Now, whenever someone asks me of my opinion on this year’s Doctor
Who special, my reply is always the same: “A lovely episode, got a bit over the
top near the end but overall, lovely.” But what do I mean by this? How can I prove
what about it was ‘lovely’ and where exactly was the over the top part – or parts
– of the episode, the typical-Moffat-madness…?
Well, with an insane, but extremely Who-ish beginning, and one
that loosely reflects back to ‘Voyage of the Damned’, it seemed we were into a
questionable and explosive episode, but that theory was not to be proved as the
whole thing came crashing down to earth – practically literally for the Doctor.
Now before this episode I had to question one Clare Skinner’s acting abilities,
having not seen her in many things, if any, but Miss Skinner was to prove me ever
so delightfully wrong, presenting an airy-fairy yet wholly sensible character,
and somewhat companion for the Doctor as the slightly incompletely edited credits
proved. With the Doctor stuck backwards in a flesh-repairing spacesuit, and the
question of whether he’d be repaired back-to-front hanging loosely in the air,
it was known from that moment that the episode was going to politely blow Part
Two of the latest series out of the water.
Alexander Armstrong was a lovely addition to the guest cast,
especially as he WAS played by Armstrong, though this time without a moustache and
jacket scaring Chris Addsion as seen in recent months. His character, more of a
side-line but very important to the overall story of this year’s episode,
served as the husband to Clare Skinner and father to their rather ordinary yet
imaginative family and to some extent a stalker within backstory but general lovely.
Shipped off to war – though as a fighter pilot – and presumable lost or gone,
this simple yet effective story of the now-widowed Skinner is the foundation stone
to the entire episode as Christmas comes to a war-ridden England…
Lily
and Cyril, the former becoming the more a-typical companion for the
Narina-esque tale, were such wonderful and central characters, Cyril – played by
Maurice Cole – played the part of the curious and keen adventurer, proving that
most children, no matter from when they come, always sneak out of bed in the
wee hours of the morning to open at least one Christmas present, and a whopper
of a present it turned out to be! A portal to another world, something the
Doctor believes to be appropriate – again a representation as to how alien he
can prove to be – turns out to become something dangerous as the Doctor fails
to learn the truth about the planet, the fact that come Christmas morning the
forest in a box in the living room would no longer exist; although this leads
me to several confusing questions and the fact that the whole episode leads
along the lines of sheer dumb luck.
References to past adventures, particularly series one’s ‘The
End of the World’ are prominent within the episode, it should be noted to the
die-hard fans. Several references to the Forest of Cheem are made noticeable as
we once again visit the prospect of sentient trees, several references to the
Fifth Doctor’s final adventure (‘The Caves of Androzani’) are prominent as the sister
planet one the one featured back then, Androzani Major, are the main benefactors
in melting the forest featured for fuel. Also, the fact that the Doctor’s
trusty sonic works not on wood is also referenced again, although more comical
than ever before (“I TOLD you this would happen!”). We also get to see Britain’s
topmost finest in the most hilarious scene of the episode, yes Bill Bailey
comes forth and delivers and perfectly written script with precision timing and
the perfect sprinkle of hilarity to make the scene with himself, Skinner and
fellow guest cast Paul Bazely and Arabella Weir the most realistic of the
episode – Skinner herself proving the theory that simple tears can be the best
way to lower defences and take higher ground.
Expanding
more on the luck part of the episode now, one has to question how trees knew
that outsiders were coming to rescue them, and that they were human, and how they
could have possibly called Cyril to them, and how exactly it is possible for a
simple bauble on a tree to turn into that massive King so quickly and so…
promptly. That said, Madge’s – Skinner’s character – appearance within the forest
was luck and a little bit of determination, her need to find and protect her
family by any means becomes the sole ‘thing’ of the episode which somehow
helped to control a gargantuan robot through a forest to a tree-grown building
and thusly becoming the ‘strong’ character the forest needed to transport it’s
tree’s souls from the danger.
Please though, do not get me started on the whole ‘flying
through the Time Vortex’ thing – I admit, there was definitely no other way to
get the Arwell family and the Doctor back to Earth, but it still seemed over
the top and simply ridiculous, especially with a severely damaged plane flying
in tow. That said, the scene that followed, with Lily and Cyril demanding to
know what had happened to their father was heart-breaking, the innocent insistence
of the two children was simply lovely to see – two really talented kids – and Skinner’s
reluctant acceptance that she HAD to reveal all just simply wonderful.
Of course, no Christmas should have a sad ending. With the
revelation that Reg (Armstrong) had survived a plane crash by following the
Doctor and co. through the Vortex (though with the mysterious disappearance of
his two crewmembers) and the Doctor returning to the Ponds to find that they
always expect him, that they have become, in some twisted and weird and
wholly-temporary form as the Doctor will outlive them, his little family,
especially with Rory supporting the Doctor’s famous quiff with ease and style was
simply heart-warming, something definitely missing from last year’s Christmas
special and certainly never present in any before – even the Tyler’s never
truly accepted the Doctor for Christmas and I doubt that even Jackie set up
places for more than herself, Rose and Mickey at the dinner table.
And
so here we are again…
- Doctor = 9/10 – Mad and manic as ever, I doubt the man will ever get a love score. His sudden overwhelming emotion at the end was lovely, although we HAVE seen the man cry before, by Amelia’s bedside, hating repeats.
- Madge = 10/10 – Clare Skinner was simply a perfect part of the cast, slotting into place like the final piece of a difficult jigsaw in a Who puzzle and presenting a wonderful, accepting, and very motherly character throughout the entire episode.
- Lily = 9/10 – Becoming the ‘Companion’ of the episode by simply being with the Doctor and asking the right questions, Lily was simply wonderful, and I have to admit a fantastic casting. I’d personally like to see her return for a full companion role, though probably when she a little bit older.
- Cyril = 8/10 – Very few lines throughout the main part of the episode, the wonderful boy had to simply look on in astonishment and discover all these new things, and Cole performed that with wonderful ease – such a lovely character and person.
Episodic Rating: 9 out of 10. Much better than the ‘Wedding’
episode and such a lovely feel-good thing for all the family, as Christmas
should be. One can only hope that this reflects things to come by more
simplistic storylines, a happier family feel and less – how do I put it? – Insaneness.
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