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

[Newspaper Taxi]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I think the episode would have been much improved if they wouldn't have rescued the father and the fighter plane...That, or that whole sub-plot should have been scrapped. I know saving the father makes it extra nice and happy for an ending but it felt emotionally un-true to me in a way that Nu-Who usually isn't. Death is an important thing to learn to cope with and I think it's fully within the scope of Doctor Who -- even if it is a children's program. (Bambi and The Lion King deal with it and not only get away with a G rating but are highly regarded as classics.)

If they still wanted to end the story on the high-note they could have a sort of emotional transference. I mean, The Doctor could watch as the familly decides to try to stick together and move on with their lives, while doing stuff to honor their dad's memory, and the Doctor realizes just how much one person's absence can affect a life or a familly. During the good-bye scene Marge could ask the Doctor if he has a family, and he could reply, "No. Well...Maybe. But I haven't seen them in awhile." Marge could tell him that he should treasure them as long as they're together, and that could spur the Doctor to go back and visit the Ponds. If you really wanted to get sentimental, you end with a shot of the familly hanging a fighter pilot on their tree.

Other than that major quibble, The episode entertained my family and I...which is the purpose of a Christmas special. So I'll give it, oh, 3.5 stars out of five.

 

[Samurai8472]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I was half expecting a reveal of another child in the end scene actually. Enough time had passed for Amy and Rory to have one. I loved the comment about River from Amy. Rory looked a little scruffier than usual. Amy looked just fine to me. I like the fact that Amy and Rory represent a family for the Doctor. I almost thought he was going to turn around and head back into the Tardis and leave them, not able to bring himself to be happy for once but I was pleasantly surprised that he stayed...and shed a tear of happiness. I think the end was one of those few instances since the end of the Time War where he's allowed himself to feel truly happy and not feel guilty about it.

If RTD were around probably

9th and 10th doctor's were written with the attitude of

"Nah, I don't do that sort of thing"

 

[Admiral_Young]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

^ Or I can't do that kind of thing because it brings too much pain. I think the 11th Doctor is finally starting to separate himself from the survivor's guilt his immediate predecessors suffered from.

 

[Ghost Bones]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Complete fucking shit. Spectrox toxaemia looked more fun. Doctor Who now is the result of a previously not untalented man with complete control and no one to say no to him, convinced of his own cleverness and brilliance because no one around him's going to say otherwise.

Fan- Is there no on to stop you?

Moffat- I'm not just the executive producer, i'm the winner.

Executive Producer Victorious

What does that even mean?

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Watched it and found it very meh indeed.....certainly not the best xmas special by a long shot.

And what a complete waste of Bill Bailey, Arabella Weir and Alexander Armstrong......with three stars like that the story should have revolved round them, not have them on the side lines....the comedy interaction between these three and the doctor could have made for one of the best Xmas special ever.......what a wasted opportunity.

 

[DWF]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I was half expecting a reveal of another child in the end scene actually. Enough time had passed for Amy and Rory to have one. I loved the comment about River from Amy. Rory looked a little scruffier than usual. Amy looked just fine to me. I like the fact that Amy and Rory represent a family for the Doctor. I almost thought he was going to turn around and head back into the Tardis and leave them, not able to bring himself to be happy for once but I was pleasantly surprised that he stayed...and shed a tear of happiness. I think the end was one of those few instances since the end of the Time War where he's allowed himself to feel truly happy and not feel guilty about it.

If RTD were around probably

9th and 10th doctor's were written with the attitude of

"Nah, I don't do that sort of thing"

The ninth Doctor I could see doing that but the tenth did eat Christmas dinner with Jackie, Mickey and Rose and again with Jackson Lake.

 

[Mr Awe]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Average. Sadly, this one didn't really click with me. Enjoyed the characters but the story was so meh that I really didn't get into it. The Doctor wasn't really required to resolve the storyline other than to get the other characters where they needed to be.

Enjoyed the shout out to Caves of Androzani, but it could've been any planet really. A true sequel to that story would be interesting someday but I doubt it'll ever happen.

Mr Awe

 

[Mr Awe]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I just hope it's not as boring as last year's Christmas special. That one put me to sleep!

I think you're in the minority on that one. Not only did I absolutely love "A Christmas Carol," I think it's hands down the best Doctor Who Christmas special.

I REALLY loved A Christmas Carol. What a whacked out bit of fun with some depth that was!

For me that honor goes to "The Runaway Bride." I thought it was a lot more fun.

I also really enjoyed Runaway Bride!

Mr Awe

 

[timothy]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

runaway bride! was awesome I loved it and when they ran the marathon this last saturday I can't believe I had missed a christmas carole last year and that was the first time I saw it. I liked it fun and the blonde was a hottie to boot. I love the idea of a flying shark.

now for window the guys who were in charge of burning the forest, is it me or before they took there helmets of did'nt they look like space marines from wh40k?

