The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe is perhaps the more Christmasy of the Matt Smith Christmas Specials. It has all the elements of a Christmas story: life, family togetherness, goodwill, love, and even a winter wonderland. The sentient Christmas tree forest whispering to itself has a rather magical feel to it, the sort of feel any good Christmas story should produce.
There's a very interesting parallel in the story. I've never read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, so I'm not sure how much of it comes from there, but both the Arwells and the forest are evacuating from things falling from the sky. Madge, Lily, and Cyril and evacuating the city to escape from the bombing, and the forest is evacuating the planet to escape from the acid rain. I'm not sure if this is supposed to have any meaning, but it is a very nice bit of subtlety.
The episode also contains a very nice reference to the classic series. The three people in the harvester were from the planet Androzani Major, while the events of The Caves of Androzani took place on the planet Androzani Minor. These two planets constitute a dual planet system, where they orbit each other around their mutual center of mass while simultaneously orbiting around their sun (much like the Earth and the Moon). It is never actually stated what planet The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe takes place on, but the trees there are Androzani trees, suggesting they were imported for harvesting from Androzani Major/Minor.
Showing posts with label Countdown to Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Countdown to Christmas. Show all posts
Monday, December 24, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Countdown to Christmas - A Christmas Carol Review
A Christmas Carol marks the beginning of the Steven Moffat Christmas Specials. I don't like his Christmas Specials as much as Davies' due to the fact that he bases them off existing Christmas tales. For most shows, that would have the effect of creating a very Christmasy story, but with Doctor Who, that doesn't really happen. The stories are too sci-fi to retain most of their Christmasy feel. I also feel that Doctor Who is a strong enough show to not have to steal plots from other writers.
Putting aside the discrimination and moving on to the actual merits of the show, A Christmas Carol is a very good romp that puts aside all the story arcs and continuity and just lets you enjoy the show. We had just gotten off a very arc-intensive season, and before going into another season with an even more complex story arc, we get to sit back and relax with this episode. There's no mention of any of the events of the previous season, no hints of the next, no story arcs or continuity whatsoever. The viewer doesn't have to worry about that they can just enjoy the episode without having to think about it.
I feel like having Abigail turn out to be terminally ill was a brilliant idea by Steven Moffat. The Doctor is lead to believe that his efforts have failed and that Kazran still grew up to be a bitter old man, when he was actually saving the love of his life. The Doctor becomes ever more desperate trying to save Amy and Rory, while Kazran continually dismisses them. It is only when he realizes how much like his father he is that Kazran agrees to let Abigail die so that the starliner can land safely. It kind of shows how powerful the force of love is, and that it can prevail over even the Christmas spirit. It's only his fear of himself that allows Kazran to overcome his love and save the people on the starliner.
Putting aside the discrimination and moving on to the actual merits of the show, A Christmas Carol is a very good romp that puts aside all the story arcs and continuity and just lets you enjoy the show. We had just gotten off a very arc-intensive season, and before going into another season with an even more complex story arc, we get to sit back and relax with this episode. There's no mention of any of the events of the previous season, no hints of the next, no story arcs or continuity whatsoever. The viewer doesn't have to worry about that they can just enjoy the episode without having to think about it.
I feel like having Abigail turn out to be terminally ill was a brilliant idea by Steven Moffat. The Doctor is lead to believe that his efforts have failed and that Kazran still grew up to be a bitter old man, when he was actually saving the love of his life. The Doctor becomes ever more desperate trying to save Amy and Rory, while Kazran continually dismisses them. It is only when he realizes how much like his father he is that Kazran agrees to let Abigail die so that the starliner can land safely. It kind of shows how powerful the force of love is, and that it can prevail over even the Christmas spirit. It's only his fear of himself that allows Kazran to overcome his love and save the people on the starliner.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Countdown to Christmas - The End of Time Review
The End of Time is one of my top four Doctor Who stories of all time. It has it all: the Master, the Time Lords, the Time War, Daleks, Torchwood, the Ood, regeneration, Gallifrey, Wilf, Donna, Sylvia, Rose, Jackie, Martha, Mickey, Captain Jack, a possible explanation for the Series 5 story arc, and even Midshipman Alonso Frame. It's about as epic as it gets.
