December 25th, 2015
99 comments
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What Did You Think of The Husbands of River Song ?
Now that the 2015 Christmas Special The Husbands of River Song has aired what did you think? Was it everything you had hoped for or not what you expected….
It’s Christmas Day on a remote human colony and the Doctor is hiding from Christmas Carols and Comedy Antlers. But when a crashed spaceship calls upon the Doctor for help, he finds himself recruited into River Song’s squad and hurled into a fast and frantic chase across the galaxy.
King Hydroflax (Greg Davies) is furious, and his giant Robot bodyguard is out of control and coming for them all! Will Nardole (Matt Lucas) survive? And when will River Song work out who the Doctor is?
All will be revealed on a starliner full of galactic super-villains and a destination the Doctor has been avoiding for a very long time.
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Obsie
December 27th, 2015 - 10:37amDidn’t like at all, River seemed out of place and less sparky than before. The story was far too silly even for a Christmas special. So far it holds 1st place in worst of the specials, Too talky and the music itself drowned out what was being said most of the time.
JasonisnotaRobot
December 26th, 2015 - 4:25pmIt was good. It was just some fun for Christmas and it I feel like it was a nice bookend for Rivers story if Steven doesn’t want to bring her back.
Monica
December 26th, 2015 - 4:01pmLoved it! And the fact that River had photos of all the Doctor’s faces was referenced in Tine of the Angels when she said “I’ve got pictures of all your faces. You never show up in the right order, though. I need the spotter’s guide.” So Moffat’s references are solid. They just take a while to solidify sometimes. I do wish the Sonic trowel had shown up before!
starshipalaska
December 26th, 2015 - 6:32pmOK, but when she says “You never show up in the right order” does that not suggest that she had meetings with them and they didn’t know her? So why is it so important that Tennant doesn’t know her yet when she’s probably already had that experience with plenty of other early doctors? And indeed why doesn’t Tennant remember her if he met her in his classic incarnations? Maybe it wasn’t actual meetings between River and the Classic Doctors but she really was just ‘spotting’ him?
Monica
December 26th, 2015 - 8:05pmIt just means she has pictures of him, Moffat never said she met the Doctor before 10.
Hazumu
December 26th, 2015 - 9:03pmIf you consider the Big Finish stories canon, she meets up with the 8th Doctor in ‘The Diaries of River Song’ and the forthcoming ‘Doom Coalition’ part 2… So who knows with the others.
A
December 28th, 2015 - 4:52pmOf course, if River is regularly stealing the Tardis from whichever Doctor is closest in time & space, she would need to know which one to avoid.
amy pond fan
December 26th, 2015 - 3:42pmnot impressed.. for me it made her relationship with the 11th a fake one, while he was with rory and amy she was marrying diamonds and kissing others for the sake of money…
Anonymous
December 31st, 2015 - 1:34pmYeah, but let’s face it, he only married her to save the universe!
A
December 26th, 2015 - 2:59pmGiven the nature of their timelines & the time she had left, River would not have told the whole story (spoilers) in the forest of the dead. She gave him enough hints to know when he would see her last.
As for the War Doctor, she’s his wife. Who knows what they did or said on all those trips when she was in prison? I imagine she knows quite a lot about him. There must have been some quiet time when all they did was chat.
I do agree there’s a problem with her meeting earlier Doctors than the 10th, yet just because she has pictures doesn’t mean she’s met them all. Maybe there’ll be a good explaination when she meets the 8th. Memories can be wiped.
I think the Daleks rediscovered the Doctor when they took over the church in the time of the doctor, but I may have mis-remembered that.
A
December 28th, 2015 - 4:31pmInternet nightmare! This is a reply to starshipalaska below. Oops.
RORY DOCTOR RIVER POND
December 26th, 2015 - 2:04pmI actually really enjoyed that! The plot could’ve been better, but it was worth it for tying up loose ends and having special River moments
CG
December 26th, 2015 - 12:40pmI loved it! I liked the emotional moments between River and Capaldi so loved the episode. I really wanted to see the Singing Towers so appreciated a nice happy ending to River’s storyline. I feel as though if she were to come back it would be great but if not, it was a very happy, suitable ending to a superb character. I was just about crying when I saw the boxed sonic screwdriver.
