Doctor Who – The Doctor’s Wife

The Doctor’s Wife

Series 06
Story 04
14 May 2011
The Doctor receives a summons from outside the universe via a glowing translucent cube. A desperate plea from help from a missing Time Lord draws the Doctor into a deadly trap that was tailor made for him. As the Doctor struggles to correct his dreadful mistakes, his companions are trapped inside of the TARDIS with an alien entity using time and space itself to kill them.

The real pull for this story is that it is written by Neil Gaiman, award-winning author of the Sandman series from the 1990’s, Stardust and Coraline. Gaiman has an avid cult of followers, so much so that this single story should bring in a massive spike in viewing figures. A devoted fan of the classic series, Gaiman has no doubt yearned to write for the new program since it came back in 2005. According to Neil himself, the script needed work… lots of work… and received so many rewrites that the author made a rather self-conscious point of the fact. In my opinion, another rewrite wasn’t exactly needed. They should have just chucked the whole thing in the bin.

Numerous hints and clues about this story have been floating about the internet for months now, including the most intriguing one that it would refer back to the 1969 adventure the War Games in which the Second Doctor battled with a brilliantly complex plot to build an army using the best soldiers from all of history. The reference could refer back to almost anything, but tying a new story to an old one is just too much for fans to cope with, so most of us hoped for the moon. In the end, the first guess was the right one. It was the psychic cube.

The Doctor (Patrick Troughton) in the War Games - 1969

In the War Games, the Doctor sends a distress signal to his people as things have gotten out of his control. The manner in which he sends the message is to collect his data in a cube and dematerialize it into the space/time vortex. In the opening of the Doctor’s Wife, a 21st Century version of this idea arrives, knocking out ‘a shave and a haircut’ on the TARDIS exterior as it floats in space. The Doctor is joyful to notice that it bears a tattoo mark used by a popular Time Lord named the Corsair (clever name) and he directs the TARDIS to his rescue even as the craft’s built-in warning cries go unheard.

The Doctor gets a summons

Arriving in a bubble universe, the Doctor encounters four strangers living on what appears to be a planet-sized scrapyard. Identifying themselves as Uncle, Auntie, an Ood named Nephew and Idris who seems mad, they are a quirky bunch that scream trouble, but again the Doctor is not deterred as he wishes to find his old friend in need. Idris assaults the Doctor with kisses, bites and nonsense dialog that obviously will refer to events later in the story (more timey wimey stuff as Moffat would say). The planetoid is actually sentient and prefers to be called ‘House.’ It maintains its four inhabitants and pays host to anyone that falls through what the Doctor calls ‘the plug hole of the universe.’

It is very clear that the situation is dangerous, but not really why. Auntie, Uncle, Nephew and Idris are just eccentric characters, yet the travelers can’t just leave without first finding the Corsair and anyone else in need of rescue. Amy catches on quickly that the Doctor is anxious as he needs to find the remaining Time Lords in order to be forgiven for his betrayal to his people in his previous incarnation. That’s almost a clever idea, but it gets undone later.

Amy and Rory are sent back to the TARDIS while the Doctor searches for the missing Time Lords only to find that the psychic calls he is hearing are from a cupboard full of Time Lord distress beacons. Realizing that he’s been had, he starts to retaliate but both Uncle and Auntie die straight away, their purposes fulfilled.

As the Doctor begins to realize what is happening, the TARDIS dematerializes, leaving him stranded with Idris who is actually the rapidly disintegrating embodiment of the TARDIS databank. They keep calling it the Matrix, but that should be on Gallifrey as it’s the repository of all Time Lord knowledge. In any case, the quirky Helena Bonham Carter-type person in a period dress is apparently the TARDIS made flesh… at last. It’s not necessarily a bad idea, but I am sure that Gaiman wrapped his story around this concept to make it easy to reference in the annals of fandom. You know the drill; the one with the giant maggots, the one with the Loch Ness Monster, the one with Paul Darrow in a wig, the one when the TARDIS became a lady. The BBC Wales program has already sexualized the relationship between the Doctor and his companions (even the classic ones), so why not sexualize the Doctor and the TARDIS as well?

If pressed, I am sure that I could describe how I would imagine the TARDIS to behave as a person, but I doubt that Idris would leap to mind either. She’s basically a flighty impulsive rambling buffoon. It’s like David Tennant in a dress. Every moment involving Idris is painful as she is there to stretch out the plot from her first appearance and we never even learn who Idris was in the first place. It’s a silly concept played out in a silly way. The Doctor gives her a name, ‘Sexy,’ and they flirt with each other when they are not bickering (get it? cuz she’s his WIFE).

Meanwhile, House has taken over the TARDIS and is taunting Rory and Amy who are trapped inside of it. It asks them to explain why it shouldn’t kill them (good question, no doubt Gaiman was thinking the same thing as he stared at his keyboard) and Rory comes up with an absurdly bad answer. Killing them outright would be no fun. Thus begins a run around in the interior of the TARDIS as our heroes attempt to escape a disembodied voice. The corridors of the TARDIS interior is something we haven’t seen in over twenty years and this episode more or less assures us that it won’t happen again. One of the many things that the classic program was criticized for was endless scenes running up and down corridors. Ironically, one of the most publicized episodes of the new series has the most pointless use of the idea I have ever seen. They are running from nothing to nowhere with no plan.

