England 1892 A boy in the snow says he doesn't need anyone and the snowman repeats what he says, "they're silly, don't talk to them...Don't need anyone else."
50 years later The boy becomes Dr Simeon (Richard E Grant). He bottles the snow and states. "humanity celebrates and ends." Simeon feeds the men to the snowmen so they will keep their secrets.
A woman works at the Rose and Crown and notices the snowmen outside. The Doctor (Matt Smith) appears from nowhere and she asks if he made it. Grumpy Doctor acting out his Scrooge. It's snow that can remember. She calls him silly and there's nothing wrong with silly and then follows him. They were just getting acquainted. Doctor: "those were the days." Weren't they! She then runs after his carriage.
Vastra (Neve McIntosh) asks if he's taking an interest in her, Clara (Jenna-Louise Colman), he's not and she doesn't have his name. He asks what two words Vastra means? Doctor: "Doctor Who." How how many times was that going to be said in this? Since he doesn't exist anymore.
The pond has frozen since the night the children's governess died in it. Simeon tells Captain Latimer (Tom Ward) that the governess (Julie Cadzow) died in the pond and "ice remembers." Giving him his card: Great Intelligence. The pond may belong to Latimer but not what's inside. Vastra approaches Simeon who describes her as "the veiled detective." Dr Doyle (as in Arthur Conan) is basing his stories on her exploits. "The Great detective in reality is a woman."" Vastra tells him there's no impropriety involved between her and Jenny (Catrin Stewart) as they're married. The ice can respond to the thoughts of those around it, it's "memory snow." Simeon: "Winter is coming, the last ?? of humankind." She knows a man who can stop it. The Doctor. They must pray for a miracle.
Strax (Dan Starkey) watches the Doctor collect samples of snow, which he calls "new and alien." He asks if they should look for a grenade next. The Doctor suggests they look for a prophet, "Victorian values." This isn't their business and calls Strax a "psychotic potato dwarf." Doctor: "Over one thousand years of the universe, I thing I've learnt: the universe doesn't care." Strax calls Clara a boy. The Doctor tells him they need the memory worm which will make her lose the last hour of her memory. Strax forgets what he went to fetch since he didn't wear the gauntlets and does the same for a second time. That was the comedy sketch. If the worm bites, you could lose decades of your memory. Clara suggests they try a "who." Doctor: "Doctor Who."
More snowmen appear since she was thinking about them and they were feeding off her thoughts. She needs to imagine them melted. The Doctor wants to forget about her since the snow isn't his problem. Wonder if he thought of using the memory worm on himself, you know forget all his troubles and woes re the Ponds. Clara follows him to his TARDIS in the clouds. Then knocks on the door and runs away, leaving her shawl behind.
She returns to the pub telling the man she's got her own work to do and if she told him what that was, "you'd never believe me." She changes in the carriage into Latimer's children's governess. Francesca (Ellie Darcey-Alden) and Digby (Joseph Darcey-Alden) missed her. She now sports a posh voice and is known as Miss Montague. Francesca is having nightmares about the old governess. Clara tells Latimer if he asked Francesca properly about her nightmares, she'd tell him. The governess is coming back to punish her. They love her secret voice: her cockney accent and they show her the pond. That being the operative word. Francesca's being punished for Christmas and she does return. Digby: "I think she needs a doctor." Clara finds his ladder to the clouds again and Jenny stops her from shouting.
Vastra asks Clara some questions and only wants single word responses, since "lies are words... Truth is singular." "The Doctor...Doctor Who." There it's said again. She's looking for the Doctor. Replying: "curiosity; snow; help; danger; kindness; man. Vastra tells her he's not her salvation or protector. He was different once; kind, a hero and saver of worlds. (Whereas the Daleks referred to him as the "destroyer of worlds, at least Davros did." He has suffered losses which hurt him. She test her and lets her give Vastra a one word message for the Doctor about the snow in one word. This being, "Pond!!"
