The Monks have been with us from the beginning. They shepherded humanity through its formative years, gently guiding and encouraging, like a parent clapping their hands at a baby’s first steps. They have been instrumental in all the advances of technology and culture. They watched proudly as man invented the lightbulb, the telephone, the internet. They were even there to welcome the first men on the Moon. They have defended us, too. Who can forget the time the Monks defeated the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Sontarans? And they have left their imprint in the arts as well. The Monks have found their way into Dickens and the Jason Bourne films… Two species, sharing a history as happily as [...]

Compared to the run-around, family entertainment epics of Russell T Davies’ first Christmas specials, Last Christmas requires a great deal of concentration to fully appreciate its richness and complexity. After the feasting and drinking of the day it is difficult to enjoy in one sitting and might have appeared as disjointed as those half remembered, interrupted dreams. Casual viewing will lead to some misconceptions that those with an anti-Moffat agenda will be all too quick to pick up on.

At first the alien threat appears to be yet another variant of a favourite Steven Moffat theme. A creature who only comes to life [...]