Twice Upon A Time (Doctor Who)

Twice Upon a Time" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, written by Steven Moffat, directed by Rachel Talalay, and was broadcast as the thirteenth Christmas special on 25 December 2017 on BBC One.

Why It Sucks

 * 1) As the caption implies, this episode is supposed to be a special where the First Doctor and the Twelfth Doctor meet, but they barely interact with each other making the first Doctor seem more like a background character, rather than an actual character.
 * 2) The episode's very existence is pointless. The Twelfth Doctor's era was supposed to end with the previous two-parter, but outgoing showrunner Steven Moffat wrote this episode anyway so that the show wouldn't lose its Christmas Day slot... which ended up being rendered pointless when new showrunner Chris Chibnall immediately gave up the slot because he wasn't interested in writing Christmas specials.
 * 3) The special has barely anything to do with Christmas, save for the final scene on the battlefield.
 * 4) Bill Potts felt extremely forced just for views.
 * 5) * Apparently, it's revealed she's just one of the "villain's" tricks.
 * 6) The current Doctor is extremely unlikeable (which is what Bill calls him an "ass"). He kept insulting Bill Potts all because "she wasn't real" and that she actually got turned into a Cyberman. He even didn't allow her to go on one more adventure.
 * 7) The characterisation of the First Doctor as a sexist bigot was extremely disrespectful, not to mention grossly out-of-character.
 * 8) *When Paul Cornell novelised the special in the style of the old Target books, he explained it as the First Doctor taking a dislike to his future incarnation and putting it on to try and antagonise him.
 * 9) The soldier also felt forced in and isn't given much to do.
 * 10) It feels way too short to be considered a "special" regardless being 1 hour long.
 * 11) The ending. Apparently, they take the soldier back to the war, and once time restores, the British and German soldiers begin singing Christmas carols and befriending each other. To be fair, this actually is based on something that happened in real-life (the Christmas Truce of 1914), but the way the episode depicts it ends up looking completely ridiculous and unrealistic.
 * 12) Unfunny attempts at humor, such as the first Doctor lecturing Bill for swearing. Yes, swearing! The episode also has both the Twelfth Doctor and Bill lecturing the First Doctor and the soldier about their racism and sexism, which just comes across as the show virtue-signaling about how much more politically correct it is than it was in the 1960s.
 * 13) After the Twelfth Doctor regenerates into the Thirteenth Doctor, the TARDIS console room suddenly explodes for no reason other than the incoming production team presumably wanted to redesign the console room.
 * 14) This special was not a good way to end the Steven Moffat era.
 * 15) This is only just the start of a downfall. After that, it all gets worse from there.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) David Bradley is very convincing as the First Doctor, and so are the actors who briefly appears as his companions, Ben and Polly.
 * 2) Though his character was pointless, Mark Gatiss gives a solid performance as the Captain.
 * 3) Clara and Nardole's cameos are a nice touch, and briefly enough that they don't overstay their welcome.
 * 4) A great final speech for the Twelfth Doctor, which perhaps goes on a little too long, but is delivered very well by Peter Capaldi.
 * 5) It does explain where the First Doctor disappeared to in Episode 3 of The Tenth Planet.