Geoff
December 27th, 2015 - 7:47pmMe too
I Stole A TARDIS
December 26th, 2015 - 12:24pmI really didn’t like it, Capaldi was fantastic, but the plot was alright, I didn’t like the dynamic between the 12th Doctor and River. Then again, no Christmas will ever beat Voyage Of The Dammed for me
doctor no more
December 26th, 2015 - 12:11pmriver had just been to manhatton so she would have been expecting the 11th doctor presumably so why didn’t this get referenced.would have been nice to have paid tribute to the 11th doctor.
Anonymous
December 27th, 2015 - 4:53pmTheir both time travellers, they can never be sure they’ll meet in the right order
AlphaOmega
December 26th, 2015 - 12:05pmYou lot don’t honestly expect a Christmas Special to be complete serious doom and gloom do you? It’s supposed to be silly, un-serious and funny.
I loved it! It was a fun romp with a touching ending – and a nice little teaser for those of us about to listen to the Diary of River Song 😀
The Moffat Paradox
December 26th, 2015 - 11:52amThe best Doctor Who Christmas specials are in my book ones like The Christmas Invasion, The Runaway Bride, The Next Doctor, The Snowmen, The Time Of The Doctor and even Last Christmas with it’s dream crabs. Why? Because I think they better mix the Christmas theme with a more effectively action packed story without being too Christmassy, schmaltzy and silly.
This met my expectations which for this years special weren’t that high to begin with.
Anonymous
December 26th, 2015 - 10:35pmSame. After crying my eyes out upon seeing Clara and the doctor literally fly to opposite ends of the universe, there wasn’t any hype to get me excited for Christmas anyway.
starshipalaska
December 26th, 2015 - 11:17amGreat episode, but it bugs me that Moffatt is so lazy with continuity. He forgets references he made in his own episodes!
Like the Daleks forgetting the Doctor in Asylum of the Daleks and then its as if it never happened in their subsequent meetings.
Or the way that in this episode River had a picture of the War Doctor even though he’s meant to be uber-secret.
Or even the fact that she had pictures of the previous Doctors, which would imply meeting a few of them (in fact we know that she meets 8 in Big Finish) so why is it such a big deal when she meets 10 in Silence in the Library and she complains about how “he hasn’t met her yet” and she’s been waiting for this day.
In fact, in The Impossible Astronaut she told Rory that she and the Doctor were travelling in reverse directions but if you look at the episodes since that one came out it hasn’t turned out like that really, only vaguely at some points.
In Forest of the Dead she said that the Doctor ‘showed up on her doorstep’ with a new haircut and a suit and took her to see Darillium. Didn’t quite turn out like that. So why did she say it that way? Its those kind of details that irritate me because Moffat is really clever but if he’s going to attempt complex stories he should be careful to join the dots as he’s written them.
I say again, loved the episode!
doctor no more
December 26th, 2015 - 11:09ambetter than last year,just,only because alex was back to tell her possibly final story.sadly all of the chemistry that she had with matt’s doctor is dead and buried when matt left and it hasn’t made it through to capaldi’s doctor.moffet could have done so much with this episode but probably to busy thinking about Sherlock!.cant believe the same cheap set was used again from face to raven ! rubbish !.not the worst special of all time but not very good.another star liner crash? is this the third now in xmas specials? bring back murray gold the music isn’t working either.
The Livin’ Shadow
December 26th, 2015 - 6:50pmI thought Murray Gold did do the music, didn’t he?
starshipalaska
December 26th, 2015 - 7:39pmMurray Gold is certainly still around!
Anonymous
December 27th, 2015 - 1:20amMurray is still the composer, he’s amazing!
doctor no more
December 28th, 2015 - 1:44pmcheck the end credits it says the music’s done and mixed by either 2 or 3 different people now and as the credit’s move on murray gold is mentioned but I think it means just the title score.you can tell it’s not the same anymore.
47
December 26th, 2015 - 10:13am“___________” Oh dear, what can I say ? Dreadful. Crass, tasteless, boring and so forth and so on. Why did they even bother to serve up this drivel ? What an opportunity the Christmas Special is to do Doctor Who at its’ best, instead we get this……oh well, I won’t lose any sleep over it, and at least it was better than the usual embarrassment of the majority of Moffat era specials…..but that aint saying much 1/10. Poor.
