This is a very bizarre audio short. Blood on Santa's Claw introduces us to new companion Joe, a neat idea where it is more about Peri wanting him around. Kind of like with Adam Mitchell in the new series, the Doctor isn't pleased to have him around. More importantly, it is such a clumsy and strange introduction for the character I had to check this is actually his introduction, because it feels like he was brought on during a previous adventure. I guess that's the implication, I just wish it were handled better.

Because that stuff holds back from the actual story, which has some funny ideas about belief, and is a deliberately silly adventure that has quite a bit of fun to it along the way. The idea of this episode feels like it would be a little more at home with something like Futurama, but for a Christmas-themed short, it works quite well in a Doctor Who context. The Doctor and Peri disguising themselves with the Doctor as Christmas was a lot of fun and just makes a lot of sense, in a weird way, that the Doctor would "fill in for Santa" in a story. It's weird in the best way possible, full of bonkers ideas like Shakespearean worshippers having it out with a bunch of animal people, and that stuff works quite well. It's how the writing handles Joe that is a bit of a mess, but that's easy to get around and have a good enough time. That being said, I do wish the music and effects were a little more Christmasy? They feel underwhelming when that could have added something.