We're less than two weeks away from Christmas, and we're already keen to watch the next Doctor Who Christmas special. Unsurprisingly, we've recently been given a new trailer for it. Naturally, this gives us more hints of what to expect from "Joy to the World"...or should that be "Worlds"?
The first thing that leaps out is that we get more of an idea of what the hotel is than from what we've seen in previous clips. It's described as "Christmas everywhere all at once". It's certainly an unusual use of time travel, but it's easy to see the appeal. (I can imagine Victorian England at Christmas being a popular destination, although you wouldn't want to live there.)
Of course, what stands out the most from the trailer is another Doctor. Well, kind of. The Fifteenth Doctor meets a later version of himself - one who's keen to say, "You'll find out" to all of his earlier self's questions. Once upon a time, he would've simply said, "Spoilers", highlighting that it's been a long time since he last saw River Song.
Title(s)
The last thing that grabbed my attention was how the trailer acknowledged the multiple titles for this episode. In the UK, the BBC is promoting the special as "Joy to the World". But a recent Instagram post from Disney promoted it as "Joy to the Worlds". And the comments on that post hinted that it was not a mistake.
The new trailer hints at the multiple titles further, with a caption reading as "Who brings joy to the world"...right before adding an S to the last word and making it plural.
What does all of this mean? Well, it's a nice reminder at how much Steven Moffat loves his secrets, surprises and twists. My best guess is that Earth is not the only planet that's used for the hotel in the story, and that other worlds are in danger. Or could it be exploring parallel worlds?
There's a great deal to speculate with this upcoming special, which is exactly why I'm so excited to watch it. It may also be Steven Moffat's last episode, at least for another long while. I'm certainly hopeful that it'll be another great Christmas special to remember. Especially after how brilliant "Boom" was.
Doctor Who: "Joy to the World" will be broadcast on BBC One in the UK on Christmas Day, at 5:10 p.m. It'll be released on Disney+ on the same day, likely at the same time worldwide - 12:10 p.m. EST/11:10 a.m. CST.