The snowglobe in Simeon's office recognizes a danger, "an intelligence beyond anything else in this time and place." The Doctor arrives dressed as Sherlock Holmes (!) complete with deerstalker. Simeon tells him Sherlock Holmes is fictional, so is talking snow. Doctor: "Takes one to snow one." He's making deductions (and bad jokes!) and tells them to "shut up." Which is what he and Amy used to say a lot. He deduces the snow is Moriarty and has learnt what it does now. It has to evolve and needs human DNA in ice form: hence the governess in the pond.
The Doctoe then checks out the pond saying Clara made a good point. Strax asks if he needs grenades now and he needs help with the investigation. The Doctor replies he's not investigating cos "some bird smiles at me." Strax also calls him Sherlock Holmes.
Clara tells the children stories and one about a "man lives on a cloud and helps children. He's been on holiday. The governess appears and they should imagine her melted but it doesn't work. The Doctor is hiding out in the puppet box as Mr Punch, "Doctor Who." He sonics the governess with anti-freeze and it seems to work. Simeon arrives with his snow machine and blows snow over the wall. The Doctor doesn't do this anymore, help out. Then looks at his grumpy face in the mirror, well it was, grumpy. Then at his bow tie. "Old habits." Clara remarks "it's cooler" cos it's snowing outside. Doctor: "It is very cool. Bowties are cool." The room's cold is what she means. They rush out.
The Doctor refers to himself as Clara's "gentleman friend" and they were upstairs kissing. Well they will be. Vastra introduces herself as "the lizard woman from the dawn of time." Latimer is upset over the 'friend' revelation. The governess mimics Punch "that's the way to do it." (But no one mentioned that phrase, so how can she mimic him?) Jenny uses the forcefield to keep her at the top of the stairs. The Doctor says they're not engaging but are under attack. Then says his "shut up" again. Strax objects to getting a "noogie" from the Doctor during combat. It's the "ultimate fusion of snow and humanity." The governess is the blueprint and Simeon will build snowmen and it "will be the last day of humanity on this planet." Didn't this line and episode kind of remind you of the one with the Timelords making their invasion of earth in a bid to wipe out humanity in the Christmas special with David Tennant.
Clara follows the Doctor and grabs him for a kiss under the mistletoe. Doctor: "You kissed me."
Clara: "You blushed." Shut up. He kissed her back He gives her an umbrella and they head for the roof. The governess is engaging in "random mirroring." Clara's bustle gets stuck in the window and he tells her to take her clothes off, not in that way. He has a plan and she's got the umbrella. He's clever and so she should tell him his plan. They're standing on the roof so the umbrella can pull down the ladder. She's wearing a dress so he should go first, "eyes front soldier." Hers aren't. This was a similar scene from the season 5 episode The Eleventh Doctor where the Doctor changed his clothes and Amy couldn't keep her eyes off him. Even when Rory wanted her to.
She looks at the TARDIS and runs all the way around it before saying, "it's smaller on the outside." Usually it's the other way around, i.e it's bigger on the inside. He's not sulking. The TARDIS has a new interior, ah he's revamped after the Ponds left. The TARDIS "is mine." So he's not 'borrowing' it anymore. She asks if there's a kitchen, "I like making souffles." He didn't get that remark here. She followed him. He's about a foot taller than her so he wouldn't need the umbrella, it was for her. Doctor: "I never know why. I only know Who." He gives her a key to the door...he's giving in. "This is the day everything begins." The governess takes Clara and they both fall back to earth.
Clara will live. The Doctor knows it. She didn't even look injured. Clara is a machine/robot, yes? then why has she vital signs of a human. Strax didn't detect any irregularities, but then maybe he wasn't looking, since he couldn't tell the difference between a boy or a girl. The Doctor adds if he saves the world then will she come with him? He shows Simeon the tin with the ice lady inside and they'll meet at the office.
Vastra ask if he's making a bargain with the universe? As the universe doesn't make bargains. This was his fault. He knows who the giant snowglobe is. The tin has the map of the London underground 1967. He never liked a tunnel. Stripping the disguise away, he realizes Simeon was the little boy. The Intelligence was his snowman. The snow is a mirror and reflects back feelings. His darkest dreams turned into the snowman. Doctor"...carnivorous snow meets Victorian values and something terrible is born." Don't you just love those lines.
