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The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe

Episode aired Dec 25, 2011
TV-PGTV-PG
59m

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

5.7K

YOUR RATING

Holly Earl and Matt Smith in Doctor Who (2005)

A promotional trailer for the latest "Doctor Who" Christmas special.

Play trailer1:07

1 Video

17 Photos

Adventure Drama Sci-Fi

It's Christmas Eve, 1938, when Madge Arwell comes to the aid of an injured Spaceman Angel as she cycles home. He promises to repay her kindness - all she has to do is make a wish. Three year... Read allIt's Christmas Eve, 1938, when Madge Arwell comes to the aid of an injured Spaceman Angel as she cycles home. He promises to repay her kindness - all she has to do is make a wish. Three years later, a devastated Madge escapes war-torn London with her two children for a dilapidate... Read allIt's Christmas Eve, 1938, when Madge Arwell comes to the aid of an injured Spaceman Angel as she cycles home. He promises to repay her kindness - all she has to do is make a wish. Three years later, a devastated Madge escapes war-torn London with her two children for a dilapidated house in Dorset. She is crippled with grief at the news her husband has been lost over t... Read all

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

5.7K

YOUR RATING

- Farren Blackburn
- Steven Moffat(showrunner)
- Sydney Newman(uncredited)
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Videos1

Trailer 1:07

Watch The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe

Photos17

Matt Smith and Spencer Wilding in Doctor Who (2005)

Alexander Armstrong in Doctor Who (2005)

Holly Earl and Maurice Cole in Doctor Who (2005)

Holly Earl, Claire Skinner, and Maurice Cole in Doctor Who (2005)

Holly Earl, Claire Skinner, Matt Smith, and Maurice Cole in Doctor Who (2005)

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
There were numerous references to C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," namely: (a) the three-part name itself ("The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe"), (b) the family (children) going to a large mansion in the country to escape the bombing in London, (c) "Digby" sounds a lot like "Digory," Professor Kirk's first name, (d) the Doctor refers to the TARDIS as his "wardrobe," (e) there is a snow-covered woods on the other side of the box, (f) time moves differently on the other side of the box, (g) the line "What do they teach these children...?", (h) the door knocker on the tree house resembled a lion, and (i) the spirits of the trees were sentient in Narnia as well.

Goofs
When Madge first meets the doctor after he crashed to earth in his spacesuit, it was 1938. The passage of time revealed 3 years. When Madge received the telegram her husband was lost, it was dated 20 December 1940. Finally, when Madge was interrogated by the Androzani miners, she stated the year was 1941. Either the telegram is incorrect, or the year of the first meeting as well as the response to the Androzani interrogation was incorrect.

Quotes
The Doctor: A fairy land? Oh, grow up. A fairy land looks completely different.

Crazy credits
In season seven's opening credits, the Doctor Who logo is textured in a way that is relevant to the current episode.

Connections
Featured in The Graham Norton Show: Matt Smith/Gillian Anderson/Harry Judd/Dougie Poynter/Hilary Devey/Russell Kane/Gareth Malone/Military Wives Choir (2011)

Soundtracks
Silent Night
(uncredited)
Music by Franz Xaver Gruber

User reviews26

Review

Featured review

Disappointing

Most of the classic & current Who stories are interesting and occasionally try to educate on some level. But the real test of a good episode was if it was entertaining and allowed the suspension of disbelief. This story was full of distractions from the beginning. Being in outer space without the TARDIS and still breathing and shouting?? Falling to the Earth and catching a spacesuit to offer protection as if it were a parachute caught while from a falling airplane? Puleeeze!

I give Dr Who a lot of latitude where science comes in, but this was not a very well thought out story on any level!! The plot is all over the place and while the trailers temped us with a CS Lewis Christmas feel, it failed to deliver. It would be great if RTD came back, they found a replacement to MS and wrote better stories. As a fan for over 40 years, I hope the show gets better...It needs a Doctor!

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