Doctor Who: The Doctor's Wife – Series 32, episode 4

SPOILER ALERT: This weekly blog is for those who have been watching the new series of Doctor Who. Don’t read ahead if you haven’t seen episode four – The Doctor’s Wife Dan Martin’s episode three blog “I wanted to see the universe, so I stole a Timelord and ran away. You were the only one mad enough.” Well, well, well. If the TV listings people have acted with honour and you’ve managed to avoid the internet this past week, you will have just watched The Doctor’s Wife unspoilered, the way it was intended. And love it or hate it, you’ll probably need a little lie down. Because this was a story about the Tardis, set largely inside the Tardis, with the Tardis as the female lead. Neil Gaiman’s story pivots on one of the most basic cruxes from the show’s history; that a long time ago, the rebellious Doctor stole a Tardis, left the fusty Timelords behind and ran off to see the universe. If you were wondering why recent weeks have seem him referring to the Tardis as “she” a lot more than usual, then this is why. Hopefully, those not steeped in the history of Doctor Who will have got it. Because for all the grand sci-fi conceits and madcap surrealism, at its heart this was just a simple love story between a man and his car. I won’t pretend to be an expert in Gaiman’s work, but his script feels like a masterstroke in bringing his twisted fantasia to the show without ever smothering it. The patchwork people, the talking planet, the steampunk stylings all felt like vintage Gaiman, but the episode was also steeped in Who-ness, in a way that guest writers don’t always manage. With so many wild ideas at play, this would have been so easy to get wrong. The slightest stylistic nudge in either direction could have turned this into an overblown disaster, yet in every sense it was pitched perfectly. “Biting’s excellent. It’s like kissing only there’s a winner.” Suranne Jones arguably sets the standard by which all guest stars must now be judged here. She plays Idris/Tardis as a grizzled Cinderella with all of time and space running through her; like Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland, just enough of a machine, (yet rather more plausible). From her initial feral insanity, through inquisitive kook, through pathos (“I am thinking that all my sisters are dead and that we are looking at their corpses”) through heroism through to that final sequence, Jones was electrifying throughout. “I’ll always be here, but this is when we talked. And now even that has come to an end.” Who knew that the word “hello” could sound so heartbreaking? For all the friends who come and go, and all the new bodies he gets, the one constant in the Doctor’s life is the time machine. “You didn’t always take me where I wanted to go,” he chastises. “But I always took you where you needed to,” she replies serenely, answering yet another question of why the Tardis always takes him to trouble. It makes for one brutal denouement, a magically played farewell sequence. Fear Factor With all this going on it would be easy to sideline the Ponds, but it’s their subplot that brings the frights. As Michael Sheen’s booming House toys with them in an unwinnable game of cat-and-mouse through the Tardis corridors, Old Rory and the “Kill Amy” daubings ramp things back up to Silence levels of horror. Mysteries and Questions Deep in the bowels of last week’s Black Spot thread lay an interesting theory about Rory’s “Kenny” status. It was suggested, after what happened to him last year, that Rory shouldn’t exist, then it is Amy’s love that he needs to survive, or even exist. This would be borne out by the sequence with old, then dead Rory. That is if we assume that any of that actually happened. And then, there’s that mysterious prophesy: “the only water in the forest is the river”. We must assume that refers to River Song. Right? Time-space debris • As if there wasn’t enough going on, in a single throwaway line at the beginning points towards the bigger story arc. When describing Corsair, the Doctor talks of “himself, or herself,” which establishes that Timelords can indeed switch gender. Expect the female Doctor debate to erupt again. • This episode was originally intended to be part of last series, but was bumped when they ran out of money. Even then, not everything in Gaiman’s imagination could be achieved. Early drafts featured a scene in the Tardis swimming pool. • There’s so much to talk about this week we haven’t even mentioned the Ood yet. Or indeed, the marvellous Auntie and Uncle. Or indeed, the old control room! • “This time, can we lose the bunk beds?” The Doctor once again fundamentally misses human sexual urges. Next Week! Matthew “Life On Mars” Graham’s two-parter begins with The Rebel Flesh. And it sounds like we begin to get some answers. Season 2 Episode 1: The Robot Revolution Episode 2: Lux Episode 3: The Well Episode 4: Lucky Day Episode 5: The Story and the Engine Episode 6: The Interstellar Song Contest Episode 7: Wish World Episode 8: The Reality War Season 1 Episodes 1 & 2: Space Babies / The Devil's Chord Episode 3: Boom Episode 4: 73 Yards Episode 5: Dot and Bubble Episode 6: Rogue Episode 7: The Legend of Ruby Sunday Episode 8: Empire of Death Christmas special: Joy to the World 60th anniversary specials Special 1: The Star Beast Special 2: Wild Blue Yonder Special 3: The Giggle Christmas special: The Church on Ruby Road Flux / Series 13 Chapter one: The Halloween Apocalypse Chapter two: War of the Sontarans Chapter three: Once, Upon Time Chapter four: Village of the Angels Chapter five: Survivors of the Flux Chapter six: The Vanquishers New Year's Special: Eve of the Daleks Spring special: Legend of the Sea Devils BBC centenary special: The Power of the Doctor Series 12 Episode 1: Spyfall part one Episode 2: Spyfall part two Episode 3: Orphan 55 Episode 4: Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror Episode 5: Fugitive of the Judoon Episode 6: Praxeus Episode 7: Can You Hear Me? Episode 8: The Haunting of Villa Diodati Episode 9: Ascension of the Cybermen Episode 10: The Timeless Children New Year's special: Revolution of the Daleks Series 11 Episode 1: The Woman Who Fell to Earth Episode 2: The Ghost Monument Episode 3: Rosa Episode 4: Arachnids in the UK Episode 5: The Tsuangra Condundrum Episode 6: Demons of the Punjab Episode 7: Kerblam! Episode 8: The Witchfinders Episode 9: It Takes You Away Episode 10: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos New Year's special: Resolution Series 10 Episode 1: The Pilot Episode 2: Smile Episode 3: Thin Ice Episode 4: Knock Knock Episode 5: Oxygen Episode 6: Extremis Episode 7: The Pyramid at the End of the World Episode 8: The Lie of the Land Episode 9: Empress of Mars Episode 10: The Eaters of Light Episode 11: World Enough and Time Episode 12: The Doctor Falls 2017 Christmas special: Twice Upon A Time Series 9 Episode 1: The Magician's Apprentice Episode 2: The Witch's Familiar Episode 3: Under The Lake Episode 4: Before The Flood Episode 5: The Girl Who Died Episode 6: The Woman Who Lived Episode 7: The Zygon Invasion Episode 8: The Zygon Inversion Episode 9: Sleep No More Episode 10: Face The Raven Episode 11: Heaven Sent Episode 12: Hell Bent 2015 Christmas special: The Husbands of River Song 2016 Christmas special: The Return of Doctor Mysterio Series 8 Episode 1: Deep Breath Episode 2: Into The Dalek Episode 3: Robot of Sherwood Episode 4: Listen Episode 5: Time Heist Episode 6: The Caretaker Episode 7: Kill The Moon Episode 8: Mummy on the Orient Express Episode 9: Flatline Episode 10: In the Forest of the Night Episode 11: Dark Water Episode 12: Death In Heaven 2014 Christmas special: Last Christmas Series 7 Episode 1: Asylum of the