Malcolm Cook
December 26th, 2015 - 3:32amTime for Capaldi to go!
I don’t even want to watch Dr Who anymore!
This was a Christmas Special! What was special about it? Nothing
The feel good factor has gone, I don’t really care if Dr Who dies anymore!
Rejuvenate or Die!
The actual episode was average at best, but Capaldi is like a Killjoy!
Obviously I may seem biased, but I have tried, but refuse to watch anymore, Matt Smith reruns are the only thing in my future, unless surgery is done and done quick!
Haley
December 26th, 2015 - 4:21amU mean REGENERATE? The Doctor is the doctor, the actor doesnt matter. If you were a true fan you would love the doctor no matter what. I’m not a huge fan of Capaldi but I still admire him for working so hard to keep this show alive and living his childhood dream.
Haley
December 26th, 2015 - 4:22amWell the actor does matter. But what I’m saying is that the Doctor is the Doctor and he is one man
MC
December 26th, 2015 - 10:35amNo I really meant Rejuvenate, it’s a psychic slip from Regenerate!
Simon W
December 26th, 2015 - 11:00amI agree with you Haley. I am a big fan of the Doctor and will watch it till my dyeing day It was a lighter tone episode than last years I loved it
doctor no more
December 26th, 2015 - 11:19amgood comments,even fans of doctor who must realise the writings getting very poor and this doctors got no charisma, sadly we goin back to the late 80s when it was dire.
The Livin’ Shadow
December 26th, 2015 - 6:52pmI thought Capaldi was fun in this episode, like when he was laughing about the head in the bag, or when he was pretending to be amazed by the Tardis!
MC
December 26th, 2015 - 8:55pmThat’s what I mean, he was trying to be fun! Comedy acting is the most difficult skill and he doesn’t have it!
Capaldi is very good at drama and tragedy, if that is what the doctor has become, almost one dimensional, then so be it!
Alex Who?
December 26th, 2015 - 3:26amA lighter tone than last year’s Last Christmas but at the same time sad and bitter-sweet.
I enjoyed it and I hope everyone else did too!
The Film Guy
December 25th, 2015 - 11:49pmGot to be honest I really enjoyed it. It was a bit silly in places but it made for an all round light hearted Christmas episode, whilst still having a good story at heart. But no all in all it was really good in my opinion
Simon
December 25th, 2015 - 9:38pmIts a shame they didnt disguise the street from face the raven a bit better. They just slapped on fake snow and hoped we wouldnt notice. Even my 3 year old son noticed by saying that where clara died daddy! Apart from that i really enjoyed it.
Anonymous
December 26th, 2015 - 10:40pmIkr. I hate it when Doctor Who never makes an effort to hide those things that they hope people will overlook. It’s acc been done before. For example:
1) the garden Amy walks into in the girl who waited is the same garden missy used as “paradise”
2) the exterior of the library in forest of the dead/silence in the library two parter is the same building as the hospital Rory worked in.
3) the street Amy and Rory lived on is the same one rose’s dad got killed on
4) Clara lived in the same estate as rose did
Geez, the Who production team could try a little harder.
A
December 25th, 2015 - 9:34pmFave Christmas episode ever. A bit silly in places but that’s fine. Desparately sad in others. The Doctor spent most of the time being disgruntled by River’s behaviour only to discover she thought the relationship rather one sided. I guess emo 11th didn’t convince her but it seems reserved Doctor 12 may have.
The familiar “hello sweetie” & “spoilers” were well used I thought. And I just knew the referance to a new hair cut & suit at the singing towers was about a new regeneration.
All in all a great end to the story of River Song. While carefully done retro stories with past Doctors are always possible (Big Finish, novels, etc), I don’t think there should be any future appearances on screen (except maybe flashbacks) as she only found out about the Doctor’s new regenerations on the last (24 year) night before the Library. G’bye to River, Alex Kingston and a great & convoluted timeline.
Now then, how long ’til the start of series 10?
Anonymous
December 26th, 2015 - 10:41pmMy heart still lies with Last Christmas (no pun intended). This Christmas special has just made me even sadder about the fact that the doctor can no longer remember his impossible girl
A
December 28th, 2015 - 4:46pmThe biggest problem I have with Last Christmas is the whole it’s a dream thing. I think I’ll scream if there’s ever a Dallasesque moment wiping out the intervening story.
