Season 12 of Doctor Who ended this past March but, thankfully, the wait for a new episode is almost over. Indeed, the BBC finally announced the series will return this holiday season with a new special, "Revolution of the Daleks." The episode will presumably pick up where the Season 12 finale's cliffhanger left off -- with the Doctor locked inside a cosmic prison -- and it will feature the return of fan-favorite character Captain Jack Harkness. But other than that, the details of the holiday special are scarce.
What we do know is that the Doctor Who franchise is currently swept up in the massive Time Lord Victorious crossover. Could the upcoming holiday special be connected to this event?
Time Lord Victorious is a multi-platform crossover event that kicked off in September and is slated to continue well into 2021. The event stretches across comic books, audio stories, novels, magazines, an escape room and the animated series Daleks!, which recently premiered on the official Doctor Who YouTube Channel. For the past three months, Time Lord Victorious has included nearly every medium, but there is still one that remains: television.
Of course, the Doctor Who series is the mothership of the franchise and, initially, it couldn't be involved in the crossover because there were no episodes slated to air. But now that it's been confirmed the holiday special is arriving as Time Lord Victorious continues to unfold, it may indicate the crossover will soon be making its television debut. Sure, the event mainly involves the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Doctors, but the Thirteenth Doctor also became involved in "Defender of the Daleks." Therefore, she is now also part of the crossover, and her involvement could very well stretch into television.
Furthermore, the holiday special's title, "Revolution of the Daleks," indicates the episode will feature the return of the classic Doctor Who villains, who have been greatly involved in various Time Lord Victorious stories. Given the aliens have such a prominent role in the crossover event and are also returning to television in the holiday special, it's possible the episode will feature some connection to Time Lord Victorious. Due to the complexities of making it happen, the holiday special's story is unlikely to be fully connected to the crossover, but a reference such as a brief mention of the Dark Times or an appearance from the Dalek Prime Strategist would offer a fun reward to fans who've been following the event.
What's more, given the scale of Time Lord Victorious, it was likely in development for a very long time. Perhaps it was even being conceived just as Doctor Who Season 12 and the holiday special were filming. If that is the case, then the BBC could have planned for the next episode to be part of the event. It would surely come as a welcome surprise for fans, and it would make the crossover even bigger than it already is.
Doctor Who stars Jodie Whittaker as the 13th iteration of the titular Time Lord. Whittaker is joined by co-stars Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill in a series helmed by showrunner Chris Chibnall. The holiday special, "Revolution of the Daleks," will air this holiday season on BBC America. All previous 11 seasons will stream on HBO Max later this year.