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The Snowmen

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This article is about the Doctor Who episode. For other uses, see Snowman (disambiguation).
231 – "The Snowmen"
Doctor Who episode
The Doctor welcomes his new companion Clara to his redesigned TARDIS. The idea behind the redesign was to make the TARDIS look more like a machine again.[1]
Cast
Guest
Production
Directed bySaul Metzstein
Written bySteven Moffat
Produced byMarcus Wilson
Executive producer(s)
  • Steven Moffat
  • Caroline Skinner
SeriesSeries 7
Running time60 minutes
First broadcast25 December 2012 (2012-12-25)
Chronology
← Preceded by
"P.S." (mini-webisode)
"The Angels Take Manhattan" (episode) 		Followed by →
TBA
List of episodes (2005–present)

"The Snowmen" is the sixth episode and a Christmas special of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by head writer Steven Moffat and was first broadcast on Christmas Day 2012 at 5.15pm on BBC channels in the UK, the same day on BBC America in the US and Space in Canada. In Australia it aired on 26 December at 7.30pm on ABC1. It is the show's eighth Christmas special since its revival in 2005. It stars Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara Oswald, his new companion.[3]

It also features a redesigned TARDIS[4], revised opening credit and theme music, as well as seeing major changes to the Doctor's costume.

The episode is set in Victorian times and guest stars Richard E. Grant and Ian McKellen as the villains[5][6]. McKellen provides the voice of the Great Intelligence, a disembodied alien previously featured in Doctor Who in the Second Doctor serials "The Abominable Snowman" and "The Web of Fear". From the Great Intelligence's perspective, this episode occurs before those serials and several elements from "The Snowmen" reference and lead into them.

Plot

Prequels

A prequel was broadcast during the 2012 Children in Need telethon on 16 November 2012, titled "The Great Detective". A trailer for the special was also broadcast during this programme.[7] In the prequel, the Silurian Madame Vastra, her human assistant Jenny Flint, and the Sontaran Strax (all returning from "A Good Man Goes to War") describe a number of strange phenomena to a shadowed fourth detective. The fourth detective reveals himself to be the Doctor, and tells the group that he has retired.[8]

A second prequel, titled "Vastra Investigates", was released online on 17 December 2012.[9] At the end of a case, Vastra and Jenny converse with an officer from Scotland Yard, apologising for Strax's violent wishes for the culprit's punishment. Vastra explains Strax's alien origin as well as her own to the officer, much to his astonishment. She was awoken by an extension to the London Underground and initially disliked humans, though that changed when she fell in love with Jenny, which leaves the officer flabbergasted. On the carriage ride home, during a discussion about the Doctor's retirement, Jenny notices it is beginning to snow. Vastra voices that the snow is impossible due to the fact that there are no clouds in the sky.[9]

Synopsis

In England 1842, a young boy builds a snowman but refuses to play with the other children. The snowman starts speaking to the boy, repeating his assertions that the other children are "silly" and that he "doesn't need anybody." Fifty years later, the boy has grown up to be Dr Simeon, proprietor of "The Great Intelligence Institute". He hires men to collect samples of snow, which he places in a large snow-filled globe in his laboratory, and later feeds the men to a group of animated snowmen.

The Doctor, still despondent after losing his former companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams, has parked his TARDIS above London among the clouds, descending to the surface via a long circular staircase. He has gathered his allies, the Silurian Madame Vastra, her human companion Jenny, and the Sontarian Strax, to scout around London to look for any oddities. Vastra and Jenny encounter Dr Simeon and follow him, curious as to his interest in the snow.