Seized by one of his brilliant ideas, the Doctor attempts to build a new TARDIS console from the wreckage of hundreds of crashed TARDISes on the deserted planet, it is established that Idris has only 18 minutes left to live. As they are outside of the universe, time no doubt flows differently inside the TARDIS, it’s a tension-less idea. She’ll no doubt lie as long as the script needs her to. I know it seems like I’m being cruel here, but her death is assured as she has to get back into the TARDIS, so I’m not really bothered to get emotionally attached to her. If the story introduced the notion that Idris could have been saved, maybe I would have cared. But the body served no purpose other than to house the TARDIS databank and push along the plot.

As the jury-rigged TARDIS chases the Doctor’s stolen TARDIS, Amy and Rory are assaulted with illusions that attempt to break their spirit. Why House terrorizes them we will never know because it is never established who/what House is and what drives it to be so violent and hurtful. In any case, these moments are well done and rather atmospheric. They provide some much-needed action and horror in an otherwise empty episode.

The Doctor and Idris trade banter and attempt to have a ‘long overdue’ talk about their relationship that is painful to get through. They espouse love for each other and debate who stole who which is bizarre enough but not half as much as the TARDIS claiming to be the one who wanted to travel, not the Doctor.

Reunited with the TARDIS via some last minute button-pushing in the 2005-2009 console room, the Doctor proceeds to have a screaming match with the disembodied voice monster. I admit that it was neat to see it again but as any old console room was possible, why not a classic series one? Obviously this was nod to fans, so why not go all the way? House taunts the Doctor by saying that it has killed many Time Lords to which the Doctor proudly proclaims (with menace) that he’s killed them all. This is quite odd as earlier in the same story he was seeking forgiveness for this but now it’s another notch on his belt next to the Borad and the Chief Caretaker.

Idris dies… slowly… and then exhales the golden mist that has become so associated with the program since the Christmas Invasion and saves the day. But just when it is clear that the Matrix has left Idris’ body, it talks to the Doctor some more to explain that it is sad to be alive, then dies. How/why? Who knows.

The Doctor’s Wife is a hastily constructed episode that has so many problems that it’s exhausting to number them. Just what was the point of Uncle, Auntie and Nephew and why were they even named that way? Who was Idris for that matter? Why does House need anyone ever? How did it survive before it started eating TARDISes and where did it come from? Who was the Corsair aside from a character with a cool name? Most importantly, why was this episode made? The story is a cobbled mess, the characters are pointless and the dialog embedded with lazy exposition.

For an adventure that, according to the author, was inspired by City of Death, The Doctor’s Wife was a major let down. I’m very curious to see the opposing view on this one as I cannot see what it has to offer in the way of positives, but for me this was just a waste. My least favorite story since the beginning of the Moffat/Smith run.

Next Time: The Rebel Flesh

Doctor Who and the Lodger

Doctor Who – The Lodger
Series 05
Story 11
12 June 2010

Warning – this review contains spoilers

Craig Owens’ life is at a standstill. He is deeply in love with his best friend but unable to say or do anything about it. In the flat above him, something strange is happening. An alluring voice is attracting passers like a spider drawing flies and no one knows why. When an odd man with a bag full of money decides to move in, Craig cannot predict how much his life will change… despite his best efforts to resist.

In the 2005 debut series of Russell T Davies’ Doctor Who (I have to view it that way so I can sleep better at night), there were some issues with the script for the penultimate story. The work around was for RTD to draft up ‘Boom Town’ at the last minute. In the following 2006 series, the episode ‘Love & Monsters’ gave the main cast a breather by filling in the slot with a ‘Doctor-lite’ adventure. I always felt that the two events were linked somehow, but I’m not sure that they are. Someone wiser than I is welcome ti chime in on that one. In any case, this resulted in a traditional episode each series in which the Doctor was featured less… until now. ‘The Lodger’ is in comparison an ‘Amy-lite’ episode and focusing moreso than usual on the Doctor. This was perhaps a conscious decision to strengthen the portrayal of the character by Matt Smith and not lose a chance to impress viewers with his depiction of the Doctor (there’s a lot of theory in this paragraph). If that is the case, it was a worthwhile decision.

As anyone who has been reading my reviews of the 2010 series can see, I have adored Matt Smith as the Doctor. A genuine eccentric, he brings a colorful personality to the role that has been lacking for nearly a generation and hearkens back to the glory days of Tom Baker when the actor lived the part. A script that is essentially a sitcom with minimal science fiction elements would spell disaster in any other instance, but Smith bubbles with potential in each scene. Co-starring with Gavin and Stacey co-creator James Corden and Man Stroke Woman’s Daisy Haggard, Smith has good company for a comedic episode. All three play off of each other spectacularly, making what is admittedly a comedic story a damned funny one.

