The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (TV story)

The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe was the 2011 Christmas special of Doctor Who. It marked the first time Karen Gillan's name was not in the opening titles. Much like the Christmas special from the previous year, this one also takes its name from a popular story in literature, albeit this time with some alteration to the title. It also saw the Doctor spend a peaceful Christmas dinner with companions, as his previous incarnation did in The Christmas Invasion.

Synopsis
Christmas Eve, 1938. Madge Arwell comes to the aid of an injured Spaceman Angel, who promises to repay her kindness – all she has to do is make a wish. Three years later, Madge escapes war-torn London with her two children for a dilapidated house in Dorset. Crippled with grief at the news her husband has been lost over the English Channel, she is determined to give her children the best Christmas ever. The Arwells are greeted by a madcap caretaker whose mysterious Christmas gift leads them into a wintry, magical world. Madge must learn how to be braver than she ever thought possible and that wishes can come true.

Plot
A spaceship approaches Earth, 1938, and prepares its weapons to destroy the planet. Instead, it blows up thanks to the Doctor, running for his life. Sealing off the part of the ship that is exploding, the Doctor finds the section he's in has fallen apart. The vacuum of space is pulling him out. Seeing a space suit nearby, he tries reaching for it, but it falls out. Using his respiratory bypass system, the Doctor lets go of the ship and falls after the suit, barely missing getting caught in the explosion. Grabbing hold of the suit, he puts it on as he enters the Earth's atmosphere.

In England, Madge Arwell is riding her bike home. Something falls from the sky into a nearby field. She finds a space suit inside a crater. Someone in it groans. Madge opens the visor to find the wearer with the helmet on backwards. He asks for help findinga police box. Madge returns home to retrieve the keys to her car and takes the Doctor to a police box. She wonders why he hasn't taken off his suit and he explains it's an impact suit; it's healing him from the fall. The Doctor tells Madge that he will repay her kindness. All she has to do is make a wish. However, they find the wrong police box; the Doctor asks Madge if they can keep trying.

Three years later, in the Second World War, Madge's husband, Reg is flying his plane blind, looking for a guide to navigate his way. Seeing none, he looks at a picture of Madge and apologises.

Madge receives a telegram, informing her that Reg was lost at sea. She does not tell her children, Cyril and Lily, what happened so as to keep them happy at Christmas. Because of the bombing, they are soon to leave for Uncle Digby's country estate. She makes a silent wish for help.

They arrive at Digby's estate, where the Doctor introduces himself to them as their caretaker. He shows them around the estate, which he has upgraded with delightful gizmos. This continues until Madge snaps at the children to leave. She tells the Doctor their father is dead. She says she doesn't know why she keeps shouting at them; the Doctor observes that it's because she wonders what good is it for them to be happy now when they will be so sad later - the answer being because they will be sad later.

Before anything more can be said, they are interrupted by cries of delight from Cyril and Lily. They go to the room where the Doctor has set up an elaborate tree with a large gift box. Madge is shocked by the many toys the Doctor has put in the room. She turns to find him gone.

That night, Cyril decides to open the Doctor's present before Christmas. He finds it contains a portal to another world, one covered in snow. A tree sprouts what seem to be ornaments. He grabs one, then sees a face on it and drops it to run back into the portal. Something hatches from the ornament and walks off.

Back in the house, Lily is worried about Cyril and notices lights from the attic. She finds the Doctor working on the electrics with the TARDIS next to him. Lily asks the Doctor why he has a police box in his room. He says it's his wardrobe. They realise Cyril may be peeping at his gift and go to find Cyril re-entering the portal with a torch.

They arrive a few minutes after him due to the temporal nature of the portal. The Doctor explains this gift was supposed to be a supervised trip to one of the safest planets he knows because of its beautiful natural Christmas trees. Meanwhile, Cyril has traced footprints left by the creature which hatched to a tower-like structure.

Back in the house, Madge feels uneasy and looks around for Cyril, Lily and the Doctor, only to find them gone. She finds the portal and enters the forest herself. Madge meets three Harvest Rangers, who tell her she's in the future and explain that acid rain will soon fall to melt the trees into fuel. Madge is less than willing to believe them and points a gun at them, demanding the truth.

Cyril has entered the structure and made his way to the top; inside are wooden statues of a king and a queen. As Cyril sits on a throne in the top of the tower, the Wooden Queen comes to life and puts the crown on him. At the same time, the Doctor and Lily arrive and ascend the stairs. The Wooden King comes to life and follows them up. They find Cyril. The Doctor questions the Queen and King. They are trying to evacuate the forest's life force before the Androzani Trees are melted. They lured Cyril to them, but he is too weak to carry their life force off the planet. To the Doctor's chagrin, he is also too weak. Lily is strong, but too young.

Madge is taken to the Harvest Rangers vehicle, where they try explaining they will be evacuated soon. One is sympathetic to her situation, but is teleported away with the others when the order is given for the acid rain to begin. Madge hears Cyril over the radio, saying he will wait at the tower until she comes as she always comes.

The Doctor tries explaining to Cyril that the portal they used to get to this planet will close soon. They have almost no time. The child is adamant. They notice the ground shaking. Outside, the rangers' vehicle, a giant robot, is being poorly piloted towards the tower. The Doctor recognises the driving style: Madge. She tells the Doctor he is fired as caretaker before crashing the robot next to the tower.

The Doctor rushes her inside, where the Wooden Queen and King decide she is strong and old enough. The Doctor realises they are translating, saying that all life comes from the "mother ship". The forest's life force enters Madge as the room separates from the tower and launches itself into the time vortex. On the Queen's instruction to think of her destination, Madge thinks of home and happy memories. Then she thinks of her husband about to crash to his death. Her children realise she's been keeping a secret from them.

