It looks like all the good little Whovians will be getting coal for Christmas this year. The long running ‘Doctor Who’ tradition of having a Christmas Special may be a thing of the past, as the new Doctor will skip her Christmas Day outing for the first time since the show’s reboot in 2005.
But, never fear! Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor will be featured in an hour-long special for the New Year and will have a storyline about the arrival of 2019.
So, why the change from Christmas to the New Year? The team behind ‘Doctor Who’ claim they have “run out” of unique Christmas storylines after 13 years. Showrunner and writer Chris Chibnall attended San Diego Comic Con and confirmed that the series would feature an “11th episode.” Chibnall said:
“We seem to be filming 11 episodes, and it’s only a series of 10. I would definitely think there’s another episode after the end of the series.”
Chibnall took great care to not use the word “Christmas” when talking about the extra episode. His predecessor Steven Moffat has spoken previously about the Christmas specials, saying they were a headache, especially after 13 years of yuletide festivities.
Moffat said:
“I sort of think we might have mined, and possibly over mined, every single thing we could about Christmas in ‘Doctor Who’ and the last time we more or less ignored it.”
A source close to the show added:
“BBC bosses have already made the bold move of shifting the entire series from Saturday to Sunday nights so they won’t be scared about moving the festive special from Christmas to New Year.”
The episode ushering in the New Year will have to hold fans over as we face a long, lonely 2019 with no ‘Doctor Who,’ as the show is taking the year off.
‘Doctor Who’ airs every Sunday on BBC America.
Source: The Mirror