Elsewhere, Clara, a barmaid, investigates a disturbance outside her tavern to find the Doctor walking by. She accuses him of creating a snowman nearby, but the Doctor realises that the snowman is made of snow with some type of memory. The Doctor attempts to leave discreetly, but Clara follows him to a coach, curious to his actions. The Doctor instructs Strax, waiting nearby, to bring a "memory worm", with the intent to use the creature's touch to wipe away the last hour of Clara's memory, in particularly her knowledge of him. As more snowmen start to appear and become animated with intent to harm the pair, the Doctor tells Clara that her thoughts are creating the snowmen, and to think of them melting; after she concentrates, the snowmen turn into water. After Strax accidentally wipes his own memory, twice, Clara retorts that if the Doctor does the same to her, she will forget how to deal with the snowmen should they appear again. The Doctor lets her go, and then evades her, taking his stairway back to the TARDIS; Clara follows, finding the TARDIS locked and knocks, then hurried around the TARDIS when the Doctor comes out to investigate. While the Doctor follows her around, still unaware that she's the same girl he met earlier, she returns down the staircase.

Clara returns to her other job as governess for the children of Captain Latimer, replacing the former governess who had drowned and been frozen in his mansion's pond a year before. She finds out that Latimer's daughter has been having horrible dreams about the old governess returning from her icy grave in the pond and killing them all. Clara attempts to contact The Doctor but instead attracts the attention of Jenny, who takes her to see Madame Vastra. Vastra tells Clara she gets only one word to impress The Doctor with if she wants his help. Clara tells him "Pond", which spurs The Doctor into action.

The Doctor visits Dr Simeon's laboratory, and finds that the giant snow-filled globe contains the Great Intelligence, the entity that has been speaking to Dr Simeon since he was a child. The Doctor learns that the Great Intelligence has been controlling the snowmen and has taken great interest in Latimer's pond, and goes there to investigate. As Clara and the children are waiting, a humanoid ice creature in the form of the former governess rises out of the pond and enters the mansion. The ice governess attacks Clara and the children, but The Doctor appears just in time to destroy it. Vastra, Jenny and Strax arrive as Dr Simeon and his snowmen cover the mansion in ice, and the reanimated ice creature resumes its attack. After assuring that that his allies will protect Latimer and his children, the Doctor flees with Clara to the roof of the mansion followed by the ice creature. The Doctor and Clara take to the circular stairway to the TARDIS followed by the ice creature, and the Doctor creates a barrier at the top to halt the ice creature's advance.

The Doctor introduces Clara to the TARDIS and explains that he has been reluctant to gain a companion, but now considers her to be one, giving her a TARDIS key and saying "I never know why — I only know who". However, just as she takes it, the ice creature, having broken through the barrier, grabs Clara and pulls her over the edge of the clouds, causing her to fall back to Earth before the Doctor can save her.

The Doctor helps to recover the barely-alive Clara from the army of snowmen with his TARDIS and returns to the mansion, giving her to Strax to care for. He collects the ice fragments from the creature, assuring they remain dormant but finding they contain ice-based DNA, the material that the Great Intelligence is looking for, and apparently places them in a souvenir London Underground biscuit tin. He and Vastra travel to Dr Simeon's lab, where the Doctor reveals the Great Intelligence's plan to replace humanity with ice creatures, and holds up the tin, stating that it contains the ice DNA that is necessary for the plan. Dr Simeon grabs the tin, but opens it to find it contains the memory worm. It bites Simeon; the Doctor (who previously noted that the worm's bite would erase decades of memory) states that the Great Intelligence, which has been existing as a mirror of Dr Simeon's thoughts, will vanish with the erasure of Dr Simeon's memories. Instead, the Intelligence reveals that it existed long enough that it can now control Dr Simeon's body, which it uses to attack The Doctor.

Just as Dr Simeon is about to kill the Doctor, the influence of the Great Intelligence wanes greatly, and Dr Simeon, now dead, falls to the floor. Outside, a salt-water rain has started, and the Doctor realises that some other, more powerful psychic ability has taken control of the snow from the Great Intelligence. The Doctor deduces that it must be Clara, crying as she nears her death, and with Vastra, he quickly returns to Latimer's mansion in the TARDIS. Strax informs the Doctor that Clara only has moments left. The Doctor tries to cheer Clara up, returning the TARDIS key to her before she dies.