 

[OmahaStar]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Complete fucking shit. Spectrox toxaemia looked more fun. Doctor Who now is the result of a previously not untalented man with complete control and no one to say no to him, convinced of his own cleverness and brilliance because no one around him's going to say otherwise.

Says the man who hates Doctor Who. Color me surprised.

Anyway, I quite enjoyed it. Classic fairy tail storytelling, with shout-outs to the beginning of my Doctor's era plus Nine's early stories. Could have done without the Amy/Rory ending ... Would rather have had another previous companion shown, but since they're under contract and all, it was probably cheaper to have them.

Love the idea that the mother's love is the strongest magic of all ... big old shout out to Harry Potter right there.

Fun story, decent story-telling, and a trip to Narnia thrown in for good measure. I liked it.

 

[The Wormhole]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

is it me or before they took there helmets of did'nt they look like space marines from wh40k?

More like Master Chief, I thought.

 

[Stevil2001]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I liked it all right. Bits with the Doctor-as-Mad-Caretaker were the best; dragged a bit once it got into the forest.

I thought the Tree King and Queen looked amazing; shame we didn't see more of them. On the other hand, the mech stomping through the forest is one of the few effects that have jarred me out of New Who.

 

[Cutter John]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I thought the Tree King and Queen looked amazing; shame we didn't see more of them. On the other hand, the mech stomping through the forest is one of the few effects that have jarred me out of New Who.

Only problem I had with the platform was the old "How do you make a tripod walk?" connundrum. Honestly engineers, just spend the money to build a forth leg!

 

[Samurai8472]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I was half expecting a reveal of another child in the end scene actually. Enough time had passed for Amy and Rory to have one. I loved the comment about River from Amy. Rory looked a little scruffier than usual. Amy looked just fine to me. I like the fact that Amy and Rory represent a family for the Doctor. I almost thought he was going to turn around and head back into the Tardis and leave them, not able to bring himself to be happy for once but I was pleasantly surprised that he stayed...and shed a tear of happiness. I think the end was one of those few instances since the end of the Time War where he's allowed himself to feel truly happy and not feel guilty about it.

If RTD were around probably

9th and 10th doctor's were written with the attitude of

"Nah, I don't do that sort of thing"

The ninth Doctor I could see doing that but the tenth did eat Christmas dinner with Jackie, Mickey and Rose and again with Jackson Lake.

But after losing Rose he went back to the

"Nah, I don't do that sort of thing" attitude.

 

[Captaindemotion]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I voted Fish Fingers and Custard. It was better than last year's outing, but no classic.

To be honest, I would say that few of the DW Xmas specials, with the exception of Tennant's swansong two years ago (2 years?! Already?!) have been out-and-out classics. They're at best a fun piece of escapism, tailored for a wider audience and painted with a broad brush (nice mixed metaphors). This one did have some nice moments and Smith was great as always. Nice to see the Ponds, however briefly.

Mind you, casting Alexander Armstrong as a WWII RAF pilot? Am I the only one who kept expecting Ben Miller to turn up and for them to do their pilot characters from the sketch show? The ones who talk in 'yoof-speak'?

 

[davejames]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Only problem I had with the platform was the old "How do you make a tripod walk?" connundrum. Honestly engineers, just spend the money to build a forth leg!

Maybe it was cheaper just to have the 3 legs.

Personally I thought it was a pretty cool looking design.

 

[Count Zero]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

I finally managed to watch it. After giving up on the new show after the first half of the last series I thought it might be a good opportunity to see whether I should get back into it.
My verdict: Meh. What a heap of nonsense. There were some nice scenes and touches and the scene with Amy and Rory was quite moving. The visuals were great, too. But all in all, it just fell flat for me and the story just required too much acceptance of random plot moves and suspension of disbelief.

 

[Australis]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

^ Which is what I meant by flabby writing earlier. The whole thing could have been so much tighter and therefore a bit more fun.

 

[Kanenas]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

It could have been done TOTALLY without the whole tree part. Just end with the caretaker, cut the middle out, and presto dad lands the airplane (with no crew present and the airplane props in perfect "Y" alignment, and Doctor zips off with a quick hug and a "just returning the favor". the end.

10 minutes tops instead of the long draw out drivel.

 

[StalwartUK]

Re: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe(Grading/Discussion) SPOILER

Bit of a letdown really. Not quite as dreadful as I had expected but it did seem very clichéd. It's like they didn't even try. They just took a random bunch of ideas and threw them together. You could see the ending from a million miles away.

The end with Amy & Roy really annoyed me. I know they'll be back next series. Just like Rose they're now destined to pop back every series with a dramatic goodbye scene every time.

With the current state of the show Doctor Who will most likely be limping along by the time the 50th anniversary comes around.