{"id":13982,"date":"2022-04-17T10:00:08","date_gmt":"2022-04-17T08:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1628004"},"modified":"2022-04-17T10:28:07","modified_gmt":"2022-04-17T08:28:07","slug":"doctor-who-is-perfect-for-easter-so-why-havent-there-been-more-spring-specials","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/doctor-who-is-perfect-for-easter-so-why-havent-there-been-more-spring-specials\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who is perfect for Easter \u2013 so why haven\u2019t there been more spring specials?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Huw Fullerton\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 17 April 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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On Easter Sunday 2022, Doctor Who<\/a> fans will have their post-chocolate binge comedown mollified by the arrival of a different kind of special treat \u2013 new Easter special Legend of the Sea Devils, the penultimate adventure for Jodie Whittaker\u2019s Doctor and the first episode of Who ever to air on Easter Sunday.<\/p>\n

And its arrival feels entirely right, because I\u2019ve always thought that Doctor Who and Easter make for perfect bedfellows. Maybe it\u2019s because modern \u2018NuWho\u2019 has often aired in Spring, maybe its some quasi-blasphemous connection about resurrection, renewal and regeneration, or maybe it\u2019s just that a TARDIS Vworp hits even harder after eating your own weight in Lindt bunnies.<\/p>\n

Whatever the reason, a Doctor Who Easter special feels like a no-brainer. Which raises the question: why have there only been two?<\/p>

While modern Doctor Who has aired plenty of festive specials since 2005 (about 18-19 at my count, depending on how you consider The Waters of Mars and the second End of Time), only one in that time could honestly be called an Easter special \u2013 2009\u2019s Planet of the Dead, written by Gareth Roberts and Russell T Davies and starring David Tennant\u2019s Tenth Doctor (and a flying bus).<\/p>\n

That episode aired on the day before Easter that year, and apart from a quick nod to chocolate eggs and the ever-changing date of the holiday, references to the festivities were held back. Without being hamstrung by the kind of seasonal expectations foisted on Christmas specials (how do we make baubles evil? Or deadly snowmen?), it was able to deliver a standalone romp on a weekend when families would be watching and enjoying TV together.<\/p>\n

Easter weekend is a big time for TV, after all. After making your way through yet another Cadbury\u2019s egg (add another mini-mug to the pile, natch), you\u2019re unlikely to be rushing off for a night out, and the lack of a looming Monday morning work deadline makes sitting down on Sunday evening to watch some telly feel all the sweeter. There\u2019s a reason the BBC and ITV traditionally run big dramas on Easter weekend \u2013 assuming they haven\u2019t gone abroad, people are often sitting in visiting family, or enjoying time off at home. If not a captive audience, it\u2019s at least a receptive one.<\/p>\n

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Dr Who : Easter Special 2009 : Planet of the Dead<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

With all that in mind, it seems like Doctor Who has often missed an opportunity to put out some great standalone specials. It\u2019s not like there\u2019s any evidence fans won\u2019t watch Doctor Who at Easter \u2013 quite the opposite. New seasons of modern Who have often launched over or near the Easter bank holiday weekend (which, to be fair, is one reason why there may not have been loads of specials \u2013 there was already a new weekly episode on), with huge numbers of viewers tuning in with a very positive response.<\/p>\n

But in recent years, even this has faded away. The last time Doctor Who aired in the spring \u00a0was in 2017 (series 10 kicked off the day before Easter, funnily enough), and even that was an outlier \u2013 for quite a few years before that we had summer or winter launches. For the past five years spring and Easter have been resolutely Doctor Who-free zones\u2026 until now.<\/p>\n

Because in 2022, we have an honest-to-goodness Doctor Who Easter special. The subject matter \u2013 swashbuckling pirates and weird aliens \u2013 feels appropriately light and sunny for the time of year, vaguely recalling old movies that might have played on the TV on the Easter weekend in the past. The promise of a standalone palate cleanser Doctor Who episode, bringing some fun before Jodie Whittaker\u2019s undoubtedly emotional exit this autumn, is appealing.<\/p>\n

I hope it\u2019s the first of many such Easter adventures, and that we don\u2019t have to wait another 13 years for the next one. Something about this show just fits with the freshness, fun and sense of possibility that comes with Easter. It\u2019d be a shame not to capitalise on that for some truly eggs-cellent adventures.<\/p>\n

(Sorry).<\/p>\n

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