Despite how plagiaristic this is and how all of those elements mixed into an hour long CHRISTMAS special could culminate in a festering stew pot of rancid puke, I felt that the episode worked pretty well. It kept me invested, the monsters were scary, Nick Frost was a delight and the danger was all to real from start to finish.

Plot-wise, this is the mind-bendiest episode in a while but ultimately, very easy to follow but still no less entertaining, thanks to the thick atmosphere and excellent performances from the cast (except for those fucking elves.)

Nick Frost brings his trademark charm and wit to a role that could have easily been trite and lacking, well, personality. When you think about people playing Santa Claus, you get all the same tired-ass notes being played; like those same Christmas songs you hear every year. But thankfully, Frost brings his lovable personality and girth and make this Santa one to be remembered. I also love the animosity/begrudging respect between Santa and The Doctor. I really enjoyed sly dig he gives to the Doctor, who visibly seethes at the joke. The rest of the guest cast is solid, if very forgettable, only really being there as damsels.

I think my favourite sequence of the whole episode is when Clara first realises she’s in a dream and is swiping away the words on the blackboard. It’s a very simple editing trick but god damn is it an effective, creative and unnerving shot. I loved it!

In terms of returning cast members, we have Jenna Coleman, reprising her role as Clara and Samuel Anderson as Danny MF-ing Pink! Anderson is a welcome return, no matter how brief or imaginary because he rocks and his character rocks, being the funniest badass in the room. Clara’s return was not unexpected and, for the most part, perfectly fine. There’s resolution to the plot point of them lying to each other in their final goodbye and, thankfully glossed over because of the mortal danger they’re in. The chemistry is still there and that leads me to the biggest twist of an episode with multi-layered dreams.

FUCK RIGHT OFF.

I’m not sure if my mind is fuzzy from the six-pack of Bulmers I’ve drank this evening or my unforgiving rage. As confirmed by the media and this title card, Jenna Coleman is returning to the series, after an absence of NO EPISODES WHATSOEVER for the entirety Season 9. Huuuuurrrrrrrrgh. The Clara Backdown 2015 starts now!

Overall, a very entertaining, if a little a bit of a copy-cat, episode and I was really invested in it until those last two minutes but they’re not enough to turn me off the episode. Did you guys enjoy it? Are you looking forward to Season 9 and the return of Clara? Let me know what you think in the comments below and Merry Christmas to all you lovely people at home and to all a good night.

Doctor Who season eight comes to a close with Death in Heaven, a thoroughly dreary and depressing affair and something of a lacklustre finale, only saved by the performances of most of the cast.

The Clara Backdown can finally end because Jenna Coleman’s character, veteran of a season and a half, ends her tenure as a companion and I breath a huge sigh of relief. Clara could be a fantastic character at times but, as a whole, she is the wrong kind of companion for Capaldi’s Doctor. In a fun moment at the start of the episode, after Clara declares herself to be the Doctor, the credits roll and Jenna Coleman’s name swaps places with Capaldi’s, and her eyes replace his later in the credits. It’s a clever little wink to the audience. The final goodbye between the Doctor and Clara is a microcosm of their emotional relationship. Even knowing they’ll never see each other again, they’re all too willing to lie to one another, perfectly summed up in the line: “Never trust a hug, you can’t see someone’s face.”

Danny gets the short end of the stick, first getting jobbed out by a car and becoming a hired goon in a Cyber-Suit for Missy. His performance is strong as steel and gets a big damn hero moment and a speech worthy of Stacker Pentecost. Still, Samuel Anderson is a fantastic actor and despite getting dumped on all season, I hope to see him in other stuff in the future.

Guest stars come thick and fast, with the return of Jemma Redgrave and Ingrid Oliver as Kate Stewart and Osgood, respectively. Kate is still living up to her father’s legacy and I’m glad she keeps appearing, another case of a character we need to see more of. Osgood… Poor sweet and smart and adorable Osgood… I’m pretty bummed by her death, more so than Danny. Danny got to be a badass, Osgood was little more than fodder and that’s just plain wrong. Sanjeev Bhaskar also guest stars but his role primarily consists of saying “It was Captain Scarlet” and getting sucked out of a plane window. Such a waste of a good actor. We also get the return of… THE BRIGADIER! In a last minute save, a now Cyberised Brigadier saved his daughter after she fell from the plane and finally gets that salute he always wanted from the Doctor. Then he flies off, presumably to solder on a metal moustache and fight aliens as CyberBrig.

Missy; aka The Master, aka Missy Poppins, aka Miguel Sanchez Michelle Gomez takes the performance from last week and dials it up to Heath Ledger! Obviously taking some elements from John Simm’s Master and adding her own hectic, bat-shit-insane mannerisms to it. Gomez is a very express and energetic actress and I’m glad to see that transfer into her performance as the Doctor’s oldest nemesis. Missy escaped thanks to the Doctors’ intervention and moving Gallifrey out of time (Thus negating John Simm’s tenure as the Master?). Her ultimate fate is mysterious, as the effect of her being vaporised is the same as the teleportation she used earlier so perhaps she can return in the future!