The tin contains the worm and when Simeon grabs sit, the worm bites him causing him to lose his memory. Without Simeon the snow will have no voice and without the governess it won't have a form. However the snow Intelligence returns and creates more snowmen. The "dream outlives the dreamer." He now pulls the strings. When the Doctor removed Simeon it made room for him. Simeon rises and attempts to freeze the Doctor. Clara tells Latimer his children are afraid and need him. She cries and her tears melt the snow: salty tears. Doctor: "the snow is mirroring something so strong, it's drowning everything else...a whole family crying on Christmas Eve to melt the snow." The only force on earth which can do that.
The Doctor says there aren't anymore clouds since it rained. Clara: "Run, run you clever boy and remember." The Doctor now recalls at her grave. The Intelligence learnt to survive . Great Intelligence "rings a bell." Clara's name was Clara Oswin Oswald: souffle girl again. He didn't see her face when she was with the Daleks. She died twice, the same woman. He has "to find Clara." Vastra thinks "the universe makes bargains after all." Clara is in the same cemetery with a girl and tells her she doesn't "believe in ghosts." Doctor in his TARDIS: "Clara Oswin Oswald - watch me run!"
Clara is of course Oswin from Asylum of the Daleks and it's strange why the Doctor doesn't recall her, especially since she asked him to "remember." And when she remarks she likes cooking souffles. Which sounded like clues for him to do just that; remember. Appears the Doctor has closed himself off from his memories perhaps in an attempt to shield himself from the hurt Vastra says he went through. Whilst he has been alone in his exile. It could be seen as an exile since he no longer exists and has cut himself off from everyone, including his friends or helping humanity. It's no longer his business so he doesn't interfere. The Doctor did appear to be Scrooge-like and saying "bah humbug" to anyone who needed his help. He even looks as such when he looks at himself in the mirror.
The second Doctor met the Great Intelligence in the serial, The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear. Based on the 1960's and the Doctor refers to The Web of Fear when he shows the tin with the London underground map. In these stories, the Great Intelligence uses a yeti robot and it appears the Doctor was instrumental in instigating the future attack on London which began in the underground.
Vastra, Jenny and Strax were in A Good Man Goes to War from season 6 and Strax was brought back to life. The Doctor says, "he gave his life for a friend once [the Doctor]. Another friend brought him back." which is all we get to learn.
Richard e Grant played the "quite handsome Doctor" in Doctor Who and the Curse of the Fatal Death. Sherlock Holmes of course, several times, was an unashamed reference to Sherlock, also written by Steven Moffat. Not to mention fans and viewers got to have their wish and see Matt Smith play Sherlock, albeit in the deerstalker form since Doyle based Sherlock Holmes in the Victorian period in his books. Showing us how good a Sherlock Matt would have been if he got that role. As good as Benedict Cumberbatch, oh don't all throw things at once!!!
There's a new TARDIS interior, a new theme tune and new credits. Plus new costume - which Matt described as "the Artful Dodger meets the Doctor." (What not Jammie Dodgers). His outfit is now purple (ooh my fave colour.) Matt said, "there's a lot of purple this year which is nice. I've always wanted something purple...it's taken three years to get a jaunty hat and a purple coat."
Matt also said of how the Doctor is attracted to his female companions. "he's certainly taken by this striking young lady...he meets a jaunty new companion - a hot chick." Where's his wife, River then? and what would she say to this new "hot chick?!" New word for 2013: "jaunty." Ha.
This was one of the best Christmas specials in a long time, on a par with A Christmas Carol special. Frightening snowmen, lots of snow for Christmas. We need some memory snow just to have a white Christmas every year. We got the addition of Sherlock Holmes and a new companion who is fun-loving and intriguing enough to to get over the departure of the Ponds. Building up our curiosity as to how the Doctor will find Clara and WHO she really is. As he said, "It's not the why with me but the WHO." Also we get Matt Smith as gorge as ever as the Doctor as we go into the show's fiftieth year in 2013...at least something positive to look forward to in year ending in 13.
Dalek Intelligence in Asylum of the Daleks, where Oswin knew she had immense intelligence and called herself a genius. Also as I said this reminded me of the 2009 Christmas Special The End of Time Part 1: where the Narrator said: "And so it came to pass, on Christmas Day, that the human race did cease to exist..."
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