After encountering Santa Claus on her rooftop, Clara is taken by the Doctor to an Arctic base. There they discover its crew are being attacked by sinister face-hugging creatures known as Dream Crabs, who induce a blissful dream state in their victims while absorbing their brains. But how can the Doctor defeat them when he can’t tell the difference between dreams and reality? The myth, the man: Santa Claus It’s the North Pole. It’s Christmas Day. You’re dying. Who’re you gonna call? So Santa is real, then a collective figment of the imagination and then, finally, with the final lingering shot of a tangerine as the TARDIS dematerialises in the background, real again. Steven Moffat treats the legend of Santa playfully throughout, even drawing comparisons with the Doctor himself. Both are cantankerous older men, travelling in vehicles that are bigger on the inside and able to accomplish seemingly impossible feats that confound our linear perceptions of time. And Nick Frost plays Santa with the same hint of unworldly devilment that we associate with the Doctor, adding an edge to the good-natured, avuncular figure we traditionally regard Santa as. I could have done with him throwing in fewer of David Brent’s [...]![]()
