211: The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe
Doctor : 11th (Matt Smith)
Companions : None
Series : 2011 Christmas Special
Originally Transmitted: 25 December 2011
This story left such an impression on me I totally forgot it existed. It wasn't until I received the series 7 box set this Christmas that I remembered this being aired 2 years previously. And even then the decision to include it in that box set was taken at the last minute by the BBC. It should then come as no shock to anybody that I have not seen this story since it was on TV and I don't really have any interest in watching it again, even for the purpose of writing this.
Back in 2011 during the run up to Christmas I heard what the title was going to be and from that moment on I had low expectations. After 2010's 'A Christmas Carol' totally ripped off Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' (naturally), and totally bored me it was fairly obvious to anyone with half a brain that this story was going to be a rip off from 'The Chronicles Of Narnia' and probably leave me with the same feelings about this story. I have no problem with Doctor Who ripping off Christmas stories 'Turn Left' looks like it was inspired by 'It's A Wonderful Life' and that was a great episode. It's a shame they didn't do 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation' with Matt Smith & The Griswolds fighting off a Cyberman invasion. Maybe I'll have to start writing fan-fic.
It's sad that I dislike this story so much because the cast assembled for it is amazing. You have Claire Skinner from 'Outnumbered' and many other things playing Madge Arwell, the mother of the two children and the focal point of the episode.
You have quiz show host & comedy legend Alexander Armstrong playing Reg, her husband & World War II fighter pilot (And anyone who's seen Alexander Armstrong knows he is born to play WWII English fighter pilots).
Added to that you have Bill Bailey & Arabella Weir playing a couple of comedy miners who's appearance is far too brief.
There is also a third miner too, played by some random jobbing actor which is a shame really because they could have cast someone like Noel Fielding or Peter Serafinowicz or another big comedy name for it and at would have at least made all three characters interesting.
On top of all that I shouldn't forget to mention Matt Smith either because in my opinion he is the best character actor to play the role of The Doctor since Patrick Troughton.
So what went wrong?
Well basically the plot makes no sense, or it does make sense but is so shoehorned together it's totally idiotic, but here it is anyway.
The Doctor blows up a spaceship, for some unknown reason he is able to be blasted into space (in his normal clothes) chasing a spacesuit that will allow him to be able to fall to earth safely.
Just to begin with there is so much wrong with just that first sentence. It looks great on TV but just leaves you scratching your head wondering why he's never been able to do that before for the previous 50 years.
When he plummets to earth leaving a massive crater in his wake he is helped by a woman named Madge Arwell.
Madge helps him up and gets him back to the Tardis, even though he's just fallen out of space he just happens to land within walking distance away from it. He tells Madge that if ever she needs his help just make a wish, during this whole time she never sees his face because he is wearing the helmet from the spacesuit back to front because he 'Had to get dressed in a hurry'.
So we're expected to believe that after 50 years on our screens the Doctor now is suddenly a genie that grants wishes despite the fact he's been helped by thousands of people in the past and never once offered any of them the same thing. This episode just gets dumber & dumber. Just think about the plot so far and just how unlikely this would be in past stories and how many cliff hangers in the shows history these new events would wipe out.
Three Years Later
Christmas Eve during World War II, Madge receives a telegram saying that her husband's aircraft had been lost over the English Channel in the fog and he was presumed dead. She decides that rather than tell her kids straight away she'll take them out of London to a relatives house in Dorset and give them a happy Christmas first.
When they arrive at the house they are met by The Doctor calling himself the Caretaker and has been preparing for their arrival by filling the kids room with so many toys that they have to sleep in hammocks because there is no room for beds. Next to the Christmas tree is a giant blue package.
Madge's son Cyril comes down in the middle of the night and opens the giant package to find it contains a time portal to a snowy forest.
A little later on his sister Lily realises her brother is missing and goes to inform the Doctor, they go through the time portal to find him.
A little later in than that Madge realises everybody has gone, sees the portal and goes through it too.
After trudging through the forest for a while Cyril finds a large tower with a glass dome structure on top of it. He goes inside the tower and find a giant wood carving of a man sitting on a throne. He climbs the stairs to the top of the tower and finds a female wooden figure holding a gold crown sitting in another throne.
Meanwhile Madge comes across 3 miners who after laying their guns down tell her that they are from the planet Androzani Major in the year 5345, a reference to Peter Davison's final story 'The Caves Of Androzani' (although he was on Androzani Minor) no doubt placed there to remind long time fans that they were still infact. Madge tells the miners she is from England in 1941 before pulling a revolver on them and telling them that there is a war on.
She forces them to take them back to her base where they tell her that the forest will be covered in acid rain in just a few minutes to create fuel, the miners teleport off the planet leaving Madge behind.
The Doctor and Lily reach the tower and see the wooden figure in the base of the tower, as they climb the stairs to find Cyril it begins to follow them up.
At the top of the tower the Doctor find Cyril sitting unconscious on the throne wearing the crown with the female figure behind him.
