Doctor Who - Last Christmas, on BBC One (UK) / BBC America (USA)
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streaming sites: Amazon; iTunes; Vudu
Caution: spoilers!
This is the tenth Christmas special of the revived Doctor Who series. It aired on Christmas in 2014, but I didn't see it until August 2018. Well, series 8 had ended with a mid-credits scene of Santa Claus showing up outside the TARDIS. Of course he's a major character in this special, though I didn't get the sense that that particular scene could have actually happened, even within the dream context of the special. But it doesn't really matter. But before that scene, series 8 had ended with the Doctor and Clara parting ways, possibly forever, after having lied to each other. There's a scene in this special, after they've reunited, where they both admit their lies. I'm not sure if it's the way that conversation was worded, or the fact that it happened in a Christmas special, or a combination of those reasons, but it definitely felt to me like the combination of their respective lies amounted to a sort of "Gift of the Magi" type of situation. I'm not sure if Steven Moffat intended that or not, but either way, I liked it. (Oh, looking through TV Tropes's entry, I see I'm not the only one to have noticed that.)
Um... another thing the special can hardly help but remind viewers of is the movie Inception, because the story does involve multiple layers of dreams. Although I feel like there are probably more apt comparisons in pop culture for that particular aspect of the story, even if such comparisons don't spring as readily to mind as "Inception." (But never mind, as usual, TV Tropes has done it for me; see both "Dream Within a Dream" and "Lotus-Eater Machine.") And various other aspects of the special certainly invite comparisons to any number of other things... I mean, I felt that way while watching it, even if I now can't recall what any of those things might have been, or even whether or not I'd thought of specific comparisons while watching it. But the one thing I can't help but remember, because one of the characters actually mentioned it, was that the creatures causing all the problems were kind of like facehuggers, from Alien. (I always appreciate a good lampshade-hanging.)
Anyway... the special begins on Christmas Eve, with Clara being awoken by a clatter on the roof. She goes out to investigate, and finds that Santa and two of his elves have crashed, and are trying to figure out how to deal with the problem. It's an incredibly amusing scene. (I should also mention that Santa is played by Nick Frost, a name that is familiar to me, even if I'm not particularly familiar with his actual work. So I couldn't have recognized him, even if he weren't looking all Santa Claus-y. But he does an awesome job with the role throughout the special, and what's more, I can't think of a better name for an actor to have, if he's going to play Santa. Seriously... Nick. Frost. Right?) Well, the Doctor soon shows up and takes Clara away with him in the TARDIS. They later show up at a research station at the North Pole, where a group of scientists are attempting to deal with a problem. Four of their colleagues have been rendered unconscious by creatures called Dream Crabs (identified as such by the Doctor). They will remain asleep unless anyone looks at them or even thinks about them (which is a particularly Moffat-y kind of monster characteristic, I'd say almost a specific cross between Weeping Angels and Silence). Meanwhile, the people who have been taken over by the crabs have euphoric dreams, while the creatures slowly ingest their brains.
At one point, the Doctor, Clara, and the remaining scientists are attacked by Dream Crabs, but they're saved by the sudden arrival of Santa Claus. Subsequently, however, one of the crabs does attach itself to Clara, and she has a dream where Danny is still alive, and they're spending Christmas together. It really is a great dream and a beautiful glimpse of what might have been. And Danny really seems like Danny. So the very blissfulness of the dream makes it particularly tragic that Clara has to eventually wake up or die. But at least it gave her some decent closure.
Beyond that... I don't really want to reveal any of the twists and turns that the story takes. I'll just say that there is a happy ending, and Clara decides to return to traveling with the Doctor. And the whole special has a lot of really funny bits, and clever, interesting bits, and mindscrews, and so forth. So it's a lot of fun. And I hope I'm not forgetting anything I might have wanted to say.