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The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILERS

Grade "The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe"?

  • Total voters
    137
  • Poll closed .
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Lonemagpie said:
^ Um, where do you get the Doctor having a home with Amy and Rory from? He went there because Madge said *they* shouldn't be without him at Xmas...
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the Doctor crying because he was happy, and the fact Amy and Rory always set a place to him.

I cant be the only one.
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Fish Fingers and Custard, I really liked it and after the very good but also very bloated and over complicated special from last year this was pleasantly simple and staightforward, and after the series we've had that's probably not a bad call from Moffat. Would have given in Best Christmas Ever but I thought it lagged a bit at the start, and yeah Bill Bailey and co were a bit superfluous but still...

Best bits...

The pre-title sequence which was, I'm guessing, a homage to the pretitle sequence of Moonraker (Bond flew after a parachute, the Doctor flies after a space suit)

The Doctor with his helmet on the wrong way round.

Hot...cold...lemonade.

The whole wool/sidearm gag and the punchline when Madge pulled a Webley.

LANCASTER BOMBER!

The fact it started out very lion witch wardrobe but thankfully changed tack into its own story

the whole of the last 10/15 minutes, damn thing almost had me shedding a tear a couple of times, from MAdge's "Don't make me watch" right the way through to the Doctor shedding a tear of his own.

And yeah, Amy looked fantastic here (nice jumper!) and has Rory changed his hair again? So another 2 years have passed...I'm surprised Amy isn't about 50 by now.

Oh yeah, and the best bit of the whole thing?

Matt Smith. :)

Merry Christmas everyone...
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Mildly diverting Xmas fluff, I suppose. Not as bad as last year's crapfest of an Xmas episode. They could have done more with Bill Baily and Alexander Armstrong. That was a waste of a Bailey, that was.
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Mildly diverting Xmas fluff, I suppose.
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Pretty much my thoughts, and slightly disappointing for it, but I imagine I may like it a bit more on another viewing without the high expectations I had from last years outing, which I actually really liked.

The best bit though? The ending. Made the whole thing worth it. It was really lovely to see the Doctor and the Ponds back together again, and the Doctor happy-crying was very touching. Good work from Matt there.
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I also got the whole 'moonraker' vibe from the pre-titles sequence, alas beyond that point it was just a bit "meh" frankly. Smith had some lovely moments ("I know") and the General banter levels were fun, it just didn't really connect on any level when it was trying to be touching - the ending just felt like a tacked-on "and here's the contractually obliged Amy & Rory scene!"
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Three Wise Doctors said:
the whole of the last 10/15 minutes, damn thing almost had me shedding a tear a couple of times, from MAdge's "Don't make me watch" right the way through to the Doctor shedding a tear of his own.
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Believe me, you were not the only one. Even though I was somewhat expecting the guy in the plane to turn up it still tugged, no wait, yanked at the heartstrings.
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Average for me, best bit was the doctors tour of the house. The rest was a bit meh.
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I haven't finished watching it (It's recording) but I tried to watch the first half hour, and fell asleep. The first 15 or so minutes were pretty good, but then it just started wandering and I'm wondering if since I hosted Christmas today if I'm just tired. Might give it another go later tonight or later this week just to see.
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Not the best Christmas special (I think I liked "A Christmas Carol" better), but very well-done overall. It's nice how Moffat's specials are much smaller and more character-driven than they were in the past. I found RTD's "something threatens Earth at Christmastime" schtick to be a bit much by the end of his run.
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Dreadfully boring. I felt zero connection to these characters. The tugging at heartstrings parts were all completely transparent and forced cliches. I enjoyed the part with Amy and rory.

Above all, I'm not 12. Enough with the magical fairy tale ambiance already. And that goes for all of Matt Smith's tenure, not just Christmas.

Edited to add: it's not because I don't like the storytelling nature of the Christmas stories. I enjoyed last year's Xmas carol. This ep was just bad.
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I missed a portion of the Christmas special watching something else. But I get to see the ending and it was just fantastic. It truly warmed my heart to see Amy and Rory again, and I think it touched the Doctor's hearts when Amy said that they always set up a place for him at the dinner table. The Doctor says he doesn't have a family but the truth is Amy, Rory, and all the other friends of the Doctor, past and present, are his family in a sense.

I just wish there can be a Christmas special or a regular Doctor Who episode in which the Doctor isn't fighting aganist some alien threat and is just having fun or hanging out in some other time or place.
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I voted "Best..." even though I don't think this particular special was quite warranted that rating. Still, it was thoroughly engaging in a couple of different ways. The homage to CS Lewis was fun and not overplayed. At times it was a little confusing as to just what was in those "ornaments".... but that ultimately was no problem. The mention of "Androzani" was a very nice touch, though it'd have been nice to know if it was Minor or Major. Overall,l truly enjoyed it. From the madcap Doctor-as-Caretaker tour of the new house through his scolding my Madge and showing up on Amy & Rory's doorstep.

Delightful and a nice bit of Christmas candy!
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Better than I thought it would be, but I did not like the ending. This might be coming only from my cousins' experience this month, but I don't think it's right to tell the little kids that their dad actually is going to come home after he died on a mission.
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

An enjoyable and simple fluff which (I admit) is a nice turn after last season and last year's Christmas special but not much more. I'm torn on the whole "wife saving the husband" bit because I would have preferred seeing the family dealing with the hardships of war and all, but I guess that's not the point as being a light Christmas story. The rest of the episode was an unsophisticated romp in saving the trees but I would have liked to know more about them and not just because I would have cared more about them being saved (although I did love "The End of the World" callback). Lastly, I agree with others that it was good that only the setup reflected Narnia before telling its own story. Not quite as good as "The Christmas Carol" but better than all of RTD's Christmas specials.
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I liked it, but there were bits that were on the simple side. Although there were some good lines I thought
"I'm blind!" And, "Where's mum?" "Out" just to have a few

I did like 'Christmas Carol' better, but this was still good and worth the watch I thought
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Thought it was fantastic myself. Sure it was wacky and ridiculous as all hell... but somehow I still found myself completely enchanted by the whole thing.

It was cool seeing the Doctor go out of his way to try to cheer up this family, and the idea of a Christmas Planet was kind of inspired. And of course the final scene with Amy was charming as all hell.

Chess Piece Face said:
Above all, I'm not 12. Enough with the magical fairy tale ambiance already. And that goes for all of Matt Smith's tenure, not just Christmas.
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I'm not 12 either, but personally I can't get enough of this "magical fairy tale ambiance." For one thing, it's a refreshing change of pace from all the other scifi out there. And plus, for whatever reason, Matt's Doctor just seems to be MUCH more in his element in crazy, whimsical stories like these versus fighting Daleks and Cybermen or the boring alien invasion of the week.
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Cute episode. Very straight forward with an expected ending, but sweet nonetheless. Last year had a clever episode that bogged down in itself a bit too much, so this was on the other end of the spectrum. But it was still a pleasant episode.
 
Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I enjoyed better than last year but not better than christmas invasion which is my favorite.
 
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