Doctor Who: Watch the First Look at This Year's Christmas Special

Christmas seems to start earlier every year, but when your pre-Halloween present is a first look at the 2016 Doctor Who Christmas Special, you can't complain that much, can you?

The Doctor Who Christmas Special is an annual tradition (naturally) that started in the UK and gradually made its way over to the United States, thanks to BBC America. Now, instead of having to awkwardly sit around with family staring at a half-eaten Christmas ham, you can stare at The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) as he hams it up, traveling through time and space and saving the universe -- again.

And for fans, this year's Special will be a... Well... Special event, as the show hasn't broadcast a new episode since the last Christmas Special, 2015's "The Husbands of River Song." When we last left the two-hearted alien adventurer, The Doctor was mourning the loss of his last traveling Companion (Jenna Louise-Coleman) with the help of another time-traveling rogue, River Song (Alex Kingston).

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The Special also introduced Nardole (Matt Lucas), a... Well, it's very complicated, but suffice to say, when we last left him he was a severed head working at a restaurant. Somehow (we suspect time travel shenanigans), Nardole -- or at least Lucas -- will return for this year's special.

We do know however that actor Justin Chatwin will appear as a superhero named Grant, who Moffat teases is inspired by Clark Kent. On the New York Comic Con panel, he noted that he's always loved the love triangle between two people (Superman/Clark Kent and Lois Lane) in the comics, so that's what he'll be playing with.

Check out the first look at the special, titled "The Return of Doctor Mysterio," and start stocking up on jammy dodgers in anticipation.

The Doctor Who 2016 Christmas Special airs Christmas night on BBC America. Doctor Who will also return for a new season in 2017.