The 10 Best Doctor Who Holiday Specials
Christmas is traditionally a time for presents and lights, but since I discovered Doctor Who as a young teen, it’s also been a celebration of one of TV’s most legendary shows. For years, my annual tradition was to wake up early to open presents, play any videogames I got in the afternoon, and settle down by the fireplace to watch the new Doctor Who holiday special in the evening.
Since its revival in 2005, Doctor Who has aired a holiday special every season. During the 13th Doctor’s era, Christmas specials were paused in lieu of New Year’s specials. Many of these were good as well and are on this list, but not having that same Christmas tradition anymore was definitely a loss. Fortunately, Christmas specials have come back with the 15th Doctor and seem to be back to stay.
There are plenty of exciting Doctor Who holiday specials, but only 10 can be the best. Here are the best Doctor Who specials that take place at the most wonderful time of the year.
10. “Voyage of the Damned”
As we’ll find out through this list, there are two types of Doctor Who festive specials: Those that are more focused on the seasonal spirit, and those that mean business when it comes to big story events. Both can be good or bad.
“Voyage of the Damned” falls into the former camp, seeing the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) between companions and meeting up with Astrid Peth (Kylie Minogue) on a starliner version of the Titanic. Much like the original Titanic, things don’t end up going well, but fortunately for this version, it has the Doctor and Astrid to help save it.
If that sounds kind of stupid, it is, but that’s half of what makes Doctor Who great. Minogue does great in the “Companion for a Day” role, and overall it’s a fun festive spin on checks notes a terrible tragedy!
9. “The Time of the Doctor”
“The Time of the Doctor,” in contrast with the previous special on this list, is definitely a “down to business” special. The final episode of the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith), it sees him and companion Clara (Jenna Coleman) land on the planet Trenzalore, where they discover a message coming from the Time Lords, the Doctor’s race.
In a war against the Daleks, the special takes place over the course of centuries, as he slowly ages to the point of nearly dying of old age. Since the Doctor has run out of regenerations, he receives a gift from the Time Lords, gaining more chances to become more Doctors.
The most heartbreaking part of the special, however, is the 11th Doctor’s final speech. In it, a hallucination of Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) comes back to say goodbye to the “Raggedy Man,” and if you’d been following all of the 11th Doctor’s story, that line hits like a ton of bricks.
The rest of the episode is a little confusing in showrunner Steven Moffat’s signature style, but the ending more than does enough to seal the special’s place on this list.
8. “Resolution”
The first special with the 13th Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), “Resolution” is a thriller-style special in which an uncased Dalek jumps from host to host, controlling their minds and causing mayhem along the way while the Doctor and friends try to stop it.
Eventually, the Dalek makes its host construct a makeshift case for it, in which it fights the Doctor in a showdown. It’s always an exciting event when a new Doctor meets a Dalek for the first time, and this instance is no exception.
7. “Eve of the Daleks”
This is a time loop special! Who doesn’t love a good time loop special?!
This is among some of the dumbest Doctor Who specials (up there with the one with actual Santa Claus in it, which was a little too dumb to make it onto this list), but it’s the perfect amount of dumb. Taking place almost exclusively within a storage facility called ELF Storage, this New Year’s Day special puts the 13th Doctor and crew in a time loop where every time they die, the loop shortens by one minute. It’s a fun puzzle to figure out how everyone’s going to best the Daleks stuck in there with them, until ultimately their solution is to blow the Daleks (and the rest of ELF Storage) up with fireworks.
It’s stupid, it’s hilarious and it’s creative: all the makings of a solid Doctor Who special.
6. “The Church on Ruby Road”
Only two Doctor Who Christmas specials also act as the first full appearances of their respective Doctors, and both are absolute treats. “The Church on Ruby Road” is one of them, with the 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) meeting Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) for the first time, fighting off goblins to keep a baby in her care safe.
As a result of the events of the 60th Anniversary Doctor Who specials from 2023, magic and folklore appear to be entering the universe of the show, opening up an entire world of possibilities for new friends and foes for the Doctor to make. One of the first of these are the goblins, who travel through time and space on a goblin ship floating above the clouds, feeding on babies who have coincidences attached to them.
