December 25th, 2011
153 comments
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What Did You Think Of The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe?
Now that 2011 Doctor Who Christmas special, The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe is over what did you think of it? Was it the best of worst yet.
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JimJim
December 28th, 2011 - 8:15amSlow and rather lacklustre,lots was made of the guest appearances in this episode Bailey,Weir,Armstrong etal, but all were very underused in a rather pedestrian script. I think the whole Christmas theme is starting to get a bit tired, I for one would much rather see the season finale broadcast on xmas day, the last scene at Amy’s house would have had far more punch at the end of this episode. I,m rather afraid for the 50th Anniversary turning into a confused emotional mess and long to be proved wrong.
fish
December 27th, 2011 - 10:48pmrussel t needs to come back and give this series the kick up the backside it needs. recent episodes (well the last 2 series really) seem not to accomplish anything. nothing really happens and theyre somewhat underwhelming and lacklustre. this special is definately the culmination of this downward spiral…
Steve Maude
December 27th, 2011 - 8:46pmI wouldn’t say I hated it but when talking about the Christmas special, the clue really is in the name. For sure there was plenty of Christmas but really nothing special. As a standalone episode it fails to live up to some of the Doctor ‘light’ stories of the RTD era that left us feeling a little cheated at the time. I’ll be waiting for next years box set rather than rushing out to buy the one off Blu Ray, then I’ll skip to the next story.
outnumbered
December 27th, 2011 - 8:31pmi really liked it but i did not like it. i mean the monsters were bad and i mean really bad the acting was good. but please fire moffat. his storys are so confusing. i really dont like river song and hate that she his amy and rorys child. the monsters have all ways been bad since moffat came to the show. so doctor who is going down the bad road
Steve Maude
December 27th, 2011 - 8:28pmIn one word disappointing. Acting, direction and production values all discharged with the usual polish and all wasted on an uncommonly poor story.
The characters were one dimensional and the plot development just plain obvious. Masses of time wasted on fantastic exploding space ships that were not essential to the plot and wonderful bedroom sets that look like they cost a fortune but did little to enhance the story.
The misuse of Bill Bailey was as shameful as the nod to Androzani Major was shameless and both were ruefully unexplored.
Last year we knew how the story was going to work out but there were any number of ways to get there. This year it was pretty clear to anyone who had read the Radio Times and watched the first five minutes of the show.
The problem is that the show has gone in the wrong direction and left unchecked we could be easily heading back to the bad old days Pip and Jane baker.
The actors are fine, the production values are excellent. However it will need some more Girls in Fireplaces and fewer unexplained magic boxes if the show is going to be around to celebrate it’s 50th anniversary in 2013.
The audience is older and more sophisticated than it has been before, one simply can not throw this kind of lack luster effort out and expect to get away with it in 2011.
jedi jim
December 27th, 2011 - 7:36pmBesides being the WORST EPISODE (let alone Christmas special!) EVER!!! Moffat owes C.S.Lewis a major apology!!
The Tardis
December 27th, 2011 - 7:32pmI like Doctor Who because Iv’e go all of the classic series and the New Series of it
and I like Matt Smiths Doctor because Matt Smiths Doctor is (Breleynet) if thats how you spell it.
Anonymous
December 27th, 2011 - 5:23pmthat is most true!! this is very strange but your comment on the episode was exactly what my friend jeffery (drwhofanindatardis) said!
Tick Tock goes the Clock
December 27th, 2011 - 3:55pmIt was good but extremely dull in places.Not that impressed
Ther Moffat Paradox
December 27th, 2011 - 3:35pmYes the REAL Doctor Who was when kids asked to watch it ONLY if it didn’t frighten them seeing someone being swallowed up by a sofa made of living plastic created by the Nestine Consciousness as Roger Delgado’s Master looked malevolently on.
Now its too often a cringing cross between slapstic Carry On Films (with over the top LOUD music)and Lost.
And the people who have creative control today CLAIM to be fans.
Turn down the volume and jazz up the stories (its supposed to be a suspenseful drama)to be worthy of the true potential of the Doctor Who universe is what is expected.
Oh and if you want to do a GOOD story arc over a series then see the original Dalek Master Plan or the Dominion War in Star Trek Deep Space 9.
I’ll take back the last paragraph if Steven Moffat effectively silences us with relevations and amazing plot developments in series 7 that also make sense of everything from series 5-6 but I remain to be convinced that just isn’t expecting pigs to fly.
Commander Strax
December 27th, 2011 - 1:39pmlook down for how he surived
Commander Strax
December 27th, 2011 - 1:37pmtrees were the space rocket
Commander Strax
December 27th, 2011 - 1:36pmIn victory of the daleks, bracewell [rember hes a robot] built gravtiy bubbles so planes could fly though the vortex.
Commander Strax
December 27th, 2011 - 1:28pmIn the brill book he said hes done 1 and doing 2
Commander Strax
December 27th, 2011 - 1:23pmand WHY NO S7 TRAILER?!
Commander Strax
December 27th, 2011 - 1:22pmit was the best xmas spical ever. It had everything in it,including a great scene with the ponds.
Such a smame it came 4th in the viewing figures.eastenders was rubbish!
Charlie the Wonder Horse
December 27th, 2011 - 10:32amToo sentimental. I know that the Christmas specials are meant to be light-hearted romps but seriously?! With the kid going through a box into a winter wonderland, I was half-expecting some sort of homage to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe but it just went badly wrong in the second half. Trees with star souls? A lost bomber guided home to a safe landing by a mystical light? And the kids looked nothing like each other or their parents! Terrible!
