The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe

[Efun]

Well, that was embarassing to watch in front of my family who all know I love DW.

[KarenGillanFan]

Anyone guess what I'm about to say about this...?

[mooncatt]

Well, that was embarassing to watch in front of my family who all know I love DW.

Well quite, I know lots of people will have loved and enjoyed that and I am glad for them, but I thought it was possibly the worst story since the series came back in 2005. Just awful and what a total waste of Bill Bailey. The end bit with Amy was good but I felt it just showed how much better a story involving her and the Doctor would have been. Oh well, as I said, good luck to anyone who enjoyed it.

[sutekh123]

Sutekh123's Reviews: Doctor Who: Series 7
The Doctor, The Widow, and The Wardrobe

Okay guys, before i start, i would like to give my opinians on the previous christmas specials since the series came back in 2005
The Christmas Invasion- WOW!
The Runaway Bride- *faceplams*
Voyage of the Damned- Very good, but a rip-off of Robots of Death
The Next Doctor- *bangs face agenst the wall*
The End of Time- Why? *bangs face agenst the wall*
A Christmas Carol- For God's shake! *faceplams*
and now, The Doctor, The Widow, and The Wardrobe- *walls over* wow! Play opening titles! Do we have opening titles? no? uncool!

Now, this episode is based on (as the title surgests) The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. Now, while i like it when people make an adamption of something else, their needs to be a solid and good reason why it has been done again. Last years christmas special was a fail, as it didn't work, this years, did work, but it dose have the same problems as last years christmas special.

Now, i don't really know what to make of the special, it's brilliant don't get me wrong, but i don't know why it's brilliant. Last years christmas special, the first 25 miunets, i loved, their wasn't anything wrong with that part, however it all feel apart. This years, well, i don't know what to say. it's brilliant, but yet at the same time, it's bad. This is a critic's nightmare, when something is both good and bad at the same time, as you don't know where to begin, and i'm in this same problem.

The Plot is; "At the conclusion of one of his adventures, the Doctor crashes in England in 1938. He's wearing a collision suit with the helmet on backwards and his face is obscured. His kindly rescuer, a woman named Madge Arwell, helps him find the TARDIS. In thanks, he tells her to call on him whenever she needs help. All she has to do is make a wish. A few years later in 1941, Madge's pilot husband, Reg Arwell, dies when his plane goes down. She doesn't tell their children, fearing it will ruin their Christmas. Madge makes her silent wish and bundles up the kids for a trip to Uncle Digory's country estate, where the Doctor is the caretaker. He's spiffed up the place with all kinds of wonderful toys and hammocks and gizmos to delight the children. One of the treats is a wrapped gift box that leads to a distant planet and a forest of natural Christmas trees. Madge's son Cyril crawls through the box before he's supposed to and finds himself trapped in a world with people made out of wood, and the intire planet is about to be melted by acid rain, so the Doctor and Lily have to find him before he dies. However Madge goes looking for them. While the Doctor and Lily encounter the tree people, Madge meets three Harvest Rangers and learns these Androzani Trees are about to be converted into a fuel source. This involves melting them with acid rain. The trees are aware of this and eager to escape. This is why they've lured Cyril to them, but they realize he is too weak to carry their life force off the planet. To the Doctor's chagrin, he is also too weak. Lily, they decide, is strong, but she's too young. So, cue Madge's entrance, as she manages to drive a giant robot and find her offspring. Madge is just the vehicle -- or "mother ship" as the Doctor puts it -- the trees need. She carries them off into the time vortex and then gets everyone else back to Earth under the Doctor's supervision. He tells her to wish super-duper hard for home, but she inadvertently brings up an image of her husband about to crash to his fiery death. Her children realise she's been keeping a secret from them, but lo and behold, she's also somehow guided her husband's plane safely home, as well. (how the hell dose this work?) Madge realizes the Doctor is the spaceman she helped years earlier. With her encouragement, the Doctor pops in on Rory and Amy for a Christmas visit two years in 2013, two years after he last saw them. There are hugs and happy tears as the Doctor closes the Ponds' door, joining them for Christmas dinner".

Now, how dose most of this work? How does Madge fly the giant golfball thing into the time vortex? How did the Doctor Survie falling through space? Well, it's a christmas special so, go nuts! but the point still stands, how did they do those things?

Now, the characters! I'll start of with Madge, now, her emotions seem to change in every scene. One second she's crying her eyes out, then she's holding the Androzani Team at gunpoint. The actress (Claire Skinner) is very good, but her emotions arn't as solid as i would have liked.

Lily is a 14 year old girl. Acording to the actress (Holly Earl) Lily is meant to fancy the Doctor, which seems to be the case by the way Lily says "I like him". Now, i really like this character, she's the most fleshed out of the new characters intruduced here, and i think she would have made a very good companian. Also, on a side note, Holly Earl is 19. She looks alot younger and looks around the age of 13/14.