At her funeral, the Doctor reads Clara's full name, Clara Oswin Oswald, on her tombstone and realises she is the same woman he met, turned into a Dalek, in "Asylum of the Daleks"; he never had seen Clara's face then, but now recognises the similarities in voice and their fascination for soufflés. He gleefully announces that the same person dying twice is an impossibility and one he must investigate, and says his goodbyes to his allies. In contemporary times, a young woman, Clara Oswin Oswald, walks through the graveyard where her namesake is buried. Meanwhile, the Doctor dashes around the TARDIS console, saying Clara's full name and telling her to "watch me run".

Continuity

The Second Doctor previously encountered the Great Intelligence in the serials The Abominable Snowmen, set in the 1930s, and The Web of Fear, set in the 1960s. In these stories, the Great Intelligence uses robot Yeti as its physical presence. The events of The Web of Fear are alluded to by The Doctor in "The Snowmen" when he presents the London Underground biscuit tin to the Great Intelligence in Dr Simeon's laboratory; the Intelligence states "I do not understand these markings", in reference to the 1967 London Underground map design on the tin, an anachronism in 1892. The Doctor remarks that the Underground is a "key strategic weakness in metropolitan living", referring to (and possibly setting in motion) the future Yeti attack on London via the Underground.[10] In this respect, "The Snowmen" may be considered as a prequel to the Second Doctor Yeti serials, establishing an origin for the Intelligence and explaining its penchant for "Snowmen" and knowledge of the London Underground.

Vastra, Jenny and Strax first appeared in "A Good Man Goes to War". Strax's death in that episode is stated by the Doctor as having been reversed ("He gave his life for a friend once. Another friend brought him back"), but the circumstances of how this occurred are not explained in full.

Clara is given a test by Vastra to ask the Doctor why he should help in one word. She chooses "pond", which is the surname of former companion Amy Pond.[11] As seen on her gravestone, Clara's birthdate is 23 November, the date Doctor Who was first transmitted in 1963.[11]

Cultural references

Doctor Simeon says Dr Doyle is basing his fantastical tales on the exploits of Vastra, a reference to Arthur Conan Doyle's stories of Sherlock Holmes. The Doctor later uses the alias 'Sherlock Holmes' to gain entrance to Simeon's house, bearing the deerstalker and magnifying glass associated with the character. Doctor Who lead writer Steven Moffat, who wrote this episode, is also the co-creator of the BBC series Sherlock, a contemporary update of Doyle's works, for which Matt Smith auditioned for the part of Doctor Watson.[12]

Production

Promotional poster for The Snowmen

Writing and casting

Writer Steven Moffat stated that he wanted an "epic" quality to the Christmas special. He compared the withdrawn Doctor seen at the onset of the episode to the First Doctor (William Hartnell) in 1963 and the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) in 2005.[13] He also attributed the idea of a retired doctor to a plot proposed by Douglas Adams in the 1970s, but rejected by the production team at the time.[14]

This episode marks the return of Jenna-Louise Coleman, who previously appeared in the series 7 opener, "Asylum of the Daleks".[15] Matt Smith said that Clara was different from her predecessor Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), which allowed the audience to see a different side of the Doctor.[13] Moffat felt that the introduction of a new companion made "the show feel different" and brought the story to "a new beginning" with a different person meeting the Doctor.[16] Also returning are Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra, Dan Starkey as Strax and Catrin Stewart as Jenny. All three previously appeared in "A Good Man Goes to War" and reprised their roles both in this episode and in the prequels. They returned due to the popularity of Vastra and Jenny, which caused Moffat to consider a spin-off featuring them, though he did not have the time to do it. Instead, he decided to bring them back.[17]

Richard E. Grant had previously played the Doctor on two occasions, as an alternative Tenth Doctor in the spoof charity special Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death, which was written by Moffat and as an alternative Ninth Doctor in the animated story Scream of the Shalka which had been intended to be a continuation of the series before it was revived in 2005.[13] Smith commented that Grant was "born to be a Who villain. He pitches it on that perfect level and tone".[18] Tom Ward was drawn to his role because of the quality of the script, and also stated his young children were pleased that he appeared in the programme.[13]. The Great Intelligence was voiced by Sir Ian McKellen.[19] The two children Clara is governess to, Digby and Francesca, were played by real-life brother and sister Joseph and Ellie Darcey-Alden.[11]

