River Song Is Your 'Doctor Who' Christmas Gift

Let me just start this piece by leveling with you: Doctor Who used to be my serious jam back in the day, up until the end of Matt Smith's tenure, and then it kind of lost me. Originally, I didn't even like Smith, given that I was a staunch David Tennant lover and felt no one would ever match Ten's charm, wit, and overall charisma, but eventually I warmed to Eleven — and got over Donna Noble enough to accept and love Amy Pond and Rory — and I was just settling into them when they were cruelly ripped from me and I was given Peter Capaldi. I love Capaldi, don't get me wrong; he was incredible in The Thick Of It and is an overall amazing actor, but as the Doctor, I've never quite been able to warm to him and I miss the old Who, the one before Steven Moffat completely dismantled it to make it nearly unrecognizable. Thankfully, salvation is mine once again in the form of Alex Kingston. That's right: River Song will appear on the Doctor Who Christmas special. Spoilers!

As BBC America revealed in a new press release, "It’s Christmas Day in the future and the TARDIS is parked on a snowy village street, covered in icicles, awaiting its next adventure. Time traveler River Song meets her husband’s new incarnation, in the form of Peter Capaldi, for the first time this Christmas." Boy, is she going to get a shock! The last time River saw the Doctor, he was still appearing with Matt Smith's face, so seeing a considerably older and more eyebrow-heavy incarnation will be quite an experience.

Kingston herself is pretty thrilled to be reprising the role — which is great to hear because I'm just as excited — issuing her own statement saying, "To be honest, I did not know whether River would ever return to the show, but here she is, back with the Doctor for the Christmas special. Steven Moffat is on glittering form, giving us an episode filled with humor and surprise guest castings. I met Peter for the first time at Monday’s read-through, we had a laugh, and I am now excited and ready to start filming with him and the Doctor Who team. Christmas in September?, why not!”

Why not, indeed! River Song is one of the best characters in Doctor Who history, with a tenacious energy that's irresistible. Is it any wonder the Doctor married her at some point on the timeline? I don't think so. It's unclear how and where (and when!) exactly River will encounter the Doctor, but that hardly matters. Just having her back will no doubt make this year's Christmas special a memorable one. Now why can't they make River a permanent fixture? It would probably reignite my obsession with the show, that's for sure.

Images: BBC