Cyril is a (i think) 7 year old boy. He loved big words and astronomy and often used his telescope to look up into the sky. When he met the Doctor, he was taken immediately by his kindness and wonderful gizmos throughout the house. The Actor (Maurice Cole) is very good and does a good job. However, the character is anouing and dosen't serve a good purpose.

Reg was the husbad of Madge Arwell and father to Cyril and Lily Arwell. He was a fighter pilot during the Second World War and was presumed lost over the English Channel. In reality, while his wife was flying an escape pod through the Time Vortex, she inadvertently pulled his plane in as well and pulled it to saftey at the house she and their children were staying at on Christmas Day. Now i hate the character, he isn't compeling. Also, the actor is Alexander Armstrong, who voices (or now voiced because of Elisabeth Sladen's death) Mr Smith in The Sarah Jane Adventures.

The Androzani Team were the people employed by Androzani Major to harvest trees. They wore yellow armour and used Androzani Harvesters to travel. Their sensors could detect weaponry, though they was confused by natural fibres. (seriously? wool confuses their scanners!?) Three Harvest Rangers (Droxil, Billis and Ven-Garr) were sent to harvest the forests, and they are only in it for 5 miunets. Seriously, they just go as soon as their purpose is done! Why Moffat? WHY!?

As i have said, this kind of episode is the worst tipe to review. The characters are amixed bag, so what about the episode it's self? well, i don't know what to say, it's good, but bad. Bad, but good. It's confusing. The story works, but not quite, the characters are mixed, and the vilians arn't compeling. Oh, i need to talk about them

The Wood creatures are a good idea and consept, but they don't work. They arn't compeling in anyway. Also, how can they be made of wood? that is a crime agenst sience! *angry face*

Also, Rory is growing a beard, and i can't get my head around it

so, that's my review of this years christmas special, the story, characters, emotions, and vilians don't quiet work, but it is a fantastic story for reasons that completly dewelder me.

7.5/10

And now, i will give you my favorite quote from the episode...

"Madge: Why are you doing all this?
The Doctor: I'm just... trying to take care of things. I'm the caretaker.
Madge: That's not what caretakers do.
The Doctor: Then why are they called caretakers?
Madge: Their father's dead!
The Doctor: I'm sorry.
Madge: 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.
The Doctor: Because every time you see them happy you remember you 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..."

[DVD]

Now that was a review.
I got to watch this yesterday and here is my final conclusion. Absolute garbage for a Doctor Who.
Why?
It started off looking awesome, then the Doctor free falls in space and removes a spacesuit (ripped from 007 removing a parachute mid fall). Then he crashes to earth in a (superman 1978) crater.
A back to front helmet - leading to much walking into stuff. Funny!! Hm.
The Doctor is called by making a wish!!!

By the time the three astronaut guys turned up I was willing to turn it off. Then they behaved like the Marx brothers. At that point I did turn it off.

That's how bad I found it. The first time I have ever turned Doctor Who off.

Moffat did a dreadful job here, again, relying on self indulgence over presenting a quality show.

Nuff said.

[iknownewdrwhotoys]

I've got to say, This was one of the worst episodes ever, Loved the mentioning of Androzani major, Shame there wasn't some major connection, Like the wooden aliens infesting their planet or something.
For sure I couldn't write a 45 minute episode, But I think a forum team of us could have come up with a better plot than that.

[DVD]

Agreed.
It's his job to write a good script. Doh!!!
Funny how the show has stopped getting all the awards sibce he took over (Moffat).

[The Eternal Dalek]

I've got to say, This was one of the worst episodes ever, Loved the mentioning of Androzani major, Shame there wasn't some major connection, Like the wooden aliens infesting their planet or something.
For sure I couldn't write a 45 minute episode, But I think a forum team of us could have come up with a better plot than that.

The wooden aliens were from Androzani Major as well, the whole forest was and likely it was set on it as well.

Agreed.
It's his job to write a good script. Doh!!!
Funny how the show has stopped getting all the awards sibce he took over (Moffat).

Utter nonsense, the show is still getting plenty of awards, this whole thing about not getting any awards is just the papers talkign a lot of rubbish trying to sel their rubbish, as the old saying goes "Today's news, tommorow's fish and chips wrapper". Besides, how many awards did the classic series get? How many BAFTA nominations did Christopher Eccelston or David tennant get for their performances as the Doctor? The argument falls down disasterouslly the second you start looking into it.

[sutekh123]

Now that was a review.

thanks

[6DoctorWhoDan7]

This is my favourite Christmas Special
changed i only really liked the last 5 mins properly