While the Doctor Who fandom offers up thoughts and opinions aplenty in regards to whatever news comes out regarding the new Doctor, some may have forgotten that they still have to say goodbye to current Doctor actor Peter Capaldi. That should change today, as a new video has surfaced for the Christmas special that gives us a good look at the first and twelfth Doctors interacting. The scene begins with the first Doctor (played by David Bradley) seeing the upgraded TARDIS, and things only get sillier between the two from there:
As we learned from the trailer and the leaked synopsis that hit the web a while back, the Doctor Who Christmas special finds both Doctors staving off regeneration. Joined by a WW1 army captain, the three find themselves in the South Pole coming to grips with their respective fates. While a good chunk of Christmas episodes for Doctor Who in recent years have been sad, the jabs coming from David Bradley's Doctor may give some fans hope that there will be some light hearted moments in Peter Capaldi's swan song for the show.
Doctor Who viewers who have seen the first trailer know that there are two versions of the TARDIS in this episode, so hopefully that means the twelfth Doctor will get a chance to criticize the past decor he put up. Then again, there are quite a few plot points the 90-minute episode must get through, like surprise appearances by characters and the reason why they're frozen in time, so perhaps they won't be able to squeeze a moment like that in. If not, this interaction between David Bradley and Peter Capaldi alone should indicate the two don't really need more than each other to make a great scene work.
A great thing about this scene, in particular, is that the first Doctor appears to be unsure of his next regeneration. After all, this is his first time, so it's understandable that he may have some jitters going into the process. The first Doctor regenerating in the same episode the twelfth Doctor will transform into a woman for the first time has to point to some sort of deep Doctor Who symbolism the show likes to insert; so be on the lookout for some meaning behind that upon the episodes airing.
The Doctor Who Christmas special is scheduled to air on December 25th at 9 p.m. ET on BBC America. For more on upcoming fall programming to watch before the year ends, visit our fall premiere guide. Conversely, one can also take a look at all the shows that were canceled in 2017 right here. Finally, for a look ahead at what's on television in 2018, visit our midseason premiere guide.
