Doctor Who And Black Mirror Celebrate Christmas: This Week’s TV Picks

Celebrate Christmas in true sci-fi fashion.

By David Wharton | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

If you discount Christmas specials and marathons, there ain’t jack (frost) shit on this week. But you totally shouldn’t discount those things, because then you would miss new hours of awesomeness from Doctor Who and Black Mirror!

Before you get totally entangled in cooking, wrapping presents, and the inevitable family drama that’s as much a part of the holiday as eggnog and jolly old St. Nick, be sure to set your DVR for the Doctor Who Christmas special. Really, if you’re a true fan it’s probably been set for weeks now, because the Who Christmas special is one of the geek world’s most beloved traditions. And this year is the very first holiday special for new(ish) Who lead Peter Capaldi. With the tragic events of the season finale still all too fresh, fans are eagerly awaiting to see just how the fallout will have affected the relationship between The Doctor and Clara. Is The Doctor’s impossible girl just about done with all this TARDIS nonsense? We have no idea, but we do know Nick Frost will be showing up as Santa Claus, and you had us at “Nick Frost.”

Doctor Who’s “Last Christmas” premieres Thursday night at 9/8c on BBC America.

If you haven’t yet checked out the brilliant British anthology series Black Mirror, hie thee to Netflix Instant ASAP and see what everybody’s been buzzing about. Then count yourself lucky if you’re a DirecTV subscriber, because you’re one of the only people Stateside who’ll get to see the Black Mirror Christmas special, entitled “White Christmas,” when it premieres on the satellite provider’s Audience Network Thursday night. At least legitimately/legally, that is…

Starring Mad Men’s John Hamm, “White Christmas” spins three interconnected tales, all continuing the series’ focus on technology gone horribly wrong. You can read our own Joelle Renstrom’s glowing review of the special right here. “White Christmas” airs Thursday at 9:30 (8:30c) on the Audience Network.

This Week’s TV Picks

TUESDAY

Star Trek: The Next Generation marathon (BBC America, 8 a.m. / 7c)
I still haven’t ever figured out why BBC America is showing Star Trek: The Next Generation, but if you need some Enterprise action as background to all your Christmas baking, BBCA has got your back with a marathon of season-two episodes (aka “the year it started to get good”).

Star Wars Rebels Marathon (Disney XD, 4/3c)
If you’ve fallen behind on Star Wars Rebels, or just haven’t sampled the ‘toon yet, Disney XD is airing a lot of it this week. Annoyingly, the scheduling is kind of all over the place, but beginning tomorrow at 4 p.m. you’ll get the first five episodes all in a row. Otherwise consult the Disney XD schedule and you should be able to get totally caught up this week.

WEDNESDAY

Doctor Who marathon (BBC America, 8 a.m./7c)
Continuing the build-up toward the 2014 Christmas special, BBCA will be marathoning David Tennant episodes for the first part of the day, then switching over to back-to-back airings of the earlier Christmas episodes at 1 p.m.

THURSDAY

Doctor Who marathon (BBC America, 8 a.m./7c)
Appropriately enough, BBCA is using the day of the Christmas special to run all of Capaldi’s first season, so catch any eps you missed or just see how well it all plays in close succession!

Outlander marathon (Starz, 3/2c)
If Who isn’t your bag, you could instead check out the entire first season of Ronald D. Moore’s Outlander, which is set to return for a second season this coming summer.

SUNDAY

The Librarians (TNT, 8/7c) — “And the Apple of Discord”

Sleeping dragons threaten to awaken and cause global destruction, triggering Flynn’s return in a bid to find their hidden treasure.