Filming and effects

"The Snowmen" was originally intended to be produced in the fourth production block of the series and be the first episode Coleman shot as her character;[20] however it did not begin filming until the week of 6 August 2012[21] after Coleman had worked on later episodes while Moffat was writing the Christmas special.[16] The read-through had taken place on 2 August 2012.[11] This was the first Christmas special to be filmed in BBC Wales' new Roath Lock studios.[11] Scenes featuring Coleman and several guest stars in a Victorian setting were filmed in Newport, Wales,[22] while Coleman and Smith were also spotted filming in Bristol two weeks later on 21 August.[23] The park and Georgian buildings featured are in Portland Square, Bristol, where filming took place overnight on 21–22 August 2012.[citation needed]

"The Snowmen" is the debut of a redesigned TARDIS interior,[24][25] as well as a new title sequence and variation of the theme tune.[26] Moffat had noticed that the TARDIS' design was getting "progressively whimsical" and resembled more of a "magical place" rather than a machine.[27] The Doctor also sports a new costume, tying in to the purple colour scheme, which Smith described as "a bit Artful Dodger meets the Doctor".[28] Moffat described the new outfit as a "progression" as the Doctor was in "a different phase of his life now" and felt more "grown-up" and father-like.[29]

Broadcast and reception

"The Snowmen" aired on BBC One on 25 December 2012 at 5:15 p.m.[30] It aired on the same date in the United States on BBC America.[31] Overnight ratings showed that the special had been watched by 7.6 million viewers, coming in sixth for the night.[32]

Critical reception

The episode received generally positive reviews. Dan Martin of The Guardian called it "actually the best since 'The Christmas Invasion'" and the first to be "actually scary", with "everything we like" about Doctor Who and Christmas. He praised Coleman's introduction as Clara and the gang of Vastra, Jenny, and Strax.[33] IGN's Matt Risley gave "The Snowman" a score of 9.4 out of 10, describing it as "a rollicking, riveting masterclass in storytelling" which "refreshingly" lacked traditional Christmas references "in favour of some sparkling dialogue, gorgeous set design and fascinating characterisation". While he felt that Grant and McKellan were underused, he was very positive towards Coleman's "unpredictable" Clara.[34] Radio Times reviewer Patrick Mulkern was pleased with the return of the Great Intelligence despite an inconsistency in the timeline he found, and praised the "lovely images" and direction of the special, though he felt the variation of the theme music "lacks the menace" of the original. While he was positive towards Clara, he was "unmoved by her death" as it was "plainly silly" that she did not look injured.[35]

Nick Setchfield of SFX gave the special four and a half out of five stars, writing that the "the power of emotion saves the day again" was appropriate in light of the festivities and many fairytales referenced in the story. Setchfield was positive towards the "terrific" comedy with Strax, Coleman and the "surprisingly underused" Grant, as well as the new title sequence and TARDIS. While he wrote that the subtle callback of the Great Intelligence was "a tad more interesting than the usual 'So, we meet again!' schtick", he ultimately felt their threat "never quite comes into sharp relief".[36] Neela Debnath of The Independent wrote that "The Snowmen" was stronger than the previous year's "The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe" as it was connected to the overall story of the series, but "still has a way to go if it is to live up to 'A Christmas Carol'". Despite feeling that it was "enjoyable", she noted that "the story feels truncated and rushed"[33]

The Mirror's Jon Cooper also praised Coleman and the new side of the Doctor that was shown, comparing it to Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) challenging the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston). However, he felt the character-heavy story was to the detriment of the plot, which was "a classic Who set-up that ultimately suffers from a lack of explanation [and] more set-pieces than a coherent whole". He felt that the episode may not have been accessible for casual viewers, but offered much for fans in time for the programme's fiftieth anniversary.[37] Dominic Cavendish of The Daily Telegraph gave "The Snowmen" three out of five stars, disappointed that it was not as scary as it had been hyped to be. While he was positive towards Smith and the TARDIS on the cloud, he criticised Strax and the "Sudoku-like complexity" of the script.[38]

