Doctor Who - The Doctor's Wife

Director: Richard Clark
Writer: Neil Gaiman

The TARDIS is one of the most recognisable symbols from science fiction. Ever since Doctor Who’s beginnings in 1963, Police boxes in the UK have become associated with time travel opposed to law enforcement. In fact, the Doctor has stated on multiple occasions that the TARDIS is alive.  In The Doctor’s Wife, the TARDIS very much is alive.

Led by a glowing cube carrying a distress call sent by Time Lords, the Doctor and the gang follow the source through a rift leading to an asteroid floating outside the universe. The rock is inhabited by a strange menagerie: Uncle, Aunty, a green-eyed Ood named Nephew, and Idris (Suranne Jones), an eccentric and sporadic girl who fawns all over the Doctor. After Idris is locked away for disturbing the nice man, the Doctor soon learns that the asteroid is a sentient entity named THE HOUSE, and the family are under its possession. THE HOUSE baits Time Lords in order to feed on the energy of their TARDIS’s. Upon learning that the Doctor is the last of the Time Lords, THE HOUSE kidnaps the Doctor’s TARDIS along with Amy and Rory and attempts to use its powers to break through into the universe proper, leaving the Doctor with Idris, imbued with the soul of his TARDIS, stranded in a TARDIS graveyard.

This stand-alone affair work to redeem the series after the disappointing performance of the previous episode, showing that the Doctor can still have a good time even when it’s not heavily plot-developing. Neil Gaiman hits all the right notes with his expert script, and one could expect no less from such a seasoned and acclaimed writer. He takes a simple idea at the very heart of Doctor Who and does something that has never been done before. He gives the TARDIS a face and a mouth to yell at the Doctor to resolve all the tensions that have been building up since he stole her all those years ago (or did she steal him?). The titular character (never referred to as such in the script) and the Doctor bicker like an old married couple, reminding the audience that there’s only enough room for one woman in the Doctor’s life.

Therefore it is a shame that the production values couldn’t be of such a high standard as the story. In numerous interviews Neil Gaiman has complained about a lack of funding for his story as well as all the sacrifices he’s made removing the more complicated set-ups in his script (including a scene in the now-infamous swimming pool). In a few scenes, it really shows. The TARDIS corridors in particular look very cheaply constructed. Maybe this is another of the many references back to Classic Who, and they’re acknowledging the fact that the sets were made of cardboard and a “never-ending” corridor was simply the same few meters filmed again and again at different angles.

Similarly, some of the visual effects are very poor this week. In a few shots the whirring energies of the open TARDIS control panel look like the quality of a 90’s children’s animated television program, and the green screen work appears equally as bad when compared to the last episode where the floating ethereal siren was probably the pinnacle of the episode.

This episode seems to be a leftover story from the years of Russell T Davies. Doubtless when commissioned, this era is where Gaiman started his research. The inclusion of an Ood and an omnipotent possessive entity is a throwback to The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit. The survival horror sequences in the TARDIS corridors are reminiscent of 42 and The End of the World, the trapped in space scenario having become a staple since the program’s rebirth. The aqua desktop even makes an appearance again, however a more obscure TARDIS console like the mahogany version from The Hand of Fear would have provided a much better piece of fanservice.

It is interesting guessing the working dynamic between Stephen Moffatt and Neil Gaiman. At times it seems there are scenes forcefully inserted, abruptly reminding us of the overall story arc of the series. It’s obtrusive, breaking up the natural flow. The audience hasn’t forgotten that the Doctor is going to die. The Crazy Eye Patch Lady almost wasn’t in the episode, appearing momentarily in the “Next Time” preview.

Again it seems like blinding Amy and offing Rory are on Moffatt’s agenda. This time it’s forgivable, as the circumstances under which they receive such ailments are expertly written and so much more original than the previous instalment, but it still brings up the question of whether or not the audience will care when Rory really dies. Every time Rory is killed it lessens the impact for when he actually stays dead.

It was a smart move to take a break this week from the hypercharged plot development of the opening two-parter and the substandard The Curse of the Black Spot, presenting an original and stand-alone story to remind the audience of the magic and diversity of Doctor Who, while simultaneously leaving them hungry for their next bit of tasty adventure. Last week, the production quality was high yet the quality of the story was low, and this week it’s inversed. Hopefully this week’s drop in production value is only an anomaly and, assuming they didn’t blow their entire budget on America, next week is up to the high standard set prior. There’s only three more weeks before the inevitably torturous cliffhanger, and every story counts if we’re going to have to make do with them for another six months…

4 / 5