The story couldn't possibly get any more epic. It starts out with an epic enough villain, the Master. In the final seconds of part one, and even more epic part is revealed: the involvement of the Time Lords. After over four and half years of wondering, we finally get to find out how the Time War ended and why the Doctor was the only Time Lord to survive. It was hinted as far back as The Sound of Drums that the Doctor was the one who ended the war, but now we find that out for sure. We finally learn why the war ended the way it did, and of course it doesn't get any more epic than saving every other lifeform in the multiverse. And then, to top off all that epicness, we get to peak at all the companions so far in the new series.
The Doctor knows from the beginning that the Master is important in the destruction of time that the Ood foresaw. His first thought is to find the Master and keep close to him whatever happens. This isn't just because he knows that the events of the episode center around the Master. The Doctor has already become the last Time Lord three times, and he doesn't want it to happen a fourth time, he wants to protect the Master. He may or may not have homosexual feelings for the Master, he just hates the feeling of becoming the last member of his species. Despite his attempts to save the Master, in the end, he is let down. He even thinks he's saved himself from his fate, but he's let down from that as well. He's more let down in this episode than he ever has been in his entire life.
The story couldn't possibly get any more epic. It starts out with an epic enough villain, the Master. In the final seconds of part one, and even more epic part is revealed: the involvement of the Time Lords. After over four and half years of wondering, we finally get to find out how the Time War ended and why the Doctor was the only Time Lord to survive. It was hinted as far back as The Sound of Drums that the Doctor was the one who ended the war, but now we find that out for sure. We finally learn why the war ended the way it did, and of course it doesn't get any more epic than saving every other lifeform in the multiverse. And then, to top off all that epicness, we get to peak at all the companions so far in the new series.
The Doctor knows from the beginning that the Master is important in the destruction of time that the Ood foresaw. His first thought is to find the Master and keep close to him whatever happens. This isn't just because he knows that the events of the episode center around the Master. The Doctor has already become the last Time Lord three times, and he doesn't want it to happen a fourth time, he wants to protect the Master. He may or may not have homosexual feelings for the Master, he just hates the feeling of becoming the last member of his species. Despite his attempts to save the Master, in the end, he is let down. He even thinks he's saved himself from his fate, but he's let down from that as well. He's more let down in this episode than he ever has been in his entire life.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Countdown to Christmas - The Next Doctor Review
The Next Doctor is perhaps the most Christmasy Doctor Who Special, being the only one where it actually snows on Earth. I also feel that it has more Christmas spirityness than the other David Tennant Christmas Specials, which I think is due to the fact that the very first opening scene is a Christmas Eve celebration in a town market, and it gets you in the mood for the rest of the episode. The fact that it's snowing throughout the episode helps remind you that it is actually Christmas, which can be very easy to forget in some of the other David Tennant Specials.
This is one of the only Doctor Who episodes with an element of mysteriousness in it. You immediately meet this man who calls himself the Doctor, and while you want him to be the next regeneration of the Doctor and you want this to be how future Doctors are introduced now, deep down in your heart you just know he isn't the Doctor. So the entire episode you're left wondering why this man thinks he's the Doctor, until it's finally explained. It's one of the few instances in Doctor Who where something grabs your attention and you're left wondering about it the rest of the episode until the Doctor figures it out.
This episode, despite being penned by Russell T. Davies, marks the beginning of the Series 5 story arc. The Cybermen and Cyberking were all erased from history and no human appeared to be aware of them afterwards. The Daleks of Season 4 were also erased, which could make that the start of the Series 5 story arc. The problem is that they were not erased immediately as evidenced by their mention in the later episode, Planet of the Dead. So Davies participated in Moffat's storyline without so much as a whisper about it until the end of Flesh and Stone. This again illustrates Davies' strength for taking long-term story arcs and embedding them very subtly into episodes.
This is one of the only Doctor Who episodes with an element of mysteriousness in it. You immediately meet this man who calls himself the Doctor, and while you want him to be the next regeneration of the Doctor and you want this to be how future Doctors are introduced now, deep down in your heart you just know he isn't the Doctor. So the entire episode you're left wondering why this man thinks he's the Doctor, until it's finally explained. It's one of the few instances in Doctor Who where something grabs your attention and you're left wondering about it the rest of the episode until the Doctor figures it out.