In a flash of light, everyone is transported to Digby's lawn. The Doctor explains that the trees' life force, the Wooden Queen and Wooden King have left and are now out in space. Madge tries hugging her kids, but they ask what she meant about their father dying. The Doctor excuses himself. When he steps outside, he rushes back to tell Madge to come out. Reg has landed right behind them. The Doctor explains that her love led him into the time vortex and he used the light from the escape pod as a guide. Reg wonders what happened until he is told it's Christmas. He puts aside thought to enjoy the holiday with his family.

Later, Madge enters the attic as the Doctor prepares to leave. Seeing the TARDIS, she realises the Doctor was the spaceman she helped years earlier. She asks him to stay and enjoy Christmas, but he tells her he cannot. Madge thinks he has family of his own, but the Doctor says they think him dead. Madge tells him to go and see them. As he enters the TARDIS, the Doctor tells Madge that if she ever needs his help again, she should make another wish. Reg enters as the TARDIS dematerialises. Madge explains the Doctor has returned to the time vortex; she thinks it's a lovely place.

The Doctor arrives at Amy and Rory's. Amy answers the door with a water gun, thinking it Christmas carolers again. He greets her awkwardly, wondering how long it has been since they last met. Amy tells him two years. She says River told them the truth and she's not hugging first. After they hug, she invites the Doctor in, calling Rory to see who's at the door. Rory tries pretending to be surprised, but Amy tells him that they've been past that. The Doctor asks if they have room for one more. They tell him that they always set a place for him. As Amy and Rory head in, the Doctor leaks a few tears, then joins his friends for Christmas dinner.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Matt Smith
 * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
 * Rory Williams - Arthur Darvill
 * Madge Arwell - Claire Skinner
 * Cyril Arwell - Maurice Cole
 * Lily Arwell - Holly Earl
 * Reg Arwell - Alexander Armstrong
 * Co-Pilot - Sam Stockman
 * Wooden King - Spencer Wilding
 * Ven-Garr - Paul Bazely
 * Droxil - Bill Bailey
 * Billis - Arabella Weir
 * Wooden Queen - Paul Kasey

Real world

 * The country house belongs to "Uncle Digby" and the family spends their Christmas there to escape the bombing in London. In C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the main characters are sent to the country home of Professor Digory Kirke to escape the bombing of London and discover a portal to Narnia in a wardrobe.


 * A miniaturised model of the house is placed in the children's bedroom whereby The Doctor apologises for it not being quite to scale. This is a reference to "Back to the Future" where Doctor Emmett Brown constantly apologises for the same thing.

Planets

 * The Doctor says that the planet is one of the safest planets he knows.
 * According to the Doctor, "Fairyland" doesn't look anything like the planet they're on.

Story notes

 * Alexander Armstrong (Reg Arwell) previously supplied the voice of Mr Smith throughout the run of The Sarah Jane Adventures and in the Doctor Who story The Stolen Earth / Journey's End.
 * Arabella Weir (Billis) previously played an alternative, female version of the Third Doctor in BFDWU: Exile.
 * Spencer Wilding (the Wooden King) previously played the Minotaur in DW: The God Complex.
 * This is the first Doctor Who story of the Matt Smith era where neither Karen Gillan nor Arthur Darvill's names appear in the opening credits. Claire Skinner's name appears instead.
 * At seven words, this episode has the longest title of any Doctor Who episode.

Ratings

 * UK Overnights: 8.92m (34.2% share)
 * UK Final: 10.77m

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors

 * The plane Reg was flying is an Avro Lancaster, which didn't see active service until 1942. The episode is set in 1941.
 * Police box doors open outwards but when Madge unlocks the police box the doors open inwards.

Continuity

 * The Doctor has the Magna Carta. (DW: The King's Demons)
 * The Harvest Rangers are from Androzani Major. (DW: The Caves of Androzani)
 * The Doctor mentions a tree from the Forest of Cheem fancying him, referencing Jabe. (DW: The End of the World)
 * The sonic screwdriver doesn't work on wood. (DW: Silence in the Library, The Hungry Earth, Night Terrors)
 * The Doctor's respiratory bypass system has previously let him survive briefly in the vacuum of space. (DW: Four to Doomsday)
 * Madge Arwell aims a Webley revolver at the Harvest Rangers. The same type of revolver has been carried by Jack Harkness and Wilfred Mott.
 * The Doctor describes crying when happy as being "humany-wumany", much like his other terms including "wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey" (DW: Blink) and "spacey-wacey". (DW: The Doctor's Wife)
 * Reg says, "I'm sorry, my love", much as River Song said to the Doctor. (DW: The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang)
 * At the end of the episode, Amy Pond points a water pistol at the Eleventh Doctor when he shows up on her doorstep. Previously, she has twice aimed a gun at her daughter, River Song (DW: The Impossible Astronaut, DW: A Good Man Goes to War) and at Silents. (DW: The Wedding of River Song) The Tenth Doctor once protected Donna Noble by bluffing the Soothsayers with a water pistol. That episode was the first that Karen Gillan ever appeared in, as a Soothsayer. (DW: The Fires of Pompeii)
 * The Doctor says he has been travelling in the TARDIS for 900 years. The TARDIS previously noted they had been travelling together for 700 years. (DW: The Doctor's Wife) With this episode being set after The Wedding of River Song, it ties in with the future Doctor's age in The Impossible Astronaut.

Timeline
For the Eleventh Doctor:
 * This story occurs after WC: Prequel (The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe).

For Amy and Rory:
 * This story occurs after DW: The Wedding of River Song.
 * This story occurs some time before they wave at their past selves in DW: The Hungry Earth.

Home video releases

 * The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe has been released on a standalone DVD and Blu-ray on 16 January 2012.