Peter Capaldi dangles from a skyscraper. He’s eating sushi. Honestly, if you needed one image to sum up the Twelfth Doctor’s era, that might be it. It’s weird, it’s slightly grumpy, and it’s deeply lonely.
The Return of Doctor Mysterio wasn't just a random Christmas special. It was the only Doctor Who we got in all of 2016. After the heartbreak of "The Husbands of River Song," fans had to wait 365 days for a single hour of television. Steven Moffat decided that instead of a traditional snowy ghost story, he’d give us a love letter to Christopher Reeve’s Superman.
It’s a bit of an outlier. Some people find the superhero tropes a bit much for a show about a blue box. But looking back, it’s actually one of the most cohesive, warm-hearted scripts of the Capaldi years.
What Actually Happens in the Return of Doctor Mysterio?
Basically, the Doctor is trying to fix some time distortions in New York (probably leftovers from the Weeping Angels incident). He meets a young boy named Grant. In a classic "Doctor is an idiot" moment, he gives the kid a gemstone to hold. It’s the Hazandra—the "Ghost of Love and Wishes."
Grant thinks it’s a cough sweet. He swallows it.
Suddenly, this kid has the powers of a literal god. Fast forward a couple of decades, and Grant is living a double life. By day, he’s a mild-mannered nanny for Lucy Fletcher, the woman he’s loved since they were kids. By night, he’s "The Ghost," a masked vigilante who looks suspiciously like a mix of Superman and Batman.
The Doctor returns with Nardole—who is now a full-time companion after being reassembled from a robot head—to find alien brains are trying to take over the world. These are the Shoal of the Winter Harmony. They’re the same guys with the "zipper heads" we saw the previous year. They want to swap the brains of world leaders with their own.
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It's a bizarre mashup. You’ve got a rom-com, a superhero flick, and a body-horror alien invasion all happening in 60 minutes.
The Superman Connections You Might Have Missed
Moffat didn't just "kind of" reference Superman. He went all in.
Lucy Fletcher is a dead ringer for Lois Lane. Even her initials (LF) mirror the L.L. pattern that DC Comics loves (Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Lex Luthor). The building they work in, Harmony Shoal, has a giant globe on top. That’s a direct nod to the Daily Planet.
- The Disguise: The Doctor spends half the episode making fun of how Grant's only disguise is a pair of glasses. It’s a meta-joke about the Clark Kent effect.
- The Origins: When the Doctor finds out Grant's powers came from a "wish-granting" gem, he’s horrified. Why? Because the gemstone draws power from the nearest star. Grant is literally a solar-powered hero.
- The Creators: There’s a quick mention of "Miss Shuster" and "Miss Siegel." These are tributes to Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, the guys who actually created Superman in 1938.
Why the Twelfth Doctor Needed Nardole
This episode marks the real beginning of the Doctor and Nardole as a duo. Matt Lucas brings a "pantomime brio," as some critics put it. He’s the first companion in ages who isn't a young woman the Doctor is potentially fascinated by. He’s a valet. He’s a friend.
He’s also the one who calls the Doctor out.
There’s a quiet moment where Nardole explains that the Doctor is only hanging around New York because he’s grieving River Song. He’s playing with superheroes because he doesn’t want to face the fact that his wife is gone. It gives the episode a weight it wouldn't have otherwise. Without that subtext, it’s just a silly romp. With it, it’s a study of a man trying to stay busy so he doesn't have to cry.
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Behind the Scenes Secrets
You’d think a New York story would be filmed in, well, New York. Nope.
Most of The Return of Doctor Mysterio was filmed in Cardiff at the Roath Lock Studios. They built a massive rooftop set that was actually quite clever. To save money, they only built what the camera could see. If you looked behind the "brick" walls, it was just wood and rubber tubing.
They also did some filming in Sofia, Bulgaria. The production team needed that "big city" scale without the New York price tag.
The scene where the young Grant (played by Logan Hoffman) levitates for the first time was filmed on a set built horizontally. The kid was actually lying on his back, and the camera was mounted above him. It’s an old-school trick, but it looks seamless on screen.
The Critical Verdict: Was It Actually Good?
At the time, the ratings were solid. 7.83 million people tuned in on Christmas Day in the UK. It was the 8th most-watched show of the day. Over in the US, it was BBC America’s top telecast of the year.
Critics were mostly kind. The Daily Telegraph gave it five stars. They loved Capaldi’s "warmest" performance yet. Others were a bit more cynical. They felt the "superhero" thing was a bit late to the party, considering the MCU was already in full swing by 2016.
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But honestly? It’s aged well. It’s a "comfort food" episode.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re going back to watch this one, keep a few things in mind to get the most out of it.
First, watch the Doctor's face when Lucy is "interrogating" him with the squeaky toy, Mr. Huffle. Capaldi’s deadpan reaction is comedy gold.
Second, pay attention to the timeline. This episode takes place 24 years after the Doctor first meets Grant. The Doctor has been away a long time. It highlights how the Doctor’s life is just a series of "quick visits" to us, but a lifetime of waiting for the people he leaves behind.
Third, look for the comic book Easter eggs in Grant’s bedroom. You can spot references to Thor, Spider-Man, and the Silver Surfer. It’s clear the production designers were massive nerds.
If you want to dive deeper into this era, your next step should be watching the Series 10 premiere, "The Pilot." It follows the emotional threads started here and introduces Bill Potts, completing the "Professor Doctor" transition that started in that New York penthouse. Check out the official BBC Doctor Who YouTube channel for the "New York Rooftop Set Tour" to see exactly how they faked the Big Apple in a Welsh studio.