the m0vie blog

“Are all people like this?”

“Like what?”

“So much bigger on the inside.”

– TARDIS and the Doctor

That was awesome. Neil Gaiman’s Doctor Who episode, The Doctor’s Wife, was perhaps the strongest stand-alone episode the series has had in quite some time – packed to the brim with wonderful and cheeky and clever concepts, executed in wonderful style. It had just about everything, from small fanboy-ish references (“the old control room”) through to clever explorations of the ideas the show takes for granted, managing to fit perfectly with what had come before and suggest some new takes on classic concepts at the same time.

The Smith-en young couple...

Apparently Gaiman originally wrote the episode for the previous season, but it was moved for budget reasons. Given that some updates were required (mainly the addition of Rory), I was initially quite concerned that the script might end up being scrapped due to the writer’s schedule. After all, it was this reason we were denied the episode drafted by Stephen Fry for the second season – the writer originally wrote the script without Rose (as she was originally intended to leave earlier in the season), but didn’t have the time to re-write it after Billie Piper agreed to stay on for the full year.

Some day, I hope that Fry will either allow somebody to novelise it, or update it so it can be filmed. Much like the unfortunately aborted Shada from Douglas Adams, it seems a waste not to use material from a much-loved writer. I’ve always loved seeing established and beloved creators playing with other toys – and the nature of Doctor Who seems to attract all sorts of wonderfully quirky talents. Anyway, enough of the reflection, back on to The Doctor’s Wife. Because it really was quite fun.

The series' other time-travelling couple...

The first thing to notice about the episode is the sheer scale of it. As noted above, it was pushed back a year when the budget became prohibitive… and everything about the episode screams of quality. From the fantastic junkyard planet through to the new sets on the inside of the TARDIS, through to the special effects, it seemed like there was nothing that would get in the way of Gaiman’s story, and quite right too. It all added up to one of the best examples of what the show was capable of.

The genius of the script is in taking an idea that has long been part of the series, and casting it in a slightly new light. It’s an idea that I am surprised has never been toyed with before – the idea of allowing the Doctor and the TARDIS to share screentime together. Indeed, the concept was so delightful that even the episode’s teaser had me on the edge of me seat – and made me slap myself for not immediately grasping who exactly “The Doctor’s Wife” in question was.

They make a cute couple...

I always got the sense that an established writer working with a cult property must be some kind of geek – imagine how fun it must be to play with the toys in the sandbox, and having the respect to be trusted to do pretty much whatever you wanted with them? It’s very clear from the outset that Gaiman is a big fan of the series (both classic and relaunched), and that he was literally given the keys to the TARDIS to do what he wanted. It was a joy to actually see the TARDIS interiors – something other than the control room – decorated in a style which seemed like an affectionate homage to what came before without seeming cheesy or low-budget.

The show was packed with rather clever observations. There’s something extremely charming about the revelation that Amy and Rory are sharing bunk beds in their room – something that won’t affect younger viewers, but will bring a smile to the older members of the audience. There’s something very telling about Matt Smith’s iteration of the lead character – how young he is, despite his wisdom and experience – in his attitude towards the bed. “Bunk beds are cool,” he suggests, “A bed with a ladder, how can you beat that?”

Honeymoon on an actual moon?

However, while Rory and Amy got some lovely interaction (and I adored the “timey wimey” aspect of their adventure through the TARDIS – and “spacey wacey” makes the perfect companion), the best part of the episode was undoubtedly seeing the Doctor presented with a chance to interact with the TARDIS. After all, they’ve always seemed like lovers, of a sort, on an eternal honeymoon to the stars. She’s the constant companion, even when everyone else dies or abandons him. “It’s always you and her, isn’t it?” Amy asks, “Long after the rest of us are gone.” It is, and it’s nice to see it acknowledged explicitly.

Indeed, Gaiman has a bit of fun with the Doctor’s affection for the machine (which we saw even last week as he managed one of her “tantrums” and embraced her like a lost love on finding her, even suggesting placating her by stroking her). The interplay was perfect, with the Doctor seeming at once confused and intrigued by the situation facing him. Asked what to call her, she suggests, “Don’t you call me sexy?” He replies, “Only when we’re alone!” Confronted with the TARDIS in a girl’s body, Amy’s rather blunt response is, “Did you wish really hard?”

It's a scream...

Suranne Jones was superb in the episode’s title role, as the Doctor’s newest and oldest companion. Giving the Doctor actual direct interaction and conversation with the TARDIS made for some nice moments, in particular acknowledging several little touches that have gone unspoken in the past. “You didn’t always take me where I wanted to go!” the Doctor accuses his ship, referring to the fact that he was seemingly never able to land where he intended. Offering a conclusion most fans had already reached, she retorts, “I always took you where you needed to go.” I think that’s the key to why the Doctor and his time machine work so well – she’s the one companion who isn’t afraid or intimidated by him, she’s the one who has seen it all and has the experiences that can match his own.