This episode, despite being penned by Russell T. Davies, marks the beginning of the Series 5 story arc. The Cybermen and Cyberking were all erased from history and no human appeared to be aware of them afterwards. The Daleks of Season 4 were also erased, which could make that the start of the Series 5 story arc. The problem is that they were not erased immediately as evidenced by their mention in the later episode, Planet of the Dead. So Davies participated in Moffat's storyline without so much as a whisper about it until the end of Flesh and Stone. This again illustrates Davies' strength for taking long-term story arcs and embedding them very subtly into episodes.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Countdown to Christmas - Voyage of the Damned Review
Voyage of the Damned is an interesting sequel to Last of the Time Lords and Time Crash. It serves to bridge the gap between Martha and Donna, and at that it does a very good job.
The Doctor has just lost the Master and is once again alone in the universe as a Time Lord. Not only that, but he has just said goodbye to both Martha and Captain Jack. He's also just had a run-in with his past self, and I think at this point he really doesn't want to be alone. He sees the cruise ship with the happy people and the Christmas celebration, and he decides to just indulge himself and be happy for once. The Doctor meets Astrid Peth, and in desperate need of a companion, immediately invites her to go traveling with him. He just wants a friend, and he sees her and doesn't give it a second thought.
Voyage of the Damned is very different to any other new series Doctor Who episode. The companion, along with all of the other characters except Wilf and the Queen are aliens. No human has a significant role in the episode for the first time since Romana's era. Unfortunately, time periods and species can be a very gray area in the classic series, so it can be hard to tell which of her episodes was the last not to feature humans. So the story tries something out that hasn't been tried in Doctor Who since the early 1980s, and it does it quite well. At almost any other time in the new series it would have been very hard to to this and not have it be rather cheesy, because it would have entailed getting rid of the companion. The writers saw an opportunity to have an almost entirely human-free episode, and they took it. Russell T. Davies could have chosen to make it entirely human free, but instead chose to use his true genius for subtle long-term story arcs to introduce Wilf without really introducing him, then leave us all wondering in the very next episode. Also without the ever-present need to up ratings (which I really despise and thankfully is not very present in Doctor Who), he could have removed the part where the Titanic almost crashes into Buckingham Palace. So in the end, Voyage of the Damned is a very good storyline that hadn't been tried in a while with a bit of genius added in.
The Doctor has just lost the Master and is once again alone in the universe as a Time Lord. Not only that, but he has just said goodbye to both Martha and Captain Jack. He's also just had a run-in with his past self, and I think at this point he really doesn't want to be alone. He sees the cruise ship with the happy people and the Christmas celebration, and he decides to just indulge himself and be happy for once. The Doctor meets Astrid Peth, and in desperate need of a companion, immediately invites her to go traveling with him. He just wants a friend, and he sees her and doesn't give it a second thought.
Voyage of the Damned is very different to any other new series Doctor Who episode. The companion, along with all of the other characters except Wilf and the Queen are aliens. No human has a significant role in the episode for the first time since Romana's era. Unfortunately, time periods and species can be a very gray area in the classic series, so it can be hard to tell which of her episodes was the last not to feature humans. So the story tries something out that hasn't been tried in Doctor Who since the early 1980s, and it does it quite well. At almost any other time in the new series it would have been very hard to to this and not have it be rather cheesy, because it would have entailed getting rid of the companion. The writers saw an opportunity to have an almost entirely human-free episode, and they took it. Russell T. Davies could have chosen to make it entirely human free, but instead chose to use his true genius for subtle long-term story arcs to introduce Wilf without really introducing him, then leave us all wondering in the very next episode. Also without the ever-present need to up ratings (which I really despise and thankfully is not very present in Doctor Who), he could have removed the part where the Titanic almost crashes into Buckingham Palace. So in the end, Voyage of the Damned is a very good storyline that hadn't been tried in a while with a bit of genius added in.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Countdown to Christmas - The Runaway Bride Review
This is one of my top-two favorite Christmas Specials, and here's why.
Mainly, I just like any episode where none of the characters have ever met the Doctor before and have no idea what he's capable of. Donna has just met the Doctor, and after learning he's an alien, just blows him off as some weird Martian before learning who he truly is.
