【2008 Archives】

Warning: We've tried to keep this piece as spoiler free as possible008 Archives but there are some hints about the upcoming Doctor WhoChristmas special below (and some teases for the new 2017 series, based on a Q & A with the cast that took place after the screening).

LONDON -- Doctor Whomay have been a gaping hole in our lives for almost a year now, but that's all about to change.

Not only do we have the Christmas special coming up this month, but there's also a brand new Season arriving in 2017.

Mashablewent along to a screening of the special -- and subsequent Q & A with Peter Capaldi, Matt Lucas, Charity Wakefield and Steven Moffat -- to get an idea of what's in store for everyone's favourite Time Lord...

1. A Christmas special all Superhero fans will love.

Not only does the Christmas special revolve around a Superhero, but it's also chock-full of puns and references that all comic book fans will appreciate (especially fans of Superman).

Speaking about the superhero focus, episode writer Steven Moffatt expressed a specific love for the "socially incompetent shy people" they hide behind, which he said "gives hope to all socially incompetent shy people".

"And why that should matter to me as a socially incompetent shy person is perhaps obvious," he joked. "Imagine being a part-time God and justifying you're rubbish the rest of the time -- that would be great!"

2. Puns and one-liners galore.

As you can see from the above teaser, the Doctor WhoChristmas special is pretty silly.

After watching the trailer I was worried it might be a bit too ridiculous, but the full show made me laugh a lot more than I thought I was going to. It's a funny episode, Charity Wakefield and Justin Chatwin nail their lines, and the superhero parody that runs throughout is particularly on point.

3. Some truly creepy brains in jars.

I don't want to give too much away about the villain(s) of the piece, but suffice to say there are plenty of creepy floating brains involved.

"I was just thinking it would be really frightening if you went into a room full of brains in jars and there were more than there were yesterday," said Moffat, when asked by an audience member how he came up with the idea. "That's the start of a Doctor Whostory isn't it?"

4. And some eerie sounding new monsters in the upcoming Season.

The Christmas special screening was followed with a brief preview of the upcoming Season, which flashed through a whirlwind of quickly-glimpsed planets and monsters.

"We've got some properly scary ones, we've got some new ones, we've got some old ones," said Moffat.

At this point Capaldi chipped in with one more hint:

"I think that you should be very careful when you hear a creak when you step on a floorboard," he said. "I think you should think twice about what the creak is -- it may not just be a creak."

5. The Doctor (maybe) falling in love again.

Following the death of River Song -- which, as we see in the Christmas special, has had a deep and lasting effect on the Doctor -- an audience member at the Q & A asked if he was ever going to fall in love again.

After some joking around with Matt Lucas, Peter Capaldi indicated it was always a possibility.

"He might," said Capaldi. "I don't know what a Time Lord's love is like or what he looks for."

6. More Nardole.

As well as having a key role in the Christmas special, Nardole (Matt Lucas) is sticking around for the next Season.

"You're stuck with me for a little bit," said Lucas before going on to say he'd be "there for awhile".

When asked what his role in the next Season would be, Lucas said he was a sort of valet.

"You learn a little bit more about me, and I'm a bit of a thorn in your side," he said, addressing Peter Capaldi. "I have a job to do, but I think you regret giving me that job."

7. Pearl Mackie's influence.

We already know from her hilarious reaction to the Daleks in the above introduction that the Doctor's new sidekick Bill (played by Pearl Mackie) is going to a be a fun addition, and the teaser that followed the Christmas special confirmed this.

"Pearl's fantastic," said Capaldi, "and it's a whole different kind of energy, because also her character is... she doesn't know anything about the world of Doctor Who, so in a way it's a sort of reboot because we take the series back to its roots..."

Lucas went on to add that, as a human, Mackie's character grounds Nardole and the Doctor. "There's something very contemporary about that character, I think, and about her performance" he said. "It's great watching her grow during the filming process."