The entire special reads like a bizarre bedtime story, which is perfect for the first Christmas special in six years. Combine that with outstanding first performances of their characters by Gatwa and Gibson, and you’ve got a special for the books.
5. “Twice Upon a Time”
Although they were more common in the era of classic Doctor Who, specials where multiple regenerations of the Doctor meet each other have become less common since the 2005 revival, with the only returning actor being David Tennant, beyond a few other cameos in episodes like “The Power of the Doctor” and the mini-episode “Time Crash.”
One of the exceptions, however, is “Twice Upon a Time,” when a soon-to-regenerate 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi) meets a soon-to-regenerate 1st Doctor, originally played by the late William Hartnell but played by David Bradley for the special.
As the earliest and latest (at the time) versions of the character team up to help a British captain of World War I return to his time, they both grow to accept their own fates, as well as the fate of Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie), who has recently died and exists in the special as a sort of digital ghost before passing on.
Despite the humor, it’s also a heart wrenching special, as it acts as an older and much younger version of the same character grappling with grief, a fear of change and even a type of death. The scene of the Christmas Truce, a true event in World War I where both sides broke from fighting on Christmas 1914 to play soccer, seals the Christmas special as one of the most emotionally poignant ones.
4. “A Christmas Carol”
I’ll give you three guesses as to what this special is based on.
Of course, “A Christmas Carol” is a perfect story to adapt to Doctor Who, as even the original story revolves around time travel. Instead of Ebeneezer Scrooge, the episode focuses on Kazran Sardick (Michael Gambon), a grumpy old man who refuses to let any spaceship land on his planet, even one that will crash otherwise. In order to change his ways, the 11th Doctor goes back in time to when he was a child (played by Laurence Belcher) and fell in love with a girl named Abigail (Katherine Jenkins).
However, Kazran discovers that Abigail only has days to live, paused by being put into cryostasis. As a result, he spends most of the rest of his life holding onto Abigail’s final day, until his heart melts and he releases her, both using her singing powers to grant safe passage for the ship and spending one final day together.
Yes, there are some sad Doctor Who Christmas specials, but who doesn’t want to cry on Christmas?!
3. “The Husbands of River Song”
The best Doctor Who companion of all time, in this writer’s book, is River Song, played by Alex Kingston. Although she primarily interacts with the 11th Doctor, she dies in the only encounter with the 10th Doctor and meets the 12th Doctor for the last time from his perspective in “The Husbands of River Song.”
As such, the special acts as a goodbye to a character who had been with the show for seven years. Yes, this is another tearful special, but it’s a beautiful sendoff to Doctor Who’s greatest companion and the Doctor’s greatest love.
2. “The Christmas Invasion”
The first of two Christmas specials to introduce a new regeneration of the Doctor, “The Christmas Invasion” introduced audiences to the 10th Doctor, perhaps the most beloved of all of them.
And right out of the gate, it’s not hard to see why he is so beloved. Giving a crazed performance due to the recent regeneration, Tennant easily steps into his role of the Doctor by yelling, joking and sword fighting like the best of those who came before and after him as he fights off an invasion of aliens on Christmas.
1. “The End of Time”
A two-part special taking place both on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, “The End of Time” is the epic conclusion to the 10th Doctor’s story, as well as that of John Simms’ regeneration of the Master.
Although there isn’t anything official confirming this, the special certainly feels like more than the end of a regeneration. It feels like it could serve as the end of Doctor Who itself if the show were not renewed afterward. Besides perhaps the 50th Anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor,” there might not be any story grander than the scale of “The End of Time.” It’s the best Doctor Who holiday special, and one of the best episodes period.
Joseph Stanichar is a freelance writer who specializes in videogames and pop culture. He’s written for publications such as Game Informer, Twinfinite and Looper, and currently works as a full-time reporter for The Morrison County Record in Little Falls, Minnesota. He’s on Twitter @JosephStanichar.