Like most of the Episodes this Season, this was largely hyped by the DW fan community. The fact that acclaimed author Neil Gaiman (famous for The Sandman, apparently one of the greatest comic books of all time) was writing this one alone was enough to spark colossal interest from the geeky fanbase. Also, Neil said that his Episode 'Was going to change the mythology of the show FOREVER' which was the thing that got me interested. Also calling it 'The Doctor's Wife' didn't really help extinguish the hype either! Originally this Episode was going to be made at the end of Series Five but because of Budget issues (and you can see why, calling this Episode expensive would be an understatement!) it was pushed back to this Season and was replaced by Ep 11 'The Lodger'. Which was a shame, because I'd have rather seen this Episode sooner. I thought 'The Doctor's Wife' was absolutely fantastic, but the title does seem a bit of a viewer-grab doesn't it? It really should have been called 'TARDIS' because that was what it was all about really! Its weird how after almost fifty years of DW being on telly, we never really got to explore all the different rooms in the TARDIS. For a time machine that is supposedly the size of an entire dimension it does seem a bit odd that we only get to see the main console room for most of the time isn't it? Who knows what could be packed down those endless corridors? They could have spent an entire Episode alone on just the interior of the Time Machine (which we didn't really get to see alot of, if I'm honest) but the fact that the Episode played on the idea of *WARNING MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT!* The TARDIS in physical form alone could have been the basis of several Episodes. I mean in this Episode, they gave the Doctor's ultimate companion a voice! And it turns out she was quite stark raving bonkers. The entire Episode was wonderfully mad, brilliantly directed and very flashy. I only wished it could have gone on longer! Right at the start we're hit flat on our face when the TARDIS team land on a junkyard planet in a bubble universe looking for Timelords.
Seen as the Ep was called 'The Doctor's Wife' I assumed that they'd find a refugie camp and one of the Time Lords there would be his Wife but nope, the teasing thought that there are lots and lots of Timelords about on this planet was unfortunately a red-herring and the Episode went in a rather more bizarre direction instead. Shame they didn't follow through on that, but they squandered a good story about refugie Time-Lords for an equally good story about a malevolent life-form invading the TARDIS and forcing the occupants into a mind game (which again could have beared an extra Episode to play with those idea's a little bit more but NO! they again squandered that opportunity) so it wasn't all that bad. I was a bit disappointed that the Ood didn't have much to do aswell, maybe an explanation on why it was there
in the first place? Oh well, I suppose I'm nitpicking. Idris, 'Sexy' or 'TARDIS' was well acted by Suranne Jones but I do think that Helena Bonham-Carter was born for that part, perhaps they couldn't get her? The hints and dialogue they have between each other are the best bits, hinting at 30 different designs of the TARDIS' main console to the Doctor stealing her in a museum (she was an old model) and basically running off with 'her'. It really changed the way you saw the TARDIS didn't it? An entire Season could be about the two of them talking to each other and discussing past adventures and I wouldn't be bored. Onto the look of the Episode, the sets were fantastically designed and the CGI was quite well done as well as being EVERYWHERE (those vistas were amazing). We were quite spoiled by getting another TARDIS console to look at aswell, this Episode had great scope and largely tingled my fanboy heart. This was a real blast from start to finish, and the idea of the TARDIS becoming human was so genuis that I STILL don't know why they hadn't thought it up earlier! And that tear filled ending from Matt Smith was a bit surprising wasn't it? I didn't think his Doctor 'cried' like David Tennant's. And the old TARDIS console! Nice to see that back, but I've got to say I kinda prefer the new version to that one.
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