Peter Capaldi’s first season as the Doctor has been very rocky. Inconsistent writing, coupled with the wrong companion has made this whole season very lacklustre, despite some very strong episodes and performances by him. As the Doctor and Clara part ways and the credits roll, we suddenly cut back into the TARDIS with a melancholy Doctor and a booming voice at the door. Our mysterious caller enters the TARDIS and…

IT’S SANTA! *flails* Nick Frost’s role in the upcoming Christmas episode is confirmed with his appearance here and I cheered. Love me some Nick Frost and he is going to play this perfectly! As for the Christmas episode itself? Check it out:

Nick Frost as Santa in a Doctor Who episode homaging John Carpenter’s The Thing? SOLD! I’ll see you guys at Christmas!

In 2005, Edgar Wright made his feature film debut with Shaun of the Dead, a self-proclaimed “Zombie-Rom-Com” penned by himself and Simon Pegg, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It simultaneously parodied and paid tribute to the Zombie genre while being a pretty kick-ass Zombie flick in itself. It became an instant classic.

Hey look, they’re fighting Zombies in a pub!

Two years later, Wright, Pegg, and Frost took on the buddy cop genre in Hot Fuzz. It also became a cult classic. This is my personal favorite of the two.

Hey, they’re fighting baddies in another pub! What are the odds?

Their next film, The World’s End, was teased as the final entry in what has been dubbed by Wright as the Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy, otherwise known as the Cornetto Trilogy, due to the use of different flavor Cornetto ice cream cones in both films (Drum Sticks are the American equivalent).

Shaun of the Dead had Strawberry,

Red label for Zombie blood

Hot Fuzz had Classic,

Blue label for Cop uniforms

And presumably The World’s End will have Mint.

Green label for… Minty fresh Alien breath?

And now, 6 years after Fuzz, we have our first peek!

Five friends (Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Eddie Marsan), at Pegg’s insistence, reluctantly attempt to recreate a pub crawl they failed to complete in their youth, which ends at the ominously named “The World’s End” pub.

Yes, one is called “The Famous Cock”

As the night goes on, they start to realize there’s something amiss with the people of the town. Namely that they are all NIGHTMARE FUEL.

“Sir, can I borrow a ligh-HOLY SHIT, AHHHHHH!!!”

First off, I love the casting. Simon Pegg looks quite different from his usual role; he pulls off a punk look, and gets to play the fool.

I tried to find a straight-faced Pegg in this trailer, but I honestly couldn’t.

Pegg’s character seems to be stuck in the past while his old buddies have moved on to more mature, professional lives. It will be interesting to see how his character arc will contrast with the sci-fi nature of the rest of the movie.

We also get Nick Frost, who looks good as ever.

Every time I see Frost in a new part, he inhabits it in a way that is different from his previous roles. Yes, he is almost always the clumsy oaf in some respect, but his characters seem to have range. From a soldier in the Territorial Army, to a down-and-out loser, to a somewhat reluctant cop, he always brings his A game. I cannot wait to see what he does in this film.

Pegg in the back, not giving a single shit.

Oh by the way, in the shot following the above pick, Frost STARTS PUNCHING A BUNCH OF PEOPLE USING BAR STOOLS AS FISTS.

HELL. YES.

After a cameo in Shaun, and speaking role at the beginning and end of Hot Fuzz, it’s great to see Martin Freeman as a full character in this film.

You rock that BlueTooth, Martin!

Paddy Considine is also in this film, whom you may recognize as one of the Andys from Hot Fuzz. Glad to see he makes a return!

DAMN, he cleans up good!

I have to admit, I don’t know much about Eddie Marsan, but I do know I have seen him in other movies. At any rate, I’m sure he’ll be hilarious.

“No, I do not want to get ‘shit faced’.”

And all have good flashback doubles. They manage to resemble their mature adult counterparts whilst looking like they’re out to get stone drunk.

Of course the last of the trilogy wouldn’t be complete without a fence jump!

So without further ado, here’s the complete Blood and Ice Cream Fence Jump compilation!

We aren’t explicitly told what’s going on in this teaser (okay, we kind of are), but I’m going to call it: it’s aliens. Need proof? Here’s a still for ya:

E. T. phone home ON YOUR ASS!

There’s also multiple electric explosions.

What happens when you mix Mentos and Jager bombs.

And what looks like extra terrestrial blood on Simon Pegg’s face.

I’m perfectly okay with aliens! Zombie, Buddy Cop, and Sci-fi make for a really good action flick triple feature! I would pay money to see these three films shown back-to-back-to-back in a theater in an afternoon. I’m really hoping AMC, Alamo Draft House, and/or others will do just that for this film’s release. If not, I’m going to watch Shaun and Fuzz of my own accord right before seeing The World’s End, and I encourage you to do the same! Come on, let’s get annihilated!

I leave you with this awesome pic of Simon Pegg flipping a double bird.