The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe [TV/2011.12.25]

★★☆☆☆

  The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe is an odd mishmash of plenty of emotions, a fun showcase for the Eleventh Doctor, and a completely unengaging everything else. It's certainly not the only new series Christmas special to have this problem, but it seems to have developed a reputation for itself over the years as the most notable example.

  I'll come out and say upfront that this isn't terrible at all; in fact, as stated before, there are some rather nice moments scattered throughout. The first ten or so and the final five minutes are genuinely good stuff, and I found myself enjoying this more emotion-savvy Eleventh Doctor, as opposed to how he's written in the less flattering moments of his tenure. Claire Skinner brings out the heart of the piece remarkably, and the two child actors (I suppose it's technically one child actor, since Holly Earl was about nineteen at the time this was filmed) are above and beyond the usual child performances we get on telly. The rest of this episode, though... they're neither here nor there. I feel absolutely nothing about the comedy, the fantastical elements, even the light sprinklings of horror because they feel so half-assed. It's as if Steven Moffat decided to take the 'a little bit of everything' approach and made it so that no particular aspect stands out at all; all we're left with is this bland 58-minute episode that doesn't make me feel much — apart from the beginning and end, of course.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  For a light viewing experience during the festive season, I see no harm in checking out The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe. For any other time or for any other purpose, however, I hesitate to call this a worthwhile experience. Matt Smith glows, certainly, but he feels like a final spark on a dwindling fire desperately trying to make the whole thing notable in any way possible. Kudos to him, but I still find this adventure rather boring... eleven years on.