When it comes to Christmas specials Doctor Who fans are often caught in the trap of knowledge. While fans understand inherently that a program tailored just for fans is not and cannot be sustainable in the long term, fans also don’t want the program to be so broad that it loses it’s niche appeal.
This is doubly true at Christmas time where Doctor Who has held the prestige spot on the BBC’s Christmas day schedule for a few years now. The delicate needle that must be threaded, at least for fans, makes for hit or miss evaluations as to story and overall importance to the larger mythos of the show. One need look no further than The Runaway Bride as evidence of this.
All of which brings us to this years outing. It should be stated clearly here that there is nothing inherently bad about The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe. Performance by one and all was uniformly fine. Matt Smith was at his fizzy best but the sense of scale was missing this time around, kind of like The Next Doctor in that respect.
Still we shouldn’t judge too harshly. It’s the last new Who for 9 months we figure so if history is our guide we’ll probably be more kindly disposed to The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe come late spring or early summer when anticipation will be mounting yet again.
For the sake of completeness, here’s our revised list ranking the Christmas specials:
- #9 – Voyage of the Damned
- #8 – The Feast of Steven
- #7 – The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe
- #6 – The Next Doctor
- #5 – The Runaway Bride
- #4 – The End of Time Pt I
- #3 – The Unquiet Dead
- #2 – A Christmas Carol
- #1 – The Christmas Invasion
Images and caps for The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe are now online. BTW even though the view here at THT Towers is that “Doctor Who Confidential” had served it’s purpose and run it’s course, didn’t you miss it too?
