The first sneak peek of this year’s Doctor Who Christmas Special is here – and the episode looks set to feature dinosaurs and the return of the Villengard Corporation.
In the clip, which aired as part of the BBC’s Children in Need charity coverage this past weekend, Ncuti Gatwa’s the Doctor and Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan’s new character Joy find themselves face to face with a mysterious box-like device. “Wherever there’s a corporation, there is PR,” the Doctor says as he approaches it. “They just can’t stop themselves. Evil must logo.” The device, it turns out, belongs to Villengard, the “biggest arms manufacturer in recorded history” and “very old enemies” of the Doctor.
The Villengard Corporation previously appeared in Boom, an episode in Gatwa’s first season, and it’s been referred to in older episodes too. The company was responsible for providing Smartmines and Automated Ambulance Units to the Anglian Army in the war against the Kastarions – except, it turned out, the Kastarions didn’t exist, and the corporation fabricated the conflict to make money.
This time, though, it seems Villengard has set its sights on even bigger things. “Why would a weapons manufacturer want to make a star?” Joy asks. The Doctor says that such a feat would destroy the world, but is pretty confident that the company doesn’t have time to carry out the process. “According to my calculations, you would need to check in to the Time Hotel 65 million years ago,” he tells the hologram that emerges out of the box. The sudden appearance of a dinosaur suggests that’s exactly when they have checked in, however…
As for the Time Hotel, episode screenwriter Steven Moffat recently teased what that might entail – and it sounds like it does what it says on the tin. “Imagine that a hotel chain got hold of the idea of time travel,” he told BBC South East.
Joy to the World premieres on Disney Plus in the US and BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK on December 25. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other best new TV shows still to come in 2024.
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