Chris
December 25th, 2015 - 9:13pmWhere is the doctor who energy gone from all the episodes? No gripping music. Silly sonic specs. The doctor has been lost the question is who did it? Reverse the doctor’s regeneration and run back through to Matt Smith.
The Living Shadow
December 25th, 2015 - 11:39pmNo. Going back would be stupid. Matt was amazing but his story as the Doctor is over. Capaldi is wonderful as the Doctor! I wish people would stop dwelling on their nostalgia and realise that Doctor Who isn’t going downhill.
doctor no more
December 26th, 2015 - 11:51amgoin back can be done,why not?rivers bumping into doctors in the wrong order! why cant we have a story arc where we have a different doctor in individual episodes if the storys right.this would be fantastic
The Livin’ Shadow
December 26th, 2015 - 7:02pmThat would be quite cool, or even if we had a spin-off of past Doctors! …but I bet people would hate it! It would be a different format to how the show has been, and you know how some fans can get when even little changes happen..! I
think the Doctor regenerating backwards would be stupid. Maybe for a fan-service minisode or something, but apart from that it’d ruin the flow of the show, and it’s themes of change.
The Werewolf
December 26th, 2015 - 11:55pmMatt Smith was absolutely the worst of all the Doctors. I don’t want him back for even a second. Eccleston on the other hand, well, he was simply perfect.
ThemadDalek
December 25th, 2015 - 8:40pmPlease, please, please Mr Moffat……
Resign and give someone else to write the series, like a talented writer that cares
about DW…
This may be the last of DW i ‘ll see if this is the sort of silly nonsense that passes for entertainment
The Livin’ Shadow
December 25th, 2015 - 9:44pmIt’s only a Christmas episode, they’re always not to be taken too seriously!
princebenjibella
December 25th, 2015 - 10:39pmHere Here. With every episode Moffat seems to be picking apart the legacy of Doctor Who. He spends so much time contriving ridiculous story arcs, he has forgotten that it is meant to be fun,scary and exciting. If he stays, i honestly think Doctor Who is in trouble,AGAIN.
Simon W
December 25th, 2015 - 10:56pmI think Russell T Davis should come back and do a couple of stories.
Doctor Stu
December 26th, 2015 - 12:56amSteven moffatt keeps saying he’s always inviting Davies back to write an episode but he keeps refusing
Thewhoman
December 25th, 2015 - 7:48pmHEAD IN THE BAG NOW. I wish i had a bag to put my head in! Hated it!
The Living Shadow
December 25th, 2015 - 7:41pmWhat a fun and sweet episode! I really enjoyed it!
Anonymous
December 25th, 2015 - 6:57pmBest Christmas episode ever! What was there not to like? It was brilliant, loved the ending of River Song.
Simon W
December 25th, 2015 - 6:48pmSo is this the last we will see of River Song in Dr Who? or not?
the astronaut of death
December 25th, 2015 - 6:55pmyou never know. With both Doctor Who and Steven Moffat anything can happen.
12th Doctor Fan
December 25th, 2015 - 6:42pmLoved Peter, ok plot,
The super whovian
December 25th, 2015 - 6:42pmI thought this episode was really good. The characters were interesting and the story was crazy but entertaining. The episode was a bit ridicules but ridicules in a good way so it a fun story which was not too silly. The scene were the man split his face in half was very disturbing (especially after eating a slice of cake) the idea of the market was a good idea. The ending was a little cheesy but it wouldn’t be Christmas if the episode didn’t have a happy ending and the doctor and river have a good happy ending.
So I thought this episode was a fun Christmas special and I think it will be remembered as “that decent fun Christmas episode” or “the one were a robot took peoples heads”
WFK DVD Collector 15
December 25th, 2015 - 6:20pmThe best part of the episode was when the Doctor gave River her Sonic Screwdriver. Overall, the rest was slightly below average, but better then last year.
Also, Merry Christmas to everyone, hope you all had a wonderful day! 🙂
Michael
December 25th, 2015 - 6:18pmVery good episode, Fantastic episode.
Anonymous
December 26th, 2015 - 12:05amThe feels were abundant but I really miss Clara
He can’t remember her which means he doesn’t even miss her
ianzygon
December 25th, 2015 - 6:17pmNice to see river again a ok special bit silly. But it s christmas.