If Doctor Who has a hidden Christmas Special, it happened 50 years ago today, December 28, 1971 (as of this writing) with a holiday omnibus repeat of The Dæmons. That sure sounds like a Christmas Special to us here at THT Worldwide. In terms of pure feel, The Dæmons is much more of a Halloween story (even though the story itself takes place in April) but the joy of it all is watching the pure esprit de corps of the cast moving through the story. The stakes here are every bit as high as during any of the ‘modern’ Christmas specials, but this is a team effort, and not just the Doctor up against a series of explosions.
Of course there were other, more practical considerations at work as well. Pertwee’s third season, Season 9 started just four days later with Day of the Daleks, so the repeat had the useful effect of reminding the public that a new Doctor Who was just around the corner.
In fact, all of Pertwee’s seasons began around the start of the year and in 1972 it just happened to start on the 1st day of the new year–a bit of a contrast to the trend set for Jodie Whittaker to have her holiday specials air on that date, including Eve of the Daleks.
Chap with wings, FIVE GOLDEN RINGS …