Although there is much more Doctor Who on the way, there’s only one episode with a confirmed release date, and the festive installment needs to repeat one aspect that made last year’s Christmas special so rewarding. Doctor Who‘s 2023 Christmas special was a soft reboot for the show going into its new era, although it thankfully left all existing canon in place. Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson led “The Church on Ruby Road” before going on to become the only mainstays of the Doctor Who season 14 cast, so their introduction worked well.

All the Doctor Who Christmas specials have a special place in the franchise, with the stories often being very accessible, even for those who don’t actively watch the show as much as committed viewers. Doctor Who‘s Disney era has already made a change to how the installments are traditionally put together, and hopefully, the alterations made will carry into the upcoming episode. If so, the 2024 Christmas special could be just as rewarding as its predecessor.

“Joy To The World” Needs To Be The True Beginning Of Doctor Who Season 15

The 2024 Christmas special could do what its predecessor did

Doctor Who‘s Christmas episodes are often standalone adventures. Although they nestle nicely into the show’s main canon, they can also fit comfortably into the category of optional viewing. “The Church on Ruby Road” bucked this trend by having it as the first adventure with Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday. In other words, watching Doctor Who season 14 without first seeing “The Church on Ruby Road” would result in a far less rewarding experience. The 2024 Christmas special, “Joy to the World,” will hopefully use this same framework ahead of Doctor Who season 15.

“Joy to the World” has been written by former showrunner and returning Doctor Who writer, Steven Moffat. The episode will be Moffat’s ninth Doctor Who Christmas special, which highlights his love of writing this particular type of story. Overall, it will be the writer’s 50th episode of the show. So, while he hasn’t completely ruled out returning to the franchise again, bowing out with 50 Doctor Who scripts to his name would make for a satisfying conclusion to his relationship with the show.

Why “The Church On Ruby Road” Worked So Well As Doctor Who Season 14’s First Episode

Doctor Who fans had to be patient to see what Ruby & the Doctor did next

Although David Tennant’s return as the Doctor marked the start of the show’s relationship with Disney, the end of the Doctor Who 60th-anniversary specials softly drew a line under an important era. “The Church on Ruby Road” was the true jumping-on point for new fans, although it also made sure to appeal to existing viewers as well. So, when the 2023 Christmas special introduced Gatwa’s Doctor and his new companion, the explosive adventure concluded and left viewers waiting almost five months before they got to see what happened next, building anticipation.

The mystery of Ruby’s lineage was introduced in “The Church on Ruby Road,” which is a storyline that was revisited constantly and eventually resolved at the end of Doctor Who season 14. The same is true of Anita Dobson’s Mrs. Flood, whose true identity still hasn’t been revealed. So, if someone were to miss “The Church on Ruby Road” and start by watching “Space Babies,” there would be several elements that would seem confusing and incomplete in the main run episodes that followed the festival installment.

Standalone Doctor Who Christmas Specials Shouldn’t Be Gone For Good

While a Christmas special kicking off the coming season of Doctor Who is a brilliant move, it would be a huge shame if the trick were to completely replace the standalone December specials. At its heart, Doctor Who is still a family show, and traditionally, many families around the world tend to gather around the holidays, and inevitably end up watching TV together. So, if Doctor Who doesn’t occasionally release a Christmas special that’s easy to understand as its own story, it can be isolating for those watching in a group who don’t follow the show very closely.

“The Church on Ruby Road” certainly starts in a way that’s beginner-friendly, but its ending very much promises an adventure that’s set to continue. Of course, this is arguably true of every Doctor Who Christmas special, but the 2023 installment intentionally exaggerated that particular aspect of the episode’s conclusion. So, while “Joy to the World” acting as the true start of Doctor Who season 15 would be a cool thing to experience again, the show should keep one foot in the standalone camp too.