The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe

There is nothing to say about this episode that you don't already know about the series. It plays slightly on the Chronicles of Narnia but those expecting a religious experience are just kidding themselves. It's Doctor Who, not C.S. Lewis. What you should know about this episode is that you need to devote the entire time to it, don't stop watching, things change, fast. You might see things blink, flash for half a second, and frankly miss important happenings. The episode is played out perfectly and the message is wonderful, I took away 'never give up' but you could take just about anything positive from it that you would like. In my opinion, this is one of the best Doctor Who episodes, ever.

This is apparently counted as part of Series 6 officially although I always thought it made more sense if it was the Series 7 (A) special. Sadly this wasn't a favourite Christmas Special for me but it was amiable and sweet.

This pleasant, feel-good Christmas story was based around the C. S. Lewis classic story The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Moffatt tried to repeat his gimmick of using Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol as the basis for the previous Christmas episode. It seems a bit lazy to me that he tried to do another spin on a classic story two years running and this one does not work as well in my opinion. Despite being very nice and warm-hearted this story feels rather contrived and lacks anything especially good in the plot or script.

The acting is good. Claire Skinner is strong in the role of the 'widow' and the children performing well. Matt Smith is zany and enjoyable as ever. The brilliant comedic performer Bill Bailey is perfect in a cameo which is far too small. Bailey, who is a fan of the show, deserves a bigger part in Doctor Who.

The production values are high with a Star Wars style opening and a beautiful forest world accessed through a portal. The story has fun and a magical fairy tale feel that Moffatt enjoys bringing to the series. Unfortunately this unreal fantasy aspect goes a bit too far for my liking and it just feels lacking in any convincing science fiction to keep me immersed.

I cannot say there are plot holes as such, it just feels overly synthetic to me. For example it features yet another convenient re-writing of a character death which is a far too overused plot device in the Moffatt era.

Overall it is a nice fantasy tale but not really what I want from Doctor Who personally.

My advice is to watch The Christmas Invasion or A Christmas Carol instead.

My Rating: 6/10.

We're once again in the blitz (Moffat is a fan of wartime isn't he.) The Doctor has fallen out of the sky and landed in a ditch, he's rescued by Madge Arwell. One day Maybe will need The Doctor.

I really do love Claire Skinner, she's a really sweet adorable actress, when I watch her I connect to her, she does a great job, sweet and bubbly to sad and British stiff upper lipped. Great line, 'one can't imagine being a forest, and then suddenly one can' haha.

Dickens last year, in the Christmas carol, that was stunning. CS Lewis this year, sadly doesn't hit the same notes, but contrary to the many bad reviews I quite like it, it's very sweet and touching, come on it's Christmas. I must be softer hearted then my fellow reviewers but the ending choked me.

So it's not an epic adventure, and the ending is a bit of a cop out, but it's a fun, sweet tale, perfect for Christmas, even the toughest hearted of all must have raised a smile, big love for Madge though. 7/10

Not as good as previous Christmas special but still above average. Moffat's mixture of mystery, fairy tale atmosphere and Doctor's playfulness is simply good.

Stop what you're doing and watch this now. This episode is so heartbreaking and filling and the same time. I cry sad and then happy tears. It's so funny and it has one of the most important Doctor Who quotes. "What's the point of them being happy now if they're going to be sad later? The point being, of course, that they're going to be sad later." 10/10 every time.