References

  1. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (19 December 2012). "'Doctor Who' Steven Moffat on new TARDIS: 'It's quite a scary place'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "The Snowmen". BBC. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  3. ^ "Doctor Who's latest companion is unveiled". BBC News. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  4. ^ "New Look TARDIS Materialises at Christmas!". BBC. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  5. ^ Hogan, Michael (14 August 2012). "Karen Gillan 'in denial' about leaving Doctor Who". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  6. ^ "Appeal Night line-up announced". BBC. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  7. ^ "Doctor Who: The Great Detective". SFX. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  8. ^ "Doctor Who Mini Episode" (Video). BBC. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Vastra Investigates – A Christmas Prequel" (Video). BBC. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  10. ^ Wilkins, Alasdair (25 December 2012). "The Snowmen". Retrieved 25 December 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |pulisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ a b c d e "The Fourth Dimension: The Snowmen". BBC. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  12. ^ French, Dan (4 February 2010). "Matt Smith rejected for BBC's 'Sherlock'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  13. ^ a b c d "Steven Moffat and the Cast on The Snowmen". BBC. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  14. ^ Moffat, Steven (December 2012). "Mr presents – Past & Future". Radio Times.
  15. ^ Collins, Clark (28 November 2012). "'Doctor Who': Jenna-Louise Coleman talks about becoming the Doctor's new companion". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  16. ^ a b "New Companion Makes Doctor Who A Different Show, Says Moffat". SFX. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  17. ^ Setchfield, Nick (22 July 2012). "Madame Vastra Spin-Off". SFX. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  18. ^ Walker-Arnott, Ellie (18 December 2012). "Matt Smith: "Richard E Grant was born to be a Doctor Who villain"". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  19. ^ Brew, Simon. "Ian McKellen joins Doctor Who Christmas special". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  20. ^ Doctor Who Magazine (446). Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Panini Comics. 5 April 2012. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ^ "Richard E Grant and Tom Ward to Star in the Christmas Special". BBC. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  22. ^ Saunders, Louise (9 August 2012). "Doctor Who: Jenna-Louise Coleman gets to work filming the Doctor Who Christmas special". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  23. ^ Edwards, Richard (21 August 2012). "Doctor Who: New Christmas Special Filming Pics". SFX. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  24. ^ Mulkern, Patrick (8 December 2012). "Doctor Who — The Snowmen preview". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  25. ^ "New Look TARDIS Materialises at Christmas!". BBC. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  26. ^ "Revamped Theme Tune and Opening Title Sequence". BBC. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  27. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (19 December 2012). "'Doctor Who' Steven Moffat on new TARDIS: 'It's quite a scary place'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  28. ^ Jones, Paul (4 December 2012). "Matt Smith: the Doctor is "attracted" to "hot chick" Clara". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  29. ^ Setchfield, Nick (20 December 2012). "Steven Moffat On The Doctor's New Look". SFX. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  30. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (4 December 2012). "'Doctor Who' Christmas special airdate confirmed by BBC". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  31. ^ "Doctor Who: The Snowmen" (Press release). BBC America. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  32. ^ "Christmas Day television ratings topped by EastEnders". BBC News. 26 December 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  33. ^ a b Martin, Dan (29 September 2012). "Doctor Who: The Snowmen – Christmas special 2012". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2012. Cite error: The named reference "independent" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  34. ^ Risley, Matt (25 December 2012). "Doctor Who: "The Snowmen" Review". IGN. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  35. ^ Mulkern, Patrick (25 December 2012). "Doctor Who - The Snowmen review". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  36. ^ Setchfield, Nick (25 December 2012). "Doctor Who "The Snowmen" Review". SFX. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  37. ^ Cooper, Jon (25 December 2012). "Doctor Who review: The Snowmen Christmas special was full of nods to the past while also celebrating the present and also looking forward to the 50th anniversary future". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  38. ^ Cavendish, Dominic (25 December 2012). "Doctor Who: The Snowmen, BBC One, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
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