The Return of Doctor Mysterio

"The Return of Doctor Mysterio" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. First broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2016, it is the twelfth Christmas special since the show's revival in 2005. It was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Ed Bazalgette. The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. The only episode of 2016, it stars Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, and is the first to feature Nardole (Matt Lucas), who was introduced in the previousChristmas 2015episode "The Husbands of River Song", as his companion. The episode is set in New York City, and involves the Doctor and Nardole linking with journalist Lucy Fletcher (Charity Wakefield) and a superhero called The Ghost (Justin Chatwin) to combat brain-swapping aliens. Plot In New York City on Christmas Eve of 1992, an 8-year-old boy named Grant wakes to find the Twelfth Doctor dangling outside the window of his family's apartment and helps him come into his bedroom. Taking Grant to the rooftop, the Doctor (whom Grant calls "Doctor Mysterio") reveals he accidentally set off a trap for a device he was building, and he enlists Grant to help complete it. However, Grant mistakenly swallows a wish-granting gemstone needed for the device, believing it to be medicine for a cold he has, being granted his wish to be a superhero. Abandoning the device, the Doctor makes Grant promise to not use his new superpowers before he leaves. The Doctor returns to New York in 2016 with Nardole, to investigate Harmony Shoal, a multinational research company. They encounter a news reporter, Lucy Fletcher, who is conducting a similar investigation. The group discovers that it is being secretly run by a group of living alien brains that transplant themselves into any living creature they need for their plans. They witness the killing of the company's owner, Mr Brock. Tracked down by Dr Sim, an employee the brains already took over, the group is suddenly rescued by a masked superhero named the Ghost, who afterwards transports Lucy close to her home. Returning to her apartment before her, the Ghost transforms back into Grant, who works for Lucy as a nanny.