Food is a classic Moffat tautology; Here, shaky, shaky, timed things put the effect before the cause. One of the most enjoyable versions occurred in ‘The Big Bang’, where the Doctor quenched his thirst with a drink he stole from the past, causing him to become dehydrated in the first place. There’s also the subject of River Song, where, throughout Moffat’s episodes, we meet the Doctor’s wife as a woman traveling back in time and eventually learn that she is Amy Pond’s daughter. But the best might be Moffat’s first episode, “Blink,” in which the Doctor communicates with Carey Mulligan’s Sally Sparrow via a message distributed on VHS tapes.

Although such episodes are common Russell T DaviesDuring Moffat’s first tenure as showrunner, which lasted seven years, they more or less fell out after Chris Chibnall took over in 2018. But with Davies returning for a few more seasons, Moffat’s style Doctor Who Adventure has a home once again.

In fact, they work particularly well within the series’ current overarching mystery, which began with last year’s Christmas special.”Church on Ruby Road.” This special introduced Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday, the Doctor’s latest companion whose true identity haunts the Doctor. Moffat’s approach is welcome, given that Ruby’s Christmas Day birth in general, and the hooded figure that deposits her on the church doorstep in particular, drives the Fourteenth Doctor’s story. Is it adult Ruby herself who delivers baby Ruby to the church on Ruby Road?

The 2024 Christmas Special is unlikely to answer that question. Instead, like most Christmas specials, it will allow the Doctor to wander around with another special companion. But the depiction of time flattening in a hotel could help prepare viewers to eventually understand Ruby’s true identity.

The 2024 Doctor Who Christmas special “Joy to the World” will air on Disney+ in the US and BBC and BBC iPlayer in the UK this Christmas.