The Return of Doctor Mysterio

"With great power comes great responsibility."

Writer: Steven Moffat
Format: TV
Broadcast: 25th December 2016
Series: 2016 Christmas Special

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Nardole

Synopsis

In New York, with brain-swapping aliens poised to attack, the Doctor and Nardole link up with an investigative reporter and a mysterious masked superhero known only as the Ghost. Can the Doctor save Manhattan? And what will be revealed when we see behind the mask?

Verdict

The Return of Doctor Mysterio was a fantastic Christmas Special! It was fun, exciting and saw Doctor Who's take on a superhero adventure. I thought it was very well done and was just an enjoyable and relaxing watch and there wasn't really much more that could be asked of it. I watched this with my girlfriend who has only seen a couple of Peter Capaldi's episodes and whilst she isn't his biggest fan (she just misses Matt Smith), she did enjoy this story quite a lot. She was laughing at the humour that often comes with a Christmas episode and she certainly approved of the Doctor's eating of sushi. I thought the line about Pokemon was excellent again and I liked how quirky the Twelfth Doctor was. This was the first episode I have watched with him since his regeneration and I thought he was great. Pairing him with Nardole was intriguing and humorous and I did enjoy the comedic element he brought to the story. The effects of The Husbands of River Song were still quite clearly being felt here with the Doctor missing River Song after a 24-year night spent with her but now he's moved on and he'd rescued Nardole to keep him company. Doctor Who doing a superhero story is brilliant and I thought the Ghost was terrific. I liked how the Doctor was responsible for Grant gaining his superpowers and the way in which young Grant revealed he thought the gemstone was medicine was wonderful. To him, the logic of the Doctor calling himself just that and him suffering from a cold was superb. It was a lovely moment. The x-ray vision scenes were perhaps not needed but some proportion of the audience may have found it funny. I didn't mind it but I didn't think it was necessary. Lucy was a lovely character and the way she realised that she had feelings for Grant was great. He was her nanny but little did she know that he was also the famed Ghost and she was so close to finding out on a number of occasions. The Doctor looking on at their relationship was fantastic and a real highlight of the story for me. Harmony Shoal were a good enemy and their disturbing unzipping of their heads was quite grotesque. The moment the brain opened its eyes was also horrifying and I liked that. The way the Doctor went about stopping them was good but I was agreeing with him when he stated that their plan was a good one. It was in fact brilliant and something I really enjoyed. The way that New York was devised as the only non-capital was also very clever and served its purpose well. Overall though, an excellent episode!

Rating: 9/10