This sense of an old couple who have been together longer than either cares to remember is skilfully evoked by the way that she suggests that she stole him, rather than the other way around. “I wanted to see the universe, so I stole a Time Lord and ran away,” she explains. “You were the only one mad enough.” He was her way out, just as much as she was his. It’s a wonderful little moment which illustrates how perfect a match they are – eternally kindred spirits, both looking out for each other, because they’re the last ones left, after the “strays” he brings home have left. Not all love stories get to last centuries, and there’s something genuinely sweet about the Doctor/TARDIS dynamic which Neil Gaiman brings so skilfully to the fore.

A TARDIS graveyard...

Despite the superb central performances, the episode was just fantastic because it kept throwing ideas out there – it’s like the best of the work Moffat and Davies did with the character, tossing high concepts around like candy. This time alone, we have a sentient predatory planet, the TARDIS in human form, “patchwork people”, relative time inside the TARDIS, personality swapping, the TARDIS’ telepathic interface, time out of sequence and a whole host more. Throwing them out there hard and fast gave the episode a wonderful sense of importance and scale – as well as making it seem much chunkier than (for example) last week’s instalment.

I personally adored the way that Gaiman dealt with the Time Lords. In fairness, the suggestion that there were members of his specier out there might have seemed a bit manipulative or cheesy back in the day when the show was making such a big deal of “the Last of the Time Lords”, but it has been so long since the issue was mooted that it seems rather nifty to address it. Teasing us with the possibility of more of the Doctor’s kind – and “good ones” at that – gives the premise a wonderful emotional weight and makes it seem just a little bit personal. While the Davies era of the show was often just a little too overblown and little too emotionally manipulative, I’ve found that the Moffat era often suffers from the opposite problem, being perhaps a little too clinical and sterile.

An odd Ood?

There’s something very touching in Amy’s observation that the Doctor wants “to be forgiven” for wiping out his race, and also in seeing Matt Smith affected (for the first time) by the loss. Moffat was wise, to be honest, to dismiss this existential angst in The Eleventh Hour (“bad stuff happened” serving as the Doctor’s explanation of his own history with his people) because, since the relaunch, the concept was overpowering to the point of almost being annoying. Here, over a year and a half since The End of Time, the space makes the moment seem all the more powerful. “You gave me hope and then you took it away,” he explains, seething with anger, while warning them, “Basically, run!”

Indeed, with “Run!” serving as both a threat and a running (with the Doctor advising enemies to flee to save themselves from him, and with the companions inside the TARDIS running  to escape death), the episode provides a nice little affectionate homage to the entire history of the show since the relaunch. In fact, the wonderful quote at the top of the review reminds me of a great quote from Steven Moffat’s The Doctor Dances, with Jack remarking it’s bigger on the inside and the Ninth Doctor responding, “You’d better be.” It’s a nice bridge between the Davies and the Moffat eras, and even the old series, with both of the console rooms putting in an appearance, and the corridors looking quite like they did in the original serials. My inner nerd wonders if the old room needed to be rebuilt from scratch to be HD compliant, as it was phased out before the show went HD. Anyway, this nostalgia (torn between the old and the new) is a tough thing to balance, but this adventures manages it quite well.

One half of an old married couple...

That says nothing of the fact that Gaiman writes with a warmth and humour that sits perfectly with the tone of the show. I especially like the TARDIS’ observation that, “Biting’s excellent. It’s like kissing only there’s a winner.” That’s the sort of line which is just great dialogue – I especially loved the manner in which Gaiman made it clear that the TARDIS doesn’t perceive time in the same way that mere mortals (or even Time Lords) do. It’s not really essential to the plot, but it’s one of those little touches that adds up to make the episode special.

Also, the voice of House? That’s Michael frickin’ Sheen. I honestly didn’t know about that until I read the credits, and it’s a testament to the power of the show that it can get somebody like Sheen to voice a heavily-altered evil entity (though the monster does get some excellent lines, like “tell me why I shouldn’t just kill you now” and “I’ve got corridors!”). It’s just the cherry on top of a cake baked of awesome. The Doctor’s Wife is a fun, exciting and clever hour of television, while managing a new slant on an old piece of the mythos. What’s not to love?

“Fear me, I’ve killed hundreds of Time Lords.”

“Fear me, I’ve killed all of them.”

– House and the Doctor

Check out our reviews of the current season of Doctor Who:

• The Impossible Astronaut
• Day of the Moon
• The Curse of the Black Spot
• The Doctor’s Wife
• The Rebel Flesh
• The Almost People
• A Good Man Goes to War
• Let’s Kill Hitler
• Night Terrors
• The Girl Who Waited
• The God Complex
• Closing Time
• The Wedding of River Song

Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, Billie Piper, doctor, doctor who, Doctor's Wife, Douglas Adams, Fray, Gaiman Chubut, matt smith, neil gaiman, rory williams, Stephen Fry, steven moffat, tardis, Television, television review, the doctor's wife |