The Doctor Is In!
by Matt Sernaker, Managing Editor, and Kroze Kresky, Media Editor
Get ready, because Doctor Who is back in action with the release of his most recent Christmas adventure The Doctor, The Widow, and The Wardrobe, now available to own on Blu-ray/DVD!
The opening of this holiday tale shows the audience that the Doctor has once again found himself in a bit of trouble. Trapped aboard an alien spacecraft, located miles above the Earth, seconds from exploding, the Lord of Time must act quickly to escape his latest entanglement. Crashing to Earth in just a space suit, The Doctor finds aid in Madge Arwell, who assists our hero in finding his missing Tardis. The Doctor promises to return the favor in the future…prompting the adventure of a lifetime!
Three years after her encounter with The Doctor, Madge learns that her husband Reg (a fighter pilot in WWII) has been reported Missing In Action. Determined to let her children have a positive Christmas, she takes her children to Dorset to visit relatives, only to find that The Doctor happens to be the caretaker of the house. While Midge does not recognize the Time Lord (because of the space suit he was wearing at the time), she definitely notices that something is a bit…off with the Caretaker. The Doctor has something special planned for Midge and her children (Cyril and Lily), as Cyril soon discovers that one of the boxes under the Christmas tree is actual a portal to a forest! With child-like curiosity, Cyril investigates this new land, only to find a mysterious lighthouse in the center of the forest – inhabited by a wooden humanoid creature. The Doctor quickly realizes that Cyril is missing, and along with Lily, enters the portal…only to be intercepted by a team of miners from the planet Androzani Major. It turns out that this specific planet is about to be harvested, and all the trees and life will be destroyed. Forced to deal with both these miners, and the embodiment of the forest (taking the form of wooden avatars) the Doctor must find a way to save the day once again. These creatures need a human host to save all of the life forms in the forest before they are destroyed. Can the Doctor save the forest, the kids, and a very upset Midge before it is too late?
Once again Moffat goes the route of trying to pull off a classic modern fairy tale much like last Christmas, taking inspiration from yet another classic novel: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. While this story is even more loosely put into Doctor Who than A Christmas Carol, Moffat manages to combine just enough elements from the original story, while adding his own “Moffat style” twist to make it new and exciting for everyone watching. Clare Skinner comes off first as a bit annoying and a somewhat ditzy… but as the special progresses you may yourself enjoying her more and more. Billy Bailey and Arabella Wier guest starring as the forest miners was a nice touch, but they felt severely underdeveloped considering their acting talents. Many had hoped that their contributions to the special would be more significant than what we ended up getting. Matt Smith as always nails The Doctor with all the craziness and absentmindedness as one would expect. While the special is lacking in a few places, you can definitely count on Smith’s charm and humor to always brighten a scene up and make it shine. This episode wraps up perfectly, bringing back both Karen Gillian and Arthur Darvill to The Doctor in a way that will make anyone that has been following shed a tear or two.
The video quality for the Blu-ray release is perfect without question. Doctor Who is a series that is meant to be enjoyed in High Definition. While not as musically focused as the last Christmas special, this installment also features top notch DTS-HD Audio.
Special Features
- Prequel – Moments before the beginning of the adventure, The Doctor makes a quick phone call to his absent friends
- Best of Doctor Who Featurettes- Check out these quick featurette which highlight the Best moments of The Doctor, his Companions, and the Monsters that they face weekly
Overall
While not the biggest of the Christmas specials, “The Doctor, The Widow, and The Wardrobe” was a fun tale for The Doctor, following the darker storylines of Season 6. The Doctor has definitely been off the grid for sometime after his battle with The Silence, and viewers are treated to a new, more intimate adventure, with appearances by some familiar faces.
ComicsOnline gives Doctor Who – The Doctor, The Widow, and The Wardrobe – 4 hammocks out of 5!
Want to win a copy of Doctor Who – The Doctor, The Widow, and The Wardrobe on Blu-ray? Email [email protected] with the subject: “The Trees are ALIVE!”, and include your Name and Address (contest only open to US residents).
Contest ends 2/25/12!
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