Crowden and Smith have a moment

That said… there are problems.

Roberts’ previous offerings (2007’s The Shakespeare Code; The Unicorn and the Wasp in 2008; and the diabolically co-written offering Planet of the Dead in 2009 ) have been dubious at best. The Lodger is the best story that I’ve seen from him to date (I’m not familiar with Being Human or his Sarah Jane Smith material) and in comparison it is a marked improvement that may stem from Moffat’s role as head writer as compared to RTD getting his hands into Roberts’ previous scripts. In any case, while it is a much better script than the others, it also stars two accomplished comedic actors and the new talent Smith as the central cast to smooth over anything lacking.

My short-form negative criticism of the story is that anything that does not involve science fiction elements is top notch. The rest… needs work.

Smith’s Doctor arrives in a flurry of confusion as he falls from the TARDIS, leaving Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) alone in a malfunctioning time machine, tossed in and out of the time vortex under some unknown influence. Following a clue left by Amy, the Doctor rents a flat owned by the homebody Craig Owens, whose comfort zone has become definitively comfy. There is something going on in the flat upstairs that holds the answers to the TARDIS’ predicament, but the Doctor feels the need to tread lightly to discover what it could be rather than go charging in. Constructing a strange devise made from found objects, he tries to analyze the upstairs flat from below and coordinates matters with Amy via a kind of souped up Blue Tooth.

The current incarnation of the Doctor is by far the most alien personality we have seen in some time. Fans have been split on what to make of this and as there is bound to be some backlash from the previous incarnation played by David Tennant, that is understandable. Whereas the 10th Doctor was an emotional character prone to pining over lost loves like a schoolgirl, the 11th looks at the possibility as absurd. That being the case, placing the 11th Doctor in a domestic situation is ideal as it shows just how out of place he is. He cannot understand anything from the concept of money to interpersonal relationships. This makes the unrequited love between Craig and his best mate Sophie a bit of a quandary for the Doctor.

The Doctor is so out of touch with human behavior that he has no idea that he appears attractive to others (another major difference from the previous incarnation) As such, a handsome and charming young man suddenly popping into the picture gains Sophie the opportunity to draw Craig out by making him jealous… with disastrous results. Craig is far too comfortable in the ways things are, even though they must change. He sees the Doctor not so much as a challenge to his pursuit of Sophie but a potential cause for drastic change.

The magical solution to all storylines

All of these pieces of puzzle are put in their place when it is at last discovered that atop Craig’s flat is a malfunctioning alien time/space machine. It has been drawing passers by into its workings to find a suitable pilot so that it can go on its way, but there have been no suitable candidates. The Doctor is an obviously ideal pilot, but for some reason that would result in complete destruction for the planet. The only way that the ship can move on is for Craig to move on as well. It’s an incredibly ham-fisted solution that unusually solves both the science fiction and sitcom plot in one fell swoop. It’s an extraordinarily silly conceit and an unfortunate one as well as the domestic plot was so well portrayed by the actors.

Despite its misgivings. The Lodger is intended as a bit of fluff before the two-part finale. That being said, it serves the purpose wonderfully. As a fill-in, it is by far the best one to date but the concept still needs work. I hope that next year’s filler episode proves better, however, and learns from this year’s mistakes.

Next time: The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang

The Doctor and Amy are ‘just mates’

MTV’s excellent Splash Page has an interesting interview with Doctor Who series 5 stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan on the role of romance in Doctor Who. It’s great that neither actor feels that a romance between the Doctor and the companion is the required relationship between the two roles as previous producer and head writer Russell T Davies did. I guess I can stop waiting for that show to drop and also feel relief that the upcoming Amy Pond’s baby story has nothing to do with the Doctor being the father.

Of course, both actors DO feel that Doctor Who needs to be a ‘mad adventure,’ which I disagree with… but you can’t win them all.

“I don’t think it’s completely necessary,” said Smith. “I don’t think it’s a prerequisite of the show.”

“If anything, it feels a little tired, that story,” the new Doctor added.

“I think so,” agreed Gillan.

While the pair’s characters have certainly had their moments (including Amy Pond watching The Doctor go through a few wardrobe changes in the season premiere before settling on his new look), there’s no telling where Moffat plans to take the time- and space-traveling duo as the season goes on. But if you ask them, it’s all about the adventures their characters have together, not the way they feel about each other.

“I don’t think that’s what it’s about,” said Smith. “It’s about adventure together.”

“It’s about mates — best friends,” said Gillan.

“…Traveling the universe!” added Smith.

“I think it risks getting a little portentous sometimes when it becomes about romance,” said Smith. “If you’re 8 [years old], I don’t think you want to tune in and see that. You want to see them having mad adventures.”

“And I think that’s what the new series really touches on — it’s about mad adventure,” he said.

The new episode Victory of the Daleks (reviewed here) airs tomorrow night on BBC America.