Whoops, one more bit of series 6 to get through: much how the series 5 boxset included two extra scenes, so the series 6 one contains five of them -- but as they're in general difficult to insert into series 6's continuity, I've elected to wait until now (relative to when the surrounding episodes were transmitted), when the boxset was released.
The Doctor informs River she's in the wrong TARDIS. ("Last Night") ©BBC Worldwide Ltd. |
And now it's on to series 7, with the 2011 Christmas special "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe". First off we get a prequel, with the Doctor ostensibly talking to Amy (but really just to himself) as he goes about stopping an alien spaceship from conquering the Earth by blowing it up. It's quick and suitably exciting but rather sweet, and it reminds us that the Doctor is traveling alone right now (remember, he thinks Amy and Rory think he's dead -- he doesn't know River told them). So in terms of getting us interested in the actual episode, mission accomplished.
That prequel basically carries us straight into the opening moments of the main event, as the Doctor is trapped on the exploding spaceship and ends up tumbling to Earth -- but fortunately he's grabbed an "impact suit" that saves his life. It's a strong, action-packed opening, but it is slightly strange in retrospect how this is just about the most exciting the episode ever gets, as Steven Moffat chooses to give us a slightly more mysterious and quiet Christmas special. Much like last year's Christmas special, "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" steals its premise from another classic work -- but unlike "A Christmas Carol", this time around Moffat takes the very basic premise of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (a whole winter world in a small container -- here a cardboard box) but then jettisons the rest. That's not totally surprising -- Dickens' A Christmas Carol is already a time travel story, so it's easy enough to adapt, but there's less to crib in C.S. Lewis's Narnia books -- but what is surprising is how calm everything seems. There's no huge dramatic enemy to work against, no sense of evil to be fought; instead this is a story about magical happenings. It's clear from the planet where Christmas trees grow, complete with ornaments, that this is meant to charm children rather than frighten them.
Lily and the Doctor debate whether they've entered a trap. ("The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe") ©BBC |
It's a hard episode to judge, because while it has lots of magical bits, the threat is a touch too abstract to really connect (we don't see anyone die in the acid rain, or even anything get really damaged -- some holes in Madge's coat and that's about it), and the incredibly oversweet ending (where Madge rescues her husband pilot (Alexander Armstrong, who gets to show his face in front of the camera after five series as the voice of Mr Smith on The Sarah Jane Adventures) by shining a light for him to follow) threatens to sink the whole thing. But, counterbalancing that, there's some lovely dialogue ("I don't know why I keep shouting at them," Madge says. "Because every time you see them happy, you remember how sad they're going to be, and it breaks your heart," the Doctor replies. "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"), and I do like the efforts to make this an overt fantasy -- it's the type of setting in which Matt Smith shines. The push-and-pull of all these factors does make for a rather uneven episode, though.
And look, there's one more quick episode today: "Good as Gold". We're now jumping forward to 24 May 2011, and just like "Death is the Only Answer", we've got another winner of a script-to-screen competition, this time for perennial children's show Blue Peter. This one's officially written by the Children of Ashdene School and features the TARDIS materializing in the path of the Olympic torch relay, where a runner is chased inside the TARDIS by a Weeping Angel. To be honest, this one's not as good as "Death is the Only Answer", as the whole thing seems a bit more contrived, with less finessed dialogue (the stuff about having one adventure per week is particularly wince-inducing) and an odd cliffhanger ending that seems to suggest there's now a Weeping Angel trapped in the TARDIS. And where's Rory in all of this? It's not the most successful effort ever, but at least it's only three minutes long.