Every Doctor Who Christmas Special Ranked From Worst To Best
6. The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe (2011)
Matt Smith's second festive special is one of the most in-your-face Christmassy episodes yet, spinning a heartwarming yarn about the importance of family over the festive period. The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe is a sickly-sweet episode that turns very mushy as it nears its climax, but thanks to a terrific guest performance by Claire Skinner, the episode stays grounded with a relatable emotional core.
Unfortunately, things don't get off to a great start, with some particularly naff CGI as the Doctor falls to Earth in the opening moments. Maybe the BBC thought we'd be too drunk on Christmas Day to notice? In fact, the effects in this episode - even by Who standards - are poor, with the sparkly forest life force looking like it was done in five minutes using Windows Movie Maker and a cheap chroma-key effect.
On the plus side though, Madge is one of Who's best one-off characters, and Skinner's performance is warm and touching throughout: a late-game scene where she's forced to watch her husband's death is particularly tough to watch, in a good way. On top of that, Matt Smith's eclectic goofiness is as infectious as ever - especially during the house tour scene - the wood creatures are well-designed and intimidating, and the final scene at Amy's house was a brilliantly moving way to cap things off.
On the downside, some flat direction means that the episode doesn't quite pop as a whole. Guest star Bill Bailey is criminally underused too, and little niggles like this - combined with those effects issues - make the episode feel a bit rushed.