The Snowmen

231 – "The Snowmen"
Doctor Who episode
Promotional poster
Cast
Doctor Matt Smith – Eleventh Doctor
Companion Jenna-Louise Coleman – Clara Oswin Oswald
Guest Richard E. Grant – Dr Simeon Dan Starkey – Strax Catrin Stewart – Jenny Flint Neve McIntosh – Madame Vastra Tom Ward – Captain Latimer Liz White – Alice Joseph Darcey-Alden – Digby Ellie Darcey-Alden – Francesca Ian McKellen – The Great Intelligence Juliet Cadzow – Voice of the Ice Governess Jim Conway – Uncle Josh Cameron Strefford – Young Walter Annabelle Dowler – Walter's Mother Ben Addis – Bob Chilcott Daniel Hyde – Lead Worker Sophie Miller-Sheen – Girl
Production
Directed by	Saul Metzstein
Written by	Steven Moffat
Produced by	Marcus Wilson
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat Caroline Skinner
Music by	Murray Gold
Running time	60 minutes
First broadcast	25 December 2012 (2012-12-25)
Chronology
← Preceded by "P.S." (mini-webisode) "The Angels Take Manhattan" (episode) Followed by → "The Bells of Saint John"
List of episodes (2005–present)

"The Snowmen" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on Christmas Day 2012 on BBC One. It is the eighth Doctor Who Christmas special since the show's 2005 revival and the first to be within a series. It was written by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat and directed by Saul Metzstein, with the special produced in August 2012, and filmed on location in Newport, Wales and Bristol.

Set in the Victorian era, the story sees the Doctor (Matt Smith), an alien time traveller, retired and in hiding. He is soon forced out of hiding to investigate mysterious, sentient snowmen that are building themselves and meets Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman), a governess also investigating the snowmen. With the help of allies – Silurian Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), her human wife Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart), and Sontaran Strax (Dan Starkey) – they discover that the snowmen are being animated by the Great Intelligence (voiced by Ian McKellen) with the help of a man named Dr Simeon (Richard E. Grant).

The episode builds upon the surprise introduction of the Doctor's new companion in "Asylum of the Daleks", and acts as the opening component for the overarching plot for the second half of the seventh series, concerning her appearances before she is encountered in the present day in the following episode, "The Bells of Saint John". The episode also introduced a redesigned TARDIS, and a change of costume for Smith's Doctor, alongside a revised title sequence and theme music to coincide with the buildup to the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. It received final ratings of 9.87 million viewers in the UK, becoming the fourth most-watched programme of Christmas Day. "The Snowmen" was met with positive reviews from critics, most of whom received the introduction and character of Clara well, but were critical over elements of the plot.