There's a lot of character development with Donna in this episode. She starts out as some snobby Londoner with a limited world-view, before evolving into someone who sees the universe for what it really is. Donna goes from someone obsessed with tabloid news, celebrities, and whatever the latest fad is (at least that's how Lance describes her) to someone who wants to go out and do good in the universe (as evidenced in Partners in Crime). The Doctor shows her a better way of living, and I think Lance's comments about the Racnoss Empress showing him the universe helped, too.
We also get to see once again how kind and caring the Doctor is. Rather than whine and grovel the whole time about Rose, he puts all those emotions aside to help Donna. The Doctor lives in the moment and in that moment, he set aside his own feelings to help this complete stranger get married and save her life. This shows how selfless the Doctor is, always willing to put himself aside to help others, no matter who they are. The episode highlights the Doctor's fundamental philosophy that it is always better to help another person because you can always help yourself another day.
I also like the little details as well. Things such as the fact that the Battle of Canary Wharf was two months ago, which puts that episode sometime in October 2007. That, and the robot Santas (pilot fish drones) that only ever appeared in Christmas Specials and not in any other episodes.
Mainly, I just like any episode where none of the characters have ever met the Doctor before and have no idea what he's capable of. Donna has just met the Doctor, and after learning he's an alien, just blows him off as some weird Martian before learning who he truly is.
There's a lot of character development with Donna in this episode. She starts out as some snobby Londoner with a limited world-view, before evolving into someone who sees the universe for what it really is. Donna goes from someone obsessed with tabloid news, celebrities, and whatever the latest fad is (at least that's how Lance describes her) to someone who wants to go out and do good in the universe (as evidenced in Partners in Crime). The Doctor shows her a better way of living, and I think Lance's comments about the Racnoss Empress showing him the universe helped, too.
We also get to see once again how kind and caring the Doctor is. Rather than whine and grovel the whole time about Rose, he puts all those emotions aside to help Donna. The Doctor lives in the moment and in that moment, he set aside his own feelings to help this complete stranger get married and save her life. This shows how selfless the Doctor is, always willing to put himself aside to help others, no matter who they are. The episode highlights the Doctor's fundamental philosophy that it is always better to help another person because you can always help yourself another day.
I also like the little details as well. Things such as the fact that the Battle of Canary Wharf was two months ago, which puts that episode sometime in October 2007. That, and the robot Santas (pilot fish drones) that only ever appeared in Christmas Specials and not in any other episodes.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Countdown to Christmas - The Christmas Invasion Review
The Why Run to the TARDIS Countdown to Christmas begins with the review of The Christmas Invasion.
The story serves as a good introduction to the tenth Doctor. We get to discover his personality just as he discovers it himself. We also get to see for the first time in the new series the reaction of characters to regeneration. Rose thinks the new Doctor abandoned her, not quite understanding the stress of regeneration. When he finally stands up to the Sycorax, all the characters are relieved, seeing that the Doctor has not abandoned them after all.
The storyline was a first-rate Doctor Who one. With the alien ship over London, all of humanity hanging in the balance, the royal family at stake, and a scary-looking new alien species, it has all the hallmarks of a good Doctor Who story. The characters were top-notch, too. Their personalities were believable, Harriet Jones was behaving as we would expect in office, and the Sycorax were just a ruthless enemy.
The story also introduces a new bit of Time Lord biology, that being that Time Lords can heal themselves after regeneration. That was a good touch, and also features into the storylines of the next three seasons.
Overall, this is my third-favorite Christmas story.
The story serves as a good introduction to the tenth Doctor. We get to discover his personality just as he discovers it himself. We also get to see for the first time in the new series the reaction of characters to regeneration. Rose thinks the new Doctor abandoned her, not quite understanding the stress of regeneration. When he finally stands up to the Sycorax, all the characters are relieved, seeing that the Doctor has not abandoned them after all.
The storyline was a first-rate Doctor Who one. With the alien ship over London, all of humanity hanging in the balance, the royal family at stake, and a scary-looking new alien species, it has all the hallmarks of a good Doctor Who story. The characters were top-notch, too. Their personalities were believable, Harriet Jones was behaving as we would expect in office, and the Sycorax were just a ruthless enemy.
The story also introduces a new bit of Time Lord biology, that being that Time Lords can heal themselves after regeneration. That was a good touch, and also features into the storylines of the next three seasons.
Overall, this is my third-favorite Christmas story.
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