than holiday themed set dressing, as the Doctor found himself faced with battling monstrous aggressive snowmen under the control of the cold hearted Dr. Simeon. Richard E. Grant had played a couple of non-canonical versions of the Doctor in the past, but was perfectly cast as a mean spirited, miserly Victorian bad guy, although the principle villain of the piece turned out to be the Gandalf-voiced Great Intelligence making its first appearance since 1968. Grant was good enough to make a return as the Intelligence's corporeal form in the better-than-usual season finale The Name of the Doctor, but there's plenty to enjoy in his more messed up human performance here. This episode also marked the return of Jenna Coleman in her second incarnation. Having been last seen as a souffle loving dying dalek, she was back as a feisty barmaid-cum-governess, confusing the Doctor and setting up the central mystery of the episodes that followed. Victorian Clara is probably her most engaging incarnation, as well as being more different from other modern companions than her 21st century au pair/teacher self, so it's kind of a shame that Moffat and co. didn't stick with their original plan and make her the permanent version of the character. It would be nice to have a historical companion again.
