The 2024 Doctor Who Christmas special is just around the corner, and it may be the perfect episode to set up Russell T Davies’ new Doctor Who spin-off. 2024 was already one of the most exciting years for Doctor Who in many years. Coming off the back of the 60th Anniversary special episodes in late 2023, the show brought back the popular showrunner who helped revive the series back in 2005, RTD. And in order to build the excitement even further, RTD ensured that multiple projects were released along with the main series, including the Tales of the Tardis, and a special behind the scenes show.
Since then, RTD has been plodding away to get the Whoniverse off the ground, with talk of several spin-off shows well under way. However, the spin-off series that appears to be the closest to being finished and ready for broadcast is also one that feels largely detached from Doctor Who. But, with the recent reveals of what to expect in the 2024 Christmas special, it seems like this episode could lay the foundations for The War Between the Land and the Sea, and help set it up properly inside the Whoniverse.
Doctor Who’s 2024 Christmas Special Features A Plot Involving Silurians & Dinosaurs
Connecting Ancient Earth Species In Doctor Who
The 2024 Christmas special, titled “Joy to the World,” has been written by Steven Moffat, another fan-favorite writer and former showrunner for Doctor Who. The episode is set to see Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor teaming up with a young woman named Joy, as the pair embark on a timey wimey adventure in a hotel that pulls guests from across time and space. On its face, it may be hard to imagine how or why this would relate to the spin-off, but there are some crucial connections which will have a prominent part in the story.
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How Doctor Who’s 2024 Christmas Episode Will Be Tonally Different Explained By Longtime Show Writer
Longtime writer Steven Moffat explains how Doctor Who’s 2024 Christmas episode will be tonally different and tied to Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor.
For instance, the sneak peek for the episode which was released to aid the BBC’s Children in Need fundraiser featured a Silurian. This figure is a hologram in the trailer, but Joy makes a point of saying she is familiar with their voice before they pop up. They also introduce a large dinosaur at the end of the episode, and the Doctor sets up the time period as being about 65 million years in the past.
Whatever Happens In “Joy To The World” Could Lead To The War Between The Land & The Sea
Doctor Who Is Getting Ready To Expand The Whoniverse
The reason that these characters, Silurians and Dinosaurs, may have a connection to the new Doctor Who spin-off is the fact that all of them are natives to Earth. Long before humans roamed on planet Earth, the lizard-like humanoids, known as Silurians, roamed freely on the surface of the planet. These creatures existed alongside dinosaurs during that general period of time, and when meteor strikes threatened to wipe them out, the Silurians went underground, protecting themselves from the danger and hibernating to come up at a later time.
While the Silurians were the dominant species on the planet’s surface, the creatures known as Sea Devils occupied the water. As far as Doctor Who has shown up to this point, there was no clear interaction between these two species, and eventually, the humans became the dominant race on Earth when neither were present to challenge their evolution. However, “Joy to the World” could provide some context and background to these species interacting, and the events that may lead up to The War Between the Land and the Sea, a series which is set to follow the Sea Devils and UNIT as the central figures.
Setting Up A Spinoff Would Make “Joy To The World” More Interesting Than Most Doctor Who Christmas Specials
Doctor Who Christmas Specials Are Mostly One And Done Stories
The Doctor Who Christmas special has been a huge tradition and part of the show since it returned in 2005. However, it’s not unfair to say that these episodes tend to feel disconnected from the rest of the show. That is intentional, so families who don’t follow the show year round can enjoy the Christmas episode without catching up on everything that came before. But this does mean that the stakes don’t always feel compelling, and the impact is minimal.
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What’s your theory on the marketing of Doctor Who’s upcoming Christmas special?
I’ve noticed that in some of the posters and marketing material for this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, the episode is advertised as both “Joy to the World” and “Joy to the Worlds.” Like many, I assumed this was a mistake at first, but comments from Moffat and Disney have suggested otherwise. We know the episode is set inside a time-traveling hotel, and dinosaurs will appear, so clearly the Doctor and Joy will be traveling across space, too. However, I think this is too obvious an answer, and I’m curious whether there’s something else at play here.
By tying the Doctor Who Christmas special in to the new spin-off, using it as a way to give some backstory to this mysterious show, it could make the episode a lot more meaningful. The Doctor could help to set the events in motion, and it would provide some context that is sorely needed for a show that feels so different from the original. Doctor Who would do well to use the opportunity to set up The War Between the Land and the Sea, but only time will tell if they do.
