theofficeman The Snowmen is another great Doctor Who episode. Jenna Coleman is a very good actress, and her interactions with the Doctor were very good. The special effects were great, too. I loved when she first went inside the TARDIS, the music was great and the direction was also on point. The script was very good, and I was shocked when she died. I really enjoyed this episode. One thing is that the snow villain and the Great intelligence weren't that threatening. Otherwise it was a great episode. 10/10 Very enjoyable- (funny, dramatic, and emotional all-in-one.)

Paul Evans The Doctor encounters Clara for a second time, she's in the employ of Colonel Latimer, whose governess fell into the garden's pond which froze over. Doctor Simeon and his employer GI seek what's buried under the ice, they control killer snow and savage snowmen. The Doctor is still raw after the loss of Amy and Rory, it's seemingly only Clara that can help. Together with old friends Madam Vastra, Strax and Jenny the Doctor battles foes, new and old.We have had some sweet, some soft, and some flat Christmas specials, this was much darker, it moved the Christmas episode in a totally different direction.I said no fairytale, maybe a snippet of Jack and the Beanstalk, the staircase up to where? The redesigned TARDIS room looks fabulous, I love it, it's gone from looking organic to high tech.Great to see Vastra, Jenny and Strax, although I thought he was killed in a Good man goes to War. Clara is a great addition to the show, it's a great performance from Jenna Coleman, so different to Asylum of the Daleks. Romance AGAIN though, seriously it's only Donna that's not been after him, please not the falling in love with the Doctor again. Richard E.Grant is totally brilliant as Simeon, at last he's appeared in the show. He cuts a really nasty villain.The best opening credits, since the show started I love them, feel like they are a proper continuation from the classic series.Some brilliant special effects, I love the imagery of the frozen governess, scary as.The Sherlock cameo was very funny, even the music felt like it belongs on that other series.The first time we see a memory worm, these would appear again in future episodes. The Snowmen look great, technically 2012's Yeti?I think this is contender for the best Christmas episode of all time, the introduction of an old foe worked wonders. The big reveal at the end is brilliant. It's fantastic 9/10

Andrew Huggett Good episode – some good jokes, linear in terms of story telling for a change so it was fairly easy to follow although the ending got confusing as they set-up new complications surrounding the Doctor's new companion. I liked the references to the 1967 Yeti / Great Intelligence story and did not see that coming until halfway through. The jokes with the Sontaran and the memory worm were good fun (bit of a Star Trek 'Wrath of Khan' rip off that). Enjoyed the magical staircase to the Tardis in the clouds (a Mary Poppins homage?); I liked the new arrangement of the theme tune, Mat Smith's Victorian costume (especially the hat – Patrick Troughton reference?) and new titles – not so keen on the new Tardis interior. All in all quite a good (darkish) Christmas episode – one of the better ones – all be it much more fantasy than 'hard' science fiction.

Trisha Ray The Doctor is back! I admit, I did not expect too much out of this Christmas Special, particularly after last year's disappointment. The Moffinator gave us a mish-mash of crowd-pleasers, from the nod to Sherlock (the fangirl in me died in ecstasy), to the blazing chemistry between Eleven and his to-be companion (River Song will be so displeased). What 'The Snowmen' lacked was a strong story (and the antagonists weren't scary at all), which quite evidently took a backseat to Clara's. This one essentially works not as a self-sufficient Christmas Special, but rather as an introduction to what we can expect from the rest of the series, specifically the intriguing connection between Oswin from Asylum of the Daleks and Clara.