Doc(tor Who) the halls with boughs of holly, fa-la-la...Okay, that's enough. We are mere days away from the latest Christmas special from Doctor Who, and this year's in particular has amassed voluminous anticipation, as it will be the first and only bit of new Who of 2016. Considering the episode, "The Return of Doctor Mysterio," is airing on the holiday itself, some fans won't get to check it out as it's airing, and out-of-town traveling takes some away from their TVs altogether. You need not a T.A.R.D.I.S. to catch the ep, though, but rather an Internet connection and some guidance. Here's how you'll be able to stream Doctor Who's Christmas special.
Without using a DVR, there's unfortunately not much of a chance that you'll get to watch Doctor Who's "The Return of Doctor Mysterio" on Christmas evening after everyone else has been consumed by egg nog and wrapping paper refuse. But if you're willing to wait until the next day, the options open up in big ways. If you can log in to your cable or satellite provider's On Demand service, that could be your best place to start, though some companies update their On Demand libraries slower than others.
AMC is a co-owner of BBC America, Doctor Who's U.S. home, so all signs point to the network's website being another good place to look when you wake up on December 26, since that's where Season 9 episodes could be found. Of course, you're probably going to need a subscription to a cable, satellite or streaming service in order to log in and watch. AMC has offered up freebie streams for marquee episodes like The Walking Dead's Season 7 premiere, so it's possible.
Another welcoming home for Doctor Who fans has been Amazon, and it would take a most ruthless villain to stand in the way of the Christmas special arriving in the company's streaming library the day after it airs. Most Doctor Who programming that Amazon acquires is available for Prime subscribers to view without any additional fees, but it's possible there will be a price point. And if you don't have Prime, paying for it was already going to be the outcome.
Speaking of paying for it separately, the most options for streaming Doctor Who's Christmas special fall into this category. You won't even have to get out of bed on that post-holiday morning, assuming you have a mobile device nearby. If you're an Apple user, iTunes generally has Doctor Who episodes up the next day, as does Google Play for Android users. For those inside the U.K. itself, the BBC Store website is there for the browsing.
For this year's special, the Doctor will head to New York to take on some brain-swapping aliens, and in order to save the city, he'll need the assistance of a superhero and a journalist (played respectively by Justin Chatwin and Charity Wakefield), as well as a mysterious being known as The Ghost. We won't get to see Number Twelve's new companion, but we will get to revisit with Matt Lucas' Nardole, making his second appearance.
Don't forget to set up some cookies, milk and a sonic screwdriver by the fireplace, as Doctor Who will air this year's Christmas special here in the U.S. on BBC America on Sunday, December 25, at 9:00 p.m. ET. In the U.K., the episode will air on the same day, only at 5:45 p.m. To see what other fabulous shows will arrive when Christmas has passed, check out our midseason premiere schedule. Note that Doctor Who Season 10 doesn't have a date set yet.
