Warning! The following contains SPOILERS for the Doctor Who Christmas Special "Joy To The World." Stream it with a Disney+ subscription and read at your own risk!
Doctor Who came back, albeit temporarily, for yet another Christmas special. "Joy To The World" featured the return of Villengard, a surprise trip to Bethlehem, and a quick appearance by the lovely Ruby Sunday. It all leads up to Doctor Who returning in the new year as part of the 2025 TV schedule, and showrunner Russell T. Davies told CinemaBlend how it all leads up to the new season.
I was lucky enough to speak to RTD, as well as former showrunner and "Joy To The World" writer Steven Moffat, ahead of the special and talk about where Doctor Who goes from here. The duo spoke to me in a Zoom call, and I listened as Davies talked about Joy's final conversation with The Doctor, Ruby Sunday and how that bleeds into the new season:
Joy very clearly kind of tells him at the end that he needs to find a friend, which is a running theme, and you [Steven] write that beautifully obviously. But that's the running theme of the whole show. And it's so beautiful to see [Ruby] at the end. It's a nice little Christmas present for people. There she is, looking up at the star and thinking of the Doctor, being phoned by both of her mothers at the same time, probably. And so, yes, he's on that journey. Of course, we all know there's a new companion, Belinda Chandra, and you will find that in the very first moments of the new season, you'll find that being set in motion.
The showrunner kind of sidestepped giving a real answer on Ruby Sunday, but we do know she will also return to Doctor Who at some point. Until then, we'll get Belinda Chandra, played by Varada Sethu, and it looks like she's going to become The Doctor's newest friend based on Russell T. Davies' words above.
Beyond that, however, most of "Joy To The World" seemed self-contained and had little to do with other ongoing storylines in Doctor Who. Russell T. Davies had previously confirmed to CinemaBlend that more gods of the Pantheon are on the way. We also reported that new merchandise is due out for a classic villain in the new year, which may just tease which villain The Doctor will face in the new season.
Hopefully between all the battles, he finds time to slow down and make more friends along the way. It does feel as though he's dealing with loneliness once again, though that's a recurring theme for The Doctor time and time again. Is he ever going to find true happiness? I'm not sure that's possible, even if Gallifrey is restored for the umpteenth time. I'd be happy to see him try in the new season, though, and I'm also happy this year's Christmas special wasn't as much of a bummer as the ones we've seen in the past.
Doctor Who returns with new episodes in 2025, and those looking to watch the previous season likely know they can check it out on Disney+. There's a good deal of other great shows on there to catch up on for those who have been busy and now have time to stream, so get on it!
