The ninth series of Doctor Who ended on a high note back in 2015 with some major advancements in its overarching plot. Naturally, fans were immensely curious about where the show is headed next and equally disappointed when it was announced season ten would not air till 2017 preceded by a special episode. The much awaited episode aired on Christmas day, 2016 and the question lingering on everyone’s mind would be whether the episode did justice to all the anticipation. Unfortunately, The Return of Doctor Mysterio was not all it was expected to be and was not worth the wait.
Doctor Who’s twelfth Christmas special was more of the usual with some new elements. The plot deals with The Doctor meeting a young boy who worships superheroes while he is in New York attempting to fend off an alien invasion. The boy, Grant, accidentally swallows a magical gem-stone given to him by The Doctor which grants him superpowers. The Doctor revisits New York twenty-four years later and finds that Grant is now operating as a vigilante-superhero called The Ghost. The episodes follows The Doctor, Nardole(Matt Lucas), and Grant as they try to protect the Earth from yet another alien invasion and deals with The Doctor helping Grant manage his double life.
Justin Chatwin as Grant a.k.a The Ghost
The Return Of Doctor Mysterio was a classic Doctor Who story featuring all the qualities of a typical episode of the show and that was precisely the problem with it. As usual, the plot deals with The Doctor finding himself in a troublesome scenario involving alien foes threatening to destroy the Earth. As the story progresses, The Doctor and his companion meet odd, unlikely allies who help him save the world and, in the process, teach him a few lessons about companionship. In this year’s Christmas special, the writers recycled this thread and planted it in a setting featuring a superhero.
Peter Capaldi as The Doctor and Matt Lucas as Nardole
Now there is nothing wrong with an episode of Doctor Who containing all the ingredients viewers are used to and love about the show. It is entertaining to see different writers’ spin on this classic thread in different settings featuring different incarnations of The Doctor and his companions. However, Doctor Who’s Christmas specials have traditionally been characterized by stories that serve to commence, advance, or conclude major plotlines in the show. If not, they have been used as the tool for introducing new characters or incarnations of The Doctor. The Return of Doctor Mysterio did not have any of these traits. After waiting for more than a year for this episode, there was nothing in the episode that proclaimed “we are back” to the fans. In fact, the most exciting part of the episode was the brief teaser of series ten shown at the end.
Despite being formulaic, the episode did have its merits. Grant a.k.a The Ghost was a fun character who shares a lot of similarities with Superman. The writers took every opportunity they got to make fun of the tropes seen in superhero materials. Outside his costume, The Ghost works as a nanny for his crush Lucy’s child. Even while he’s fighting aliens, Grant flies back to Lucy’s apartment in an instant as soon as he hears the baby cry. And as always, Peter Capaldi was his witty and charming self as he played The Doctor. Matt Lucas’s Nardole, who first appeared in last year’s Christmas special, returned as The Doctor’s companion once again. Justin Chatwin who played The Ghost and Charity Wakefield who played Lucy Fletcher handled their roles neatly without much faults.
The Ghost in his costume as played by Justin Chatwin
To sum things up, Doctor Who’s twelfth Christmas special was not all it was hyped up to be. While fun, The Return of Doctor Mysterio was a very basic episode that failed to do much beyond the usual. However, it was still fun to watch Peter Capaldi wear his suit and fight aliens, this time with the help of a superhero. In spite of its drawbacks, The Return of a Doctor Mysterio is a good warm-up for fans as they get ready for series ten. But could it have been more? Absolutely!
Tags: Doctor Who Justin Chatwin The Return of Doctor Mysterio
