Doctor Who Chris Chibnall

After more than a decade, this year finally saw the tradition of yearly ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas adventures come to an end (sort of). But there will still be a holiday special – just for a different holiday! this year (or next, if you want to split hairs), the program will be airing a New Year’s special.

Dubbed ‘Resolution’, the special will air on New Year’s Day and pit the Doctor and her companions against “the most dangerous creature in the universe”. Rumors suggest this refers to the Daleks, though showrunner Chris Chibnall has been notably coy on that point for some time, at once reminding fans that the eleventh season would feature no returning monsters and pointing out that the special may or may not technically be counted as part of that season.

If all this sounds like it raises more questions than it answers, well, the rest of us are right there with you. So what will Chibnall say about ‘Resolution’? Well, Doctor Who Magazine recently ran a feature on the upcoming special, and Chibnall spoke in general terms about his approach to the special and what he hopes to accomplish with it:

“The episode is set on New Year’s Day. There’s no better way to start a year than with ‘Doctor Who’. You want the special to feel like an event. It always performs a slightly different function to the rest of the series – you want it to be like an opener and a finale all rolled into one. You want it to be accessible to those who’ve missed the series, but you also want to reward the audiences and fans who’ve been there for the whole ride. Most of all, you want it to feel like a treat: a big, thrilling, explosive, moving, cheeky, surprising treat.”

Director Wayne Yip also joined in the parade of adjectives, describing ‘Resolution’ as a “popcorn, blockbuster version of ‘Doctor Who’.” So if nothing else, you certainly can’t accuse the ‘Doctor Who’ team of aiming low with this one. In fact, if anything, they seem set to kick off 2019 with a bang. And they ought to, given that the show’s current production schedule is such that ‘Resolution’ may well be the only new ‘Who’ that airs that year.

Be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more ‘Doctor Who’ news, including the latest on the New Year’s special, as it becomes available!