‘I have declared war on the Moon.’ Doctor Who’s 2012 contribution to Children in Need is a short teaser to The Snowmen featuring Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax trying to lure a despondent Doctor out of retirement with a string of weak mysteries (and the opportunity to conquer the Moonites). Some of the mysteries sound suspiciously like Vastra has read a Season Seven guide, with a shower of meteors and a mad professor called Erasmus Pink (presumably a forebear of Danny) who’s threatening to drill through the Earth’s crust.

This is all good fun, but even funnier is the framing scene with Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman discussing the ‘minisode’ as Jenna undermines Matt’s attempts to drum up dramatic tension and tug at the heartstrings. Matt asks, ‘Will anyone be able to persuade the Doctor to save the day?’ and Jenna speaks for the whole audience when she responds with an emphatic, ‘Yes’.

Next Time: The Snowmen