Nigel M
December 27th, 2011 - 10:25amI didn’t like either of Moffat’s xmas’ specials, this one felt rushed to say the least. I agree the interior of the Tardis looks like someone took all the leftovers from the BBC props department and stuck them together.
As for the program itself, I do appreciate that it’s a matter of personal opinion. Mine is simple, that Doctor Who is supposed to be serious science fiction and not “dumbed-down” to give the inevitable happy ending just because it’s christmas. You didn’t see that approach in Eastenders did you ?
I don’t think Moffat is that bad, he’s written some very good stories and I actually liked the last series more than the previous one. I do think they need to vet the scripts better to pick up holes in basic logic, as several people (including myself) have pointed out on this page.
Dean Pickersgill
December 27th, 2011 - 9:54amI was embarrassed. Been a fan since S01E01, and I’ve seen every episode ever made. Doesn’t make me unique, I know, but it does qualify my opinion, which I can assure you is less than favourable. Smith makes the Doctor appear like an imbecile, completely reliant on his ‘companions’ to save the day. The steam-punk additions to the Tardis (a very important character pretty much missing from this “special”) such as a clutch-and-brake oil tank and a pre-electronic typewriter make it look childish, serve no purpose and detract from the notion that this is a state of the art Time distortion device. Enemies and villans have become completely un-threatening. In aeons past it would take four or five people to tackle a Dalek – nowadays it seems they’re easily foiled by kind words and the offer of an oil-bath. Amy Pond is a pointless companion – did anyone notice her missing from this years special? Two minutes at the end really convinced me she was essential to the plot. I can’t find any redeeming factor in this Christmas edition OR any post-Tennant episodes. When I was a kid Doctor Who would have me diving behind the sofa. It’s more likely to send todays kids to sleep on it.
Admiral Icktheus
December 27th, 2011 - 9:41amyeah I can see what you’re saying but the show has a slightly more classic feel now.
nytro
December 27th, 2011 - 8:25amWithout doubt the worst ever Dr Who episode, and definitely the worst docotor EVER!!. I have been watching Dr Who from the start but this episode was total rubbish I had to shut off. I Understand that it’s all individual perspective; however Matt Smith is ruining the whole persona of the doctor. The sooner he goes the better
Paul
December 26th, 2011 - 11:25pmAbsolutely gutted… I was looking forward to this all day; I’ve seen a few episodes with the new doctor and haven’t been very impressed so far. And after that Christmas special abomination, I feel compelled to talk.
I’m left totally stunned and shocked by what I saw, how & why has this happened? The people who worked & wrote on Dr Who in the Tennant days must have the head-in-their hands in disbelief, all their work making the show a number 1 hit is being ruined – the whole Dr Who Franchise could be in shatters with this new writer & team at the helm, it’s quite worrying.
I do like the new Dr, it’s everything else that annoys me, for instance, the start of the show you see the Doctor flying through the vacuum of Space, breathing and climbs in a space suit, he then somehow cuts through the planets atmosphere, survives the sub zero temperatures (again without any air) then falls 70,000 feet at 150mph towards the ground and lands it. WTF !! I was left with my mouth open for 10 minutes. I still can’t believe it now! I wonder if the people at the BBC are concerned, or even worried for the shows future.
I was grateful for not having to endure Amy & Rory for the whole episode which was a bonus. But I still heard that same stupid backing music every time the so called action scenes picked up. If I hear it once more, I will literally vomit in my hands and throw-it at the screen.
And for those so called Dr Who fans that enjoyed the show well… they must be complete morons, I’ll go as far as to say their traitors, and not Doctor Who fans at all! They’re Simple people. They’re things you Can and Can’t do in the realms of Doctor who… so if you can’t grasp the concept then keep quiet. We’re trying to save Doctor Who here! Your positive feedback isn’t helping matters! Shame on you. Any devoted Dr Who follower knows how bad the Christmas Special was.
I feel so much better now I have that off my chest.
dw2005
December 26th, 2011 - 11:24pmI want the ponds out too, new companions please!
dw2005
December 26th, 2011 - 11:23pmI think that doctor who should go back to what it used to be in 1963-2009 Since 2010, it’s just gone downhill. It has nothing to do with matt smith or any other actors, it’s steven moffat!
dw205
December 26th, 2011 - 11:19pmRTD’s era was in opinion much better than steven moffat’s.
dw205
December 26th, 2011 - 11:18pmI want the pods out too, new companions please!
dw205
December 26th, 2011 - 11:18pmAnd that is precisely why I disliked this christmas special.
Admiral Icktheus
December 26th, 2011 - 9:29pmMoffat has already begun writing episode 1. Filming begins in mid Febrauy 😀
doctorwhofan27
December 26th, 2011 - 8:48pmbut all life from the forest survived.
McGann is the Doctor.
December 26th, 2011 - 8:42pmHarry’s funny review ! :
I had my doubts about this years special, but it wasn’t really as bad as it could have been 😆 I mean, the acting was sometimes wobbly, but the Doctor was played very well by Matt Smith, that was great, the story was exccellent as was the ending. ❗
The only bad thing about the story was really, how uneasy it made you feel at first, the family (a mad widow, a rather dorky son, and the mean girl) tended to make me feel VERY uneasy, very embarrased to watch. But it got very good as it progressed, I enjoyed it alot ! 😀