9. The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe (2011)
While theres not really a bad episode in the array of specials, The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe comes the closest. Matt Smiths bouncy incarnation is as charming and as unexpectedly deep as ever, but this is easily Steven Moffats weakest Christmas script yet. While Moffats holiday shtick has been to adapt classic Christmas tales for Who with - at times - great success, this saccharine, Narnia-esque story doesnt do either work entire justice. Smith and companion Claire Skinner do their best, but the episode begins and ends with an admittedly charming and incessantly Christmassy atmosphere, with little other than a weak but faintly interesting premise and syrupy holiday sweetness getting us through it. All in all, its a fun romp into an otherworldly winter wonderland, but it does not amount to much more than that. What's more, the forest planet that the Doctor & Co get themselves trapped on has little of Narnias sparkle and the lack of any significant antagonist reveals, past all the shiny Christmas wrapping the episode is swathed in, a flimsy plot that doesnt really hold up without it. The tree-creatures felt underused, the implications of the melting of the forest werent explored, and the conclusion was almost too perfectly tied up with a red-and-green bow. Since this episode screams Christmas louder than an eggnog-drenched, tinsel-adorned carolling Santa Claus, it seems Scrooge-ish to complain this incessantly, so to end off: The Doctor, The Widow, and The Wardrobe is the perfect Doctor Who Christmas special to watch while half-dead from your holiday-induced food coma.
Mavra Choudhry
Canadian student. Spends probably an unhealthy amount of time enthusing over musicals, unpopular TV shows, and Harry Potter. Main life goal: to become fluent in Elvish.
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