Merry Chrimbo! Wait, I’m a few weeks late, aren’t I? These TARDIS’s(?), you can never get the help you need with these things; unless you put the stabilizers on, but that’s boring. They are boringers, great big boringers. Nonetheless, there is more Doctor Who to review. There’s always more, so let’s keep going beyond Chibnall’s boring New Year’s specials that, by law, now have to feature a Dalek for no better reason than nostalgia.

Speaking of nostalgia, I don’t like the Cybermen. I am sure I’ve said it before, but to me they are just big stompy zombie-like things with nothing interesting about them other than that initial reveal every time. Otherwise, they are just dull tin-men that could be knocked-over with a stiff breeze. Much like the Daleks, they are overused and trite at the best of times.

That said, with only a foggy memory of some of Smith’s stories and many of Capaldi’s (I try to forget those) stories, “The Next Doctor” best utilizes the stompy mechanical men of iron. Yes, we’re in a steam-punk-ish world of Victorian London with specially designed Cybermen for the Christmas special. That’s how to use them. Back when you could make things out of iron: toys, caskets, babies, and all. Ahh, Victorian London, smells like… the Thames.

Let’s get to the elephant in the room, though. There is a tall, dark, and handsome man calling himself “the Doctor,” with a plucky young Black woman from London. Those were the days; when you title a show something to lead people in, play with your susceptible audience, and do something fun with it. Now it is all dark, horrific, and as emotionally complex as picking what to listen to next on Spotify. That’s not to say “The Next Doctor” is great; but the next doctor is as cool as a bowtie or a fez.

David Morrissey is one of those actors that if you enjoy dramas, you have to know. I can only attest to his amazing work as “the Doctor/” Jackson Lake, and of course, his villainous role when (spoiler alert:) he chops the head off of Scott Wilson’s Hershel Green in The Walking Dead; I still haven’t gotten over that one. Both are brilliant performances, pulling out the emotion you want from a viewer in both respects. However, he’s more often than not one of those actors that appear in films and TV shows that I don’t enjoy. A lot like Eccleston, an actor known for brilliant drama performances prior to Who, but I love him for Who and Who alone.

Morrissey’s “Doctor,” or rather a man who thinks he is the Doctor, is a strange one. Not entirely new or old, but somehow a blend of the two with a bit of whatever seems to be going on ever since the Doctor became an angry Scottish man, again. He is a bit quick to jump in with no peaceful resolution in mind, and it is all a bit strange. That’s the point though, he only knows what the Doctor is meant to be from a Cyberman info stamp, a sci-fi game of “Chinese whispers,” or if you are American, Telephone. I strangely like him.

The episode itself is, in my opinion (and from a slightly hazy memory) one of if not the best Cyberman stories Who has done. I actually care about what the stompy tin-men were doing because they had a plan that wasn’t simply “We will take over the universe,” to be told they won’t, “We will!” That almost comedic back and forth only works once or twice. Here they have action. They are not only killing a few people, but they are employing children in some sci-fi Oliver Twist take that gets them to the end goal and layers them in the episode. It is a simple thing, but it adds depth to overused characters.

However, there is the question: Is it a good Christmas episode? Kind of. The problem is that I could see the episode happening in late November and it would change nothing. The darker Winter setting does help as snow sprinkles the city, but otherwise, I don’t think the season or day of the year matters. I like the early Victorian London vibe. This time-traveling special thing that goes on I think is better than contemporaries like “The Runaway Bride” or “The Christmas Invasion.” Even simply the sci-fi of “Voyage of the Damned” makes it more special, I’d say.

Nevertheless, the point that I’m crawling towards is, where does it rank? I believe that is what the click-baity sites tend to do, something about As and odd numbers. That I think is the kicker, I’m not one to give it such a high rating when it comes to other Christmas specials. Do I think it is better than “The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe?” Yes! Do I think it is remotely better than “A Christmas Carol” or “The Husbands of River Song?” No, I am not a serial killer! I think what knocks it for me is that Kazran Sardick is conflicted in “A Christmas Carol,” that tiny moment of conflict in him makes that episode exceed most specials.

I think what makes a special good for the Christmas special audience, the ones that drop in for occasional episodes and specials, is the fact it isn’t about the Doctor. As Jackson Lake saw the pain the Doctor has, the final moment is fully about him. It is all about his loneliness and Donna having to forget about him. There is an equally beautiful moment as Tennant says the line, “I suppose, in the end. They break my heart.” As much as the episode explores who Jackson Lake is to reflect the Doctor, I simply don’t have the same reaction. “A Christmas Carol,” “The Husbands of River Song,” and “Twice Upon A Time” can do something others don’t: They can make you cry.

All this emotional Christmas episode talk aside. The final reveal of the monstrous Cyberman towering over London is far above that of your normal mid-series episode. It is a special, and a fun one at that. It captures the playful nature of the Doctor with a joyous Morrissey taking Jackson Lake/”The Doctor” and giving him everything he’s got. Great fun.

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Doctor Who "The Next Doctor"

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• A fun episode.
• A lot of play on "the Doctor" being the Doctor.
• The Cybermen finally have something to do.

Cons

• Something lacking the Christmas charm.