So sorry @spider, did anyone call the animal welfare!?! Have a biscuit. But yeah, going with just a teaser…. probably

@drben, @nerys, its consistent!

@Spider, I’m pretty sure that was created especially for the teaser, rather than intended to be part of an episode.  I could be wrong, of course.

So my favorite bonkers theory is one that was alluded to briefly by @nerys and others many pages ago.  The tangerine is not only a sign that Santa is real, but that Santa in fact saved the day.  To wi…[Read more]

Wow! Away for a for a few hours and toooo much to take in

Particularly loved

@purofilion

Unconquerable confederation mystique

Just Lovely!!

@pedant

100% pure distilled Doctor

And that bloody house! Keep coming back to it. @scaryB agree about the ‘Tardis’ door. Of course Dave wouldn’t knock at his own house door (@nerys). I would love to give it…[Read more]

@nerys    I completely agree about Midnight. It was probably my favourite episode of what was definitely my favourite AG series (until Series 8, which may be sitting on top of the pile now!). And as you say, the caring about these fictional characters is what makes the show resonate for us, and makes the messages matter.

@purofilion   Having a lo…[Read more]

@purofilion yes we saw the Hobbit on Saturday. It was very good. I am hoping to go back and see it again while it is still in cinemas but this time in 2d. (I find 3d distracting and often distorting.)

I too love the scene when the Doctor is flying the sleigh. I am certain that PC was really enjoying himself in that one. I felt that not only has…[Read more]

@nerys Perfectly clear. Hopefully we have put the troll to rest. I no longer have steam ejecting from my ears after a couple of glasses of excellent Barossa Alicante. I too will now go and watch Extra. It sounds as though from your comment and @pedant‘s that our “fantasy hating friend” didn’t expect us to either be willing or able to watch it.

In…[Read more]

@Nine9 @JanetteB @nerys

In my view, the tangerine on the window was meant to allow the audience (and most importantly, the children in the audience) to believe if they choose to that Santa was real. There was no way that Moffat was ever going to write a Christmas episode, knowing that many families watch with small children, and have it shown…[Read more]

@nerys What I liked the most about this episode is that is far from Christmas-y. Moffat’s take on Who has since the beginning been more mature. And I really don’t believe that with this episode he wanted to make people question is Santa Claus is real (whether adults enjoy in children’s beliefs or not).

@Nine9 Not all cultures have access to Dr Who either and I think you will find that most cultures are aware of Santa/Father Christmas even if they don’t celebrate Christmas. (I saw plenty of Santa images in Istanbul for instance.) Secondly if JC confirmed that she was intending to leave then I am wrong but you forget that not all of us have acess…[Read more]

@nerys

My perception of that ending was that it was Santa Claus who orchestrated the whole thing to reunite Clara and the Doctor, so that they could repair their Gift of the Magi lies to one another.

You forget that Clara was supposed to be written off in this episode and that Jenna changed her mind on her staying longer during the production,…[Read more]

@nerys

As @macphisto96 said, it was the Mirror who reported as Absolute Actual FACT that JC was leaving at Christmas. Methinks they were stitched up, either deliberately or as part of a ruse to flush out a leaker.

Useful tip (which I am sure @JimTheFish will confirm) when reading news: if a major outlet runs a story and absolutely no other…[Read more]

@nerys I’m pretty sure the Daily Mirror were the ones reporting Jenna Coleman was leaving.  I’m not sure if that was ever the case.  Maybe the ending was changed, or maybe it was leaked out to create a tension going into the special.  Someone at the Mirror wanted a scoop and got taken in the process.

@nerys – I guess the “three months” Post-It note was a classic case of misdirection. Now I’m not sure what it meant. But we saw Clara neither pregnant nor dying

misdirection, or…

it could still simply be the amount of time that passed in danny’s and clara’s relationship, in which he believed she had quit travelling with the doctor, and she h…[Read more]

@nerys I thought that was Dr. Skarosa’s Cyberman who was housed in Dr. Chang’s office, then emerged to confront Clara. My sense was that maybe that had originally been Dr. Skarosa’s office, which Dr. Chang took over.

Were we ever given any convincing proof that Dr Skarosa was a genuine person, and not just a name made up by Missy to be intrig…[Read more]

@Nerys @JanetteB

A few people have wondered if all the people who died in this episode were uploaded to Missy’s Heaven. The implication is that they would be. Or maybe the automatic process stopped once all the minds were downloaded.

I thought that people who were cremated still had their minds uploaded, but that it would be problematic for them…[Read more]

@nerys. I noticed that too and thought it a plot hole. Hence not mentioning it because sometimes I prefer not to pick holes in the fabric of illusion but you have provided an excellent explanation for it. Must not forget there are no plot holes, only failures in interpretation. 🙂

Cheers

Janette

@DrBen

How does Clara know so much about the Doctor? Yes, they’re close, but the Doctor has never said a thing about four wives, and is always reticent to talk about his past.

Clara’s met Wife No. 2 (River), Wife No. 4 (Queen Elizabeth I – Clara threw confetti) and may well have been told about Wife No. 3 as a funny story during the Smith D…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave I’m glad that I wasn’t the only one to have that reaction.  I’ll be right over, with jammie dodgers and kleenex.

@nerys That remains my theory about the “three months” thing, that she’s dying.  Bleak to bleaker, I know, but for some reason it feels right.  And it definitely adds resonance to the line “Danny and I will be fine.”