The Doctor realises that they are the King & Queen of the forest and are trying to escape from the acid rain in the dome which is a spaceship, through Cyril they tell the Doctor that the boy is weak. the Doctor takes the crown thinking he is stronger but he cannot hold it because of the pain, the Queen tells him that he is weak too. Lily picks up the crown against the Doctor's advice and tells him it tingles, the Queen tells him that she is strong, but not strong enough.
Madge arrives in the miners forest walker and allows the Queen to place the crown on her head.
The Doctor who has gone back outside sees all the lifeforce in the forest heading towards the tower. he goes back up and sees Madge absorbing it all.
The Doctor realises that the forest wanted a mothership (groan) and urges Madge to think of home to pilot the spacecraft through the time vortex, he also tells her to think of her husband.
Somewhere over the English Channel Reg who is lost in the fog sees the light from the spaceship and uses it to guide his aircraft home.
They all wake up in the crashed spacecraft outside the house in Dorset on Christmas morning, the two wooden figures are lifeless. The Doctor tells Madge that their livea and that of the forest was scattered among the stars. The kids see the telegram in Madge's hands and demand to know what it is. She is just about to tell them of their father's death when the Doctor interrupts and tells them to look outside where they see Reg and his aircraft outside the house. With her family reunited Madge asks the Doctor to stay for Christmas, he chooses not to so Madge insists that spend it with someone he loves and cares about.
The Doctor arrives at Amy & Rory's house 2 years after he last saw him knowing that they think he's dead, but after answering the door Amy quickly reveals to him that River Song had already told them that he was still alive. She invites him in for Christmas dinner, he tells her and Rory not to go to any trouble. Amy tells him it's no trouble because they always lay a place at the table for him every year.
OK I accept this is a Christmas episode and that it's a bit different to the usual series but the silliness from the beginning really distracts from the episode. I mean it has it's good points, the cast, the scene with the miners & Madge and it genuinely does put a lump in your throat at the end. But for the most part this story is just a slow and dull and doesn't really leave you with any lasting impression. Also it doesn't really seem like a Doctor Who story this feels like a Christmas magic story crammed into a Doctor Who episode and it's so forced it just doesn't work.
To tell you the truth I would have rather seen the story as to what caused him to be ejected from an exploding spacecraft into deep space without a spacesuit at the beginning of the episode than this. And if none of that is enough to make you not like this episode we get a 2 minute cameo with Amy & Rory at the end that just makes you wish that they were in the whole story.
I think this story can be summed up with the same thoughts about I had about it on Christmas Day 2011.
'What the hell did I just watch?'
Doctor : 11th (Matt Smith)
Companions : None
Series : 2011 Christmas Special
Originally Transmitted: 25 December 2011
This story left such an impression on me I totally forgot it existed. It wasn't until I received the series 7 box set this Christmas that I remembered this being aired 2 years previously. And even then the decision to include it in that box set was taken at the last minute by the BBC. It should then come as no shock to anybody that I have not seen this story since it was on TV and I don't really have any interest in watching it again, even for the purpose of writing this.
Back in 2011 during the run up to Christmas I heard what the title was going to be and from that moment on I had low expectations. After 2010's 'A Christmas Carol' totally ripped off Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' (naturally), and totally bored me it was fairly obvious to anyone with half a brain that this story was going to be a rip off from 'The Chronicles Of Narnia' and probably leave me with the same feelings about this story. I have no problem with Doctor Who ripping off Christmas stories 'Turn Left' looks like it was inspired by 'It's A Wonderful Life' and that was a great episode. It's a shame they didn't do 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation' with Matt Smith & The Griswolds fighting off a Cyberman invasion. Maybe I'll have to start writing fan-fic.
It's sad that I dislike this story so much because the cast assembled for it is amazing. You have Claire Skinner from 'Outnumbered' and many other things playing Madge Arwell, the mother of the two children and the focal point of the episode.
You have quiz show host & comedy legend Alexander Armstrong playing Reg, her husband & World War II fighter pilot (And anyone who's seen Alexander Armstrong knows he is born to play WWII English fighter pilots).
Added to that you have Bill Bailey & Arabella Weir playing a couple of comedy miners who's appearance is far too brief.
There is also a third miner too, played by some random jobbing actor which is a shame really because they could have cast someone like Noel Fielding or Peter Serafinowicz or another big comedy name for it and at would have at least made all three characters interesting.
On top of all that I shouldn't forget to mention Matt Smith either because in my opinion he is the best character actor to play the role of The Doctor since Patrick Troughton.
So what went wrong?
Well basically the plot makes no sense, or it does make sense but is so shoehorned together it's totally idiotic, but here it is anyway.
The Doctor blows up a spaceship, for some unknown reason he is able to be blasted into space (in his normal clothes) chasing a spacesuit that will allow him to be able to fall to earth safely.
Just to begin with there is so much wrong with just that first sentence. It looks great on TV but just leaves you scratching your head wondering why he's never been able to do that before for the previous 50 years.
When he plummets to earth leaving a massive crater in his wake he is helped by a woman named Madge Arwell.
