doctor who

Peter Capaldi’s days as the Doctor are numbered.

The actor is due to pass the torch to Jodie Whittaker later this year, but before he does, he’ll have to make it through one more adventure. But while that adventure, this Christmas’s ‘Twice Upon a Time‘, won’t air for several months yet, the special’s Blu-ray release is already available for pre-order through the BBC’s American website. As might be expected, that pre-order listing also came with a (since deleted) synopsis of the episode. That official synopsis reads as follows:

Two Doctors stranded in a forbidding snowscape, refusing to face regeneration. And a British army captain seemingly destined to die in the First World War, but taken from the trenches to play his part in the Doctor’s story.

This is the magical last chapter in the Twelfth Doctor’s epic adventure. He must face his past to decide his future. And the Doctor will realise the resilience of humanity, discovering hope in his darkest frozen moment.

It’s the end of an era. But the Doctor’s journey is only just beginning.

While this provides little in the way of new information, it does confirm some of the inferences fans were able to make based on the previously released trailer. Chief among those is the fact that the special will (from the First Doctor’s perspective, at least) be a “between the scenes” affair set toward the end of ‘The Tenth Planet’, in which the first regeneration took place. Incidentally, this also means that both Doctors will be fresh from confrontations with the Cybermen. It also suggests that the World War I captain (played by Mark Gatiss) will serve as a sort of thematic mirror to the two Doctors, as each comes to terms with an inevitable fate. If so, it certainly promises to be a far cry from the more whimsical Christmas specials that have often characterized Steven Moffat’s time as showrunner.

‘Doctor Who’ will return this Christmas for the broadcast of ‘Twice Upon A Time’. The special, which will culminate in the regeneration of Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor, is also set to feature Pearl Mackie, David Bradley, and Mark Gatiss. In addition to Capaldi, producer Steven Moffat will also be bowing out at Christmas. The outgoing star and showrunner will be succeeded by Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall, respectively.

Be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more news on both ‘Twice Upon a Time’ and the upcoming eleventh season of ‘Doctor Who’ as it becomes available!