Every Doctor Who Christmas Special Ranked From Worst To Best

The Snowmen is an ambitious episode that doesn't quite hit the mark it's aiming for. The Eleventh Doctor's first outing in his "post-Pond depression" era, the story introduces us to Clara Oswald (again) and brings back the lovable trio of Strax, Vastra, and Jenny, after their debuts in Series 6's A Good Man Goes To War.

After losing Amy and Rory, the Doctor has become a bit of a recluse, and The Snowmen follows him as he slowly regains his lust for adventure. To that end, Jenna Coleman's energetic, affable performance as Clara is more than welcome, and the hilarious antics of Strax - particularly his early interactions with the Doctor and a memory worm - liven up an unusually bleak Christmas Day story.

The one major weakness here is the villains, with the titular Snowmen - while scary - going criminally underused. This is one of the biggest missed opportunities in the show's history; their icy-sharp fangs, demonic smiles and empty eye sockets are the stuff of nightmares, but they come and go without leaving much of a mark. Plus, Richard E. Grant's Dr. Simeon doesn't have much to do other than scowl at the camera, and Ian McKellen is wasted in a small vocal cameo.

Still, Smith and Coleman are brilliant together, and they really make the episode pop with their snappy conversations. The Doctor also gets to act as Sherlock Holmes for a short while, a brilliant touch from Steven Moffat and an opportunity that Smith relishes, going full off-kilter crazy with his version of the great detective.

But without a great antagonist, the finale falls flat. The Snowmen is an episode packed with spectacular moments that, frustratingly, just can't make it over the finish line.