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Joy To The World is the Christmas 2024 Doctor Who episode.
Expect spoilers in this piece.
Starting with a World War II scenario, at the Queen’s Hotel, Manchester, in 1940, with old couple Basil and Hilda, the former looking out the window, reminscing about how he once saw two women together. Yes, it only took 32 seconds for Russell T Davies to insert his agenda into everything.
Then some random globe-trotting to the Orient Express, Italy, 1962, Everest Base Camp in 1953, and finally, Sandringham Hotel, London, in the present day, where Joy Almondo has checked in.
Fast-forward further to London, Christmas 4202. Yes, the year is 2024 backwards. How original…
And because RTD also had the stupidity to push Millie Gibson out of the show after just one series, a Christmas special must get a well-known guest face, this episode’s being Derry Girls‘ Nicola Coughlan, in the role of Joy.
Apparently, it’s also Steven Moffat‘s last Who episode, too, but then it’s been a very long time since he wrote something decent for the show.
In 4202, the setting is the Time Hotel, who have holiday packages that can take you into all sorts of places, hence why the Not-my-Doctor is zipping about everywhere because it’s “Christmas Everywhere All At Once”… Yes, when you’ve run out of ideas, let’s leach off a recent movie hit, this one the 2022 action/oddball film, starring Michelle Yeoh.
One moment did give me a bit of a laugh when noting the futuristic kitchens can order food 30 minutes before you order it, although when the Doctor moans that it’s still microwaved, hotel employee Trev (Joel Fry) admits, “Well, you can’t expect miracles(!)”
The passing of a briefcase leads them to Joy, with a Silurian also being brought into it, but for whoever ends up with the case, it doesn’t exactly give them a happy ending.
Ol’ Doccy from the future turning up, giving him a code to his current self, not explaining things, does not make for a suitable script, nor does, because reasons, abandoning his TARDIS and to work as a janitor for an entire year, eventually ending up at the Exeter Hotel on Christmas Eve 2025, in New York.
And what the hell was with that resolution, going all ‘timey-wimey’, not making a lick of sense?!
Plus, for a Christmas episode, while it could’ve been far worse, what was the budget and where was it spent? Apart from the Time Hotel reception, the CGI just fell through the floor at times, such as when The Doctor is standing on the train. You have all the power of the ‘big Mouse’ and that’s the best you can come up with?!
At least it gets in a mention of Partygate, and the bastards who were in charge at the time. However, in pretending that ‘Jesus Christ’ ever existed, whoever that might’ve been was born around 4AD, not 1AD. And not on December 25th, either.
So, Joy To The World, you weren’t as painful as I was expecting, like the time I walked right into the sofa, and the little toe on my right foot crunched so hard that I could still feel that three weeks later, but you were still as unsatisfying as a meal from a service station.
As expected, we got the James Bond-style threat of “Doctor Who Will Return“. Given the poor ratings of Mr Gatwa’s first series, if the second one doesn’t improve, it will be the last for a while, and word has it, it’s already in the can.
And for a spoilery take on things…
You can watch Joy To The World on the BBC iPlayer.
You can pre-order the episode on Blu-ray and DVD, ahead of its release on January 27th 2025.
You can also Buy Season 1 on Limited Blu-ray Steelbook, Blu-ray and DVD.
Director: Alex Sanjiv Pillai
Producer: Alison Sterling
Writer: Steven Moffat
Music: Murray Gold
Cast:
The Doctor: Ncuti Gatwa
Joy Almondo: Nicola Coughlan
Trev Simpkins: Joel Fry
Anita Benn: Steph de Whalley
Hotel Manager: Jonathan Aris
Hilda Flockhart: Julia Watson
Basil Flockhart: Peter Benedict
Sylvia Trench: Niamh Marie Smith
Edmund Hillary: Phil Baxter
Tenzing Norgay: Samuel Sherpa-Moore
Receptionist: Ruchi Rai
Mr Single: Joshua Leese
Server: Ell Potter
Barman: Liam Prince-Donnelly
Angela Grace: Fiona Marr
Joy’s Mum: Fiona Scott
Ruby Sunday: Millie Gibson
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.