Other than a desire for healthy ratings, BBC's heavy emphasis on publicity for this year's special makes a good amount of sense. "The Snowmen" marks a major point of departure for Doctor Who as a whole. The special will feature viewers' first look at a newly designed interior for the TARDIS, a new title theme song, and a new companion in Jenna-Louise Coleman (Captain America: The First Avenger).

For all the exciting new stuff on display, the episode will feature a Doctor once more in mourning. Despite being a Christmas episode featuring carnivorous snowmen as villains, this year's special should prove to have quite the melancholy undercurrent – even as it kicks off a new set of adventures that will begin in April of next year.

Doctor Who Matt Smith Jenna-Louise Coleman

Doctor Who's 2012 Christmas Special, "The Snowmen," will premiere tomorrow on BBC. The regular series will return to our space-time in April of 2013.

Source: BBC