Doctor Who

Warning : spoiler ahead for the 2024Doctor WhoChristmas special , " Joy to the World . "

" Joy to the World " total a massive piece of canon into theDoctor Whouniverse that subtly explains one of the ability of John Barrowman ’s Captain Jack Harkness . Although the story of the 2024 Christmas special sweeps aside its pivotal piece of sci - fi traditional knowledge , the magnitude of the introduction and its shock on the bombastic universe ca n’t be brush off . As one of the bestDoctor Whocompanions not from present - day Earth , Jack add something very interesting to the positioning , but his pre - install backstory left some intriguing gap . gratefully , one of the more compelling blank office has now been part filled .

Barrowman played Jack during Russell T Sir Humphrey Davy ' first stint as theDoctor Whoshowrunner , and he enjoyed a brief return to the role alongside Jodie Whittaker ’s Thirteenth Doctor during the Chris Chibnall earned run average . Perhaps most significantly , he leave theTorchwoodcast between 2006 and 2011 in all four season of the first of the revival - eraDoctor Whospinoffs . He has been abstracted fromDoctor Who ’s Disney eradue to behind - the - scene issues , but " Joy to the World " proves there is still a sight to be learned about the former Time Agent .

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The Time Hotel In “Joy To The World” Confirms Humanity Has Access To Time Travel By The 43rd Century In Doctor Who

The Doctor has almost no need for his TARDIS in the 2024 Christmas special

Ncuti Gatwa ’s second festive adventure as the Fifteenth Doctor deal him through several periods of Earth ’s account . Of course , this is n’t anything new forDoctor Who , but it becomes interesting when it ’s considered that he mostly refrains from using his TARDIS in " Joy to the existence , " and instead use the Time Hotel - which is locate on Earth in the 43rd century . It may seem like a playfulness and exciting thingmajig - which it is - but writerSteven Moffat ’s introduction of the Time Hotel bring in with it a adult reveal about humanity ’s worldly development .

Many of the Doctor Who Christmas specials run to partake something very specific in rough-cut , and that extends to 2024 ’s " Joy to the World . "

As recently asDoctor Who ’s season 14 two - part finale , the Doctor quietly confirmed he monitors humanity ’s access to time traveland has tried to ostracise UNIT from formulate the relevant technology . However , Doctor Who ’s Modern UNIT teamin the 21st century is revealed to have build a Time Window to let them to view the past times . It ’s naive by Time Lord standards , but it ’s still a step towards humanity ’s access to times other than the present 24-hour interval . This advance has clearly carried on by the time of " Joy to the World , " as prove by the Time Hotel in forty-third - one C London .

Custom Doctor Who image of John Barrowman as Jack Harkness against a backdrop of the Time Hotel and the Face of Boe

Doctor Who’s 2024 Christmas Special Brilliantly Adds A Stepping Stone To How Jack Harkness Can Travel Through Time In The 51st Century

Jack’s Vortex Manipulator suddenly doesn’t seem like such a huge leap

Despite running into Christopher Eccleston ’s Ninth Doctor in 20th century London inDoctor Whoseason 1 , Jack originates from the 51st hundred , and he ’s revealed to be a former Time Agent . His time with the Time Agency is proven by the fact he still owns a Vortex Manipulator- a wrist - get into gimmick that permit him to travel through clock time . Before " Joy to the World , " there was a huge point between the twenty-first century and Jack ’s native earned run average that failed to explicate how he , a human , could so confidently traverse time . Now , the Time Hotel cater a major milestone in human race ’s advancement .

The Doctor looks down on the Time Agency for their method acting of shipping , but Vortex Manipulators have been proven on more than one occasion to be able-bodied to move multitude through space as well as sentence .

The Doctor look down on the Time Agency for their method of transport , but Vortex Manipulators have been prove on more than one occasion to be able-bodied to move multitude through quad as well as time . The Time Hotel also shares both power , asthe rooms in the edifice confidential information to locations all over the Earth ’s open as well as in various periodsof the planet ’s chronicle . So , at some pointedness between the forty-third and 51st century , that building - sized technology becomes succinct and advanced enough to wear on a articulatio radiocarpea strap and be used by characters like Jack Harkness .

Custom image of characters from Doctor Who Christmas specials

An alien from the planet Gallifrey travels through time and space to explore, solve problems and fight injustice while also making friends with human beings. His spaceship, called TARDIS, resembles a police box, but it is much more than it appears to be.

Humans On Earth Having Access To Time Travel Is A Huge Addition To Doctor Who Canon

Those on Earth can now hop through time whenever they like (if they can afford it)

Jack ’s connections with the Time Agency have long turn up that mankind would eventually win the ability to move to the past and the future . However , Barrowman ’s case did n’t grow up on Earth . Instead , he lived in a human settlement on an unidentified world , although it has been revealed that he lived in a specific part on the planet ’s open , called the Boeshane Peninsula . So , time travel technology had often been implied to be confine to sure sects of man - like the Time Agency , and it therefore had almost nothing to do with Earth .

Tom Baker ’s Fourth Doctor referenced something in Doctor Who ’s classical era that has seldom been revisit since , but it ’s seemingly coming back .

AdditionalDoctor Whomedia , like cartoon strip and novels , have mentioned the Time Agency and eras close to Jack ’s , but the canonical nature of these arcs is questionable as they broadly have n’t been plow in the main show or its spinoffs - likeTorchwood . Therefore , " Joy to the World " is the first solidly canonDoctor Whostory to openly address not just humanity ’s access to two - mode clip travel tech , but the humans specifically located on Earth .

Guests lingering in the lobby of the Time Hotel in the Doctor Who episode “Joy to the World."

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An alien from the major planet Gallifrey go through time and space to explore , figure out problems and fight down injustice while also making friends with human beings . His spaceship , called TARDIS , resembles a law box , but it is much more than it is likely .

The latest Dr. Who serial publication bring in the Fifteenth Doctor , joined by young fellow Ruby Sunday .

Custom Doctor Who image of Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor and Tom Baker as the Doctor

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An alien from the planet Gallifrey travels through time and space to explore, solve problems and fight injustice while also making friends with human beings. His spaceship, called TARDIS, resembles a police box, but it is much more than it appears to be.

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Headshot Of Christopher Eccleston

Headshot Of Ncuti Gatwa In The US premiere of the new season of the Disney+ series Doctor Who

Headshot Of Millie Gibson In The US Premiere Of The New Season Of The Disney+ Series Doctor Who

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