The Doctor's Wife

The Doctor’s Wife is one of the most anticipated Doctor Who episodes ever. Written by author Neil Gaiman (famous for among others, Coraline), the episode is quite simply wonderful.

The appeal of the episode can’t really be categorised into just one area with all of them on seemingly top form. Characterisation, excellent and moving. Story, strong and disturbing. Acting, pitch perfect. Production, gorgeous. With so much excellence it is not hard to see why it succeeded.

Suranne Jones as the TARDIS was doomed before she started. How could one person possibly convey the intense emotion that is the Doctor’s time ship? How do you play that? Fortunately, the actress takes the role and makes it her own in a way that no other person on the planet could. Idris is the episodes’ biggest surprise. The character is quite brilliant, one of the greatest characters ever to appear in the series. At times the character is moving and hilarious, joyful and terrified. At all times the character lights up the screen with her unique appeal. One scene sells Idris as the TARDIS more than any other. It is the scene where the Doctor and the TARDIS finally talked. The Doctor’s annoyance at the TARDIS is very amusing, but what makes the scene brilliant is Idris’ reaction. The Doctor is annoyed at her for not taking him where he wanted to go. She says I always took you where you needed to go. The statement packs such a punch as this statement fits in so well with the series and yet it has never been said before. It is a beautiful idea and really confirms the fact that this woman is the TARDIS. In fact, a significant part of the episode’s appeal is the way that Suranne Jones plays the character. It is an incredibly Helena Bonham-Carter-esque, and yet it is quite unique. The performance is full of odd juxtapositions, much like the TARDIS herself.

Despite the sheer intensity of Surrane Jones’ performance, the episode does not just belong to her. No, this episode is shared between both her and Matt Smith. The young actor is simply incredible throughout the story displaying a wonderful range of emotions, from rage to weakness, surprise to shock, and from joy to sadness. The episode is great for the Doctor because it would be a massive occurrence in his life. Meeting the ship you travel in, what an odd, joyous day. The actor seems to realise this and really gets into the role, making it his own in a way that has strangely remained unseen. While in other episodes, it seemed as though old Smithy was settling into his role, but here he seems completely at home. As such, we finally get to see the Eleventh Doctor’s emotions. The sheer amount of character development afforded to the Doctor within this episode has not been seen since the 60s (The War Games) and the 70s (The Deadly Assassin). It’s astonishing that Neil Gaiman can write one 45 minute episode and develop the character in a new and interesting way. “Hello, Doctor” indeed…

Minor characters also play a significant role within the story. The characters of Auntie and Uncle are great fun, yet also slightly sinister. The idea of replaced body parts and the casual way in which they speak about it is deeply chilling. A slight problem with those two is that they are not really developed, but we are given character insight through the way in which dialogue is written and then the way in which it is spoken. The duo add some detail to the story, and what is interesting is when they are killed off. After the Doctor has met Idris and she has revealed who she is, Auntie and Uncle walk in and promptly die. It’s as if the writer knew that as soon as Idris’ identity is solved, people would be rightly too distracted by that bombshell to pay any attention to the minor characters. So he kills them. Clever, Neil Gaiman, clever.

The subplot with Amy and Rory exploring the TARDIS is wonderful. No, wonderful’s not the right word, awesome. That’s much better. There are more reasons than I have room to discuss in detail, but there are a couple I’ll chat about. The first is we finally get to see more of the TARDIS. In the classic series, we often had the privellige of seeing inside the time ship, past the console room, quite regularly. But, since the new series began we have seen very little of TARDIS corridors. The Doctor’s Wife does much to rectify this grave error. That leads to my second reason as to the greatness of the subplot. Many of the scenes are scary as hell. Particularly, when House tricks Amy into thinking that every time she is locked away from Rory, time progresses faster until finally her husband is a dead husk. That scene with the shocking close-ups of Rory’s scrawled words such as “Kill, Hate, Die Amy” is quite possibly the most disturbing scene in Doctor Who ever. It’s a true “Oh my God” moment (it’s also another “They Keep Killing Rory” Moment) that’s terribly unnerving and freaky. Thanks for scaring the pants out of me. There are several other surreal moments inside that subplot making even filler fascinating to watch.

What is odd about the story is the use of continuity. Kisses to the past are readily apparent within the episode. These include the use of the ‘little boxes’ (previously seen in The War Games), an Ood and the old console room. These kisses are great fun for the Doctor Who fan as we fans happen to love continuity references (unless the production is overflowed with them, like what happened in the 80s). What is great about this episode’s use of references is that they don’t limit the casual viewer. The audience is not limited to any one group, ensuring that the episode can be enjoyed by every viewer.

The production of the story is excellent, making the story a visual feast. The production team somehow managed to turn a quarry (another kiss) into a spectacular alien planet, that actually looks very convincing. This planet is supposed to look like a bit of a junkheap and does in the broadcast program. Nice, original setting. But the production’s most visually exciting sequence is the final defeat against House and the goodbye. The whole scene is gorgeous with time energy spilling from Idris’ mouth filling the console room with a lovely glow. Then, after House is defeated, the room goes dark, and suddenly a light illuminates one corner. It is Idris, who wishes to say her final goodbye to the Doctor. The scene is incredibly touching with some of the most moving lines in the episode, causing this reviewer to find something in his eye… The beautiful production certainly attributes to the greatness that is The Doctor’s Wife.

The episode is certainly the high-point of the Matt Smith era, and possibly the entire new series. Continuity is used liberally, but not overused, the story is completely absorbing. The actors and actresses involved are all on top form, and the whole production  team seems to have given this episode that little extra something. All of these, and more culminate in making an episode that is very brilliant and just a touch off perfect…