The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe

It was supposed to be a treat, this is one of the safest planets I know. There’s never anything dangerous here.

There are some sentences I should just keep away from.

The Eleventh Doctor

Synopsis

A madcap caretaker greets evacuee Madge Arwell and her two children and leads them into a magical world.

Review

Having successfully adapted A Christmas Carol, Steven Moffat turns his attention to the work of C.S. Lewis. Given that Lewis’ work was part of the inspiration for Doctor Who in the first place, it is perhaps surprising that the show hasn’t attempted an homage to them previously. The Chronicles of Narnia were among my favourite books when I was younger, along with the 1980s adaptations, which my family owned on VHS, which definitely sticks in my head much more than the films made in the early part of this century.

Unlike Matt Smith’s first Christmas special, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe feels reluctant to lean to much to Lewis’ books. Perhaps it is because of the overt Christian messaging, or Steven Moffat did not find it as easy to tell a story that adheres so closely to those stories’ narrative. Beyond the title, the imagery and the setting, Moffat takes the story down a different path, telling a story that essentially boils down to one about family, loss and the power of motherhood. As a result, the story is much more intimate and low-key than A Christmas Carol, which is not a weakness per se, but does make it a lot slower than Smith’s first Christmas special. The episode’s cold open shows the Eleventh Doctor blowing up a spaceship about to target the Earth, and we see Reg Arwell’s plane in danger over the English Channel, but beyond that there are very few instances of visual spectacle here. It’s interesting to compare the two, as they show how different Doctor Who can be and how diverse the story telling can be.

I’ve always considered The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe to be my least favourite of the Moffat penned Christmas specials, but I did find it more enjoyable this go around. I’ve always thought of the story as being quite humourless, but there are some moments that really made me laugh this time. Moments like the rangers’ scanners being unable to tell the difference between wool and weaponry, the sight of Venn-Garr bursting into tears and Billis urging Droxil to think about the visualise when holding a weeping Madge at gunpoint and the Doctor showing the Arwells his modifications to the house are genuinely funny. I think that my perception of it not being funny is because Bill Bailey is hardly in the story, which is true, and he and his crew do feel still feel underused to me, but the story does have some moments of humour that do really work. Whilst the sentimental ending might cause some to roll their eyes, as it has caused me to previously, having Madge save her husband from his fate is in keeping with the Christmas setting.

Lily and Cyril’s father, my husband, is dead, and they don’t know yet because if I tell them now, then Christmas will always be what took their father away from them and no one should have to live like that. Of course, when the Christmas period is over, I shall… I don’t know why I keep shouting at them.

Because every time you see them happy, you remember how sad they’re going to be… and it breaks your heart. Because what’s the point in them being happy now if they’re going to be sad later? The answer is, of course, because they are going to be sad later.

Madge Arwell and the Eleventh Doctor

The most important part of this story is Claire Skinner’s Madge. Following meeting and helping the Doctor back to the TARDIS, we meet Claire in the aftermath of her husband’s death in the Second World War, trying determinedly to keep things together for her children at Christmas. Skinner does do a good job with this character. She is a clearly attentive mother, perhaps to a fault, but is motivated by her grief. Even Cyril and Lily are not in the mould of traditional annoying children we have in modern Doctor Who. The Arwells are just a fundamentally likeable family, caught up in both a World War and on a planet being besieged with acid rain so that Androzani Major can get battery acid.

The Wooden King and Queen are the ones attempting to lead the spirit of the trees away to safety. Whilst they are undoubtedly, well, wooden, they are menacing and do add a certain degree of creepiness. This story is environmentally coded, which is admirable, but because the Wooden King and Queen mostly do not speak, it feels quite underdeveloped. I still don’t understand the silver baubles that grow from the trees.

The Eleventh Doctor shows off a lot of facets of his Doctor here. He gets to be the madcap inventor, the hero and the eccentric spaceman. Smith plays all parts to applomb. Going into his third year of playing the Doctor, Smith has cemented his status as one of the best actors to play the Doctor. The scene at the end of the episode where he is reunited with Amy and Rory is really touching.

Verdict: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe is the weakest Moffat special but has some moments of real heart. 6/10

Cast: Matt Smith (The Doctor), Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams), Claire Skinner (Madge Arwell), Maurice Cole (Cyril Arwell), Holly Earl (Lily Arwell), Alexander Armstrong (Reg Arwell), Sam Stockwell (Co-pilot), Bill Bailey (Droxil), Paul Bazely (Venn-Garr), Arabella Weir (Billis), Spencer Wilding (Wooden King) & Paul Kasey (Wooden Queen).

Writer: Steven Moffat

Director: Farren Blackburn

Producer: Marcus Wilson

Composer: Murray Gold

Original UK Broadcast Date: 25 December 2011

Behind the Scenes

• This is the first episode of the Matt Smith era not to credit either Karen Gillan or Arthur Darvill in the opening credits. Their involvement in the story was reduced partially due to Darvill appearing in a play.
• Venn-Garr and Billis are named after outgoing executive producers Piers Wenger and Beth Willis.
• The last regular episode to use the title sequence introduced in The Eleventh Hour.

Cast Notes

• Alexander Armstrong voiced Sarah Jane Smith’s computer Mr. Smith in The Sarah Jane Adventures and the Doctor Who stories The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End.
• Arabella Weir previously played an alcohol addled Unbound version of the Doctor for Big Finish.
• Paul Bazely would go on to appear in The Ribos Inheritance.

Best Moment

I really like the scene in the attic.

What the hell was that?

That was just the caretaker returning to the Time Vortex. It’s a lovely place. I’ve been there myself.

Reg Arwell and Madge Arwell

Best Quote

I don’t have a home to think of and between you and me, I’m older than I look and I can’t feel the way you do. Not any more.

The Eleventh Doctor

Previous Eleventh Doctor review: The Wedding of River Song

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