Madge helps him up and gets him back to the Tardis, even though he's just fallen out of space he just happens to land within walking distance away from it. He tells Madge that if ever she needs his help just make a wish, during this whole time she never sees his face because he is wearing the helmet from the spacesuit back to front because he 'Had to get dressed in a hurry'.
So we're expected to believe that after 50 years on our screens the Doctor now is suddenly a genie that grants wishes despite the fact he's been helped by thousands of people in the past and never once offered any of them the same thing. This episode just gets dumber & dumber. Just think about the plot so far and just how unlikely this would be in past stories and how many cliff hangers in the shows history these new events would wipe out.
Three Years Later
Christmas Eve during World War II, Madge receives a telegram saying that her husband's aircraft had been lost over the English Channel in the fog and he was presumed dead. She decides that rather than tell her kids straight away she'll take them out of London to a relatives house in Dorset and give them a happy Christmas first.
When they arrive at the house they are met by The Doctor calling himself the Caretaker and has been preparing for their arrival by filling the kids room with so many toys that they have to sleep in hammocks because there is no room for beds. Next to the Christmas tree is a giant blue package.
Madge's son Cyril comes down in the middle of the night and opens the giant package to find it contains a time portal to a snowy forest.
A little later on his sister Lily realises her brother is missing and goes to inform the Doctor, they go through the time portal to find him.
A little later in than that Madge realises everybody has gone, sees the portal and goes through it too.
After trudging through the forest for a while Cyril finds a large tower with a glass dome structure on top of it. He goes inside the tower and find a giant wood carving of a man sitting on a throne. He climbs the stairs to the top of the tower and finds a female wooden figure holding a gold crown sitting in another throne.
Meanwhile Madge comes across 3 miners who after laying their guns down tell her that they are from the planet Androzani Major in the year 5345, a reference to Peter Davison's final story 'The Caves Of Androzani' (although he was on Androzani Minor) no doubt placed there to remind long time fans that they were still infact. Madge tells the miners she is from England in 1941 before pulling a revolver on them and telling them that there is a war on.
She forces them to take them back to her base where they tell her that the forest will be covered in acid rain in just a few minutes to create fuel, the miners teleport off the planet leaving Madge behind.
The Doctor and Lily reach the tower and see the wooden figure in the base of the tower, as they climb the stairs to find Cyril it begins to follow them up.
At the top of the tower the Doctor find Cyril sitting unconscious on the throne wearing the crown with the female figure behind him.
The Doctor realises that they are the King & Queen of the forest and are trying to escape from the acid rain in the dome which is a spaceship, through Cyril they tell the Doctor that the boy is weak. the Doctor takes the crown thinking he is stronger but he cannot hold it because of the pain, the Queen tells him that he is weak too. Lily picks up the crown against the Doctor's advice and tells him it tingles, the Queen tells him that she is strong, but not strong enough.
Madge arrives in the miners forest walker and allows the Queen to place the crown on her head.
The Doctor who has gone back outside sees all the lifeforce in the forest heading towards the tower. he goes back up and sees Madge absorbing it all.
The Doctor realises that the forest wanted a mothership (groan) and urges Madge to think of home to pilot the spacecraft through the time vortex, he also tells her to think of her husband.
Somewhere over the English Channel Reg who is lost in the fog sees the light from the spaceship and uses it to guide his aircraft home.
They all wake up in the crashed spacecraft outside the house in Dorset on Christmas morning, the two wooden figures are lifeless. The Doctor tells Madge that their livea and that of the forest was scattered among the stars. The kids see the telegram in Madge's hands and demand to know what it is. She is just about to tell them of their father's death when the Doctor interrupts and tells them to look outside where they see Reg and his aircraft outside the house. With her family reunited Madge asks the Doctor to stay for Christmas, he chooses not to so Madge insists that spend it with someone he loves and cares about.
The Doctor arrives at Amy & Rory's house 2 years after he last saw him knowing that they think he's dead, but after answering the door Amy quickly reveals to him that River Song had already told them that he was still alive. She invites him in for Christmas dinner, he tells her and Rory not to go to any trouble. Amy tells him it's no trouble because they always lay a place at the table for him every year.
OK I accept this is a Christmas episode and that it's a bit different to the usual series but the silliness from the beginning really distracts from the episode. I mean it has it's good points, the cast, the scene with the miners & Madge and it genuinely does put a lump in your throat at the end. But for the most part this story is just a slow and dull and doesn't really leave you with any lasting impression. Also it doesn't really seem like a Doctor Who story this feels like a Christmas magic story crammed into a Doctor Who episode and it's so forced it just doesn't work.
To tell you the truth I would have rather seen the story as to what caused him to be ejected from an exploding spacecraft into deep space without a spacesuit at the beginning of the episode than this. And if none of that is enough to make you not like this episode we get a 2 minute cameo with Amy & Rory at the end that just makes you wish that they were in the whole story.
I think this story can be summed up with the same thoughts about I had about it on Christmas Day 2011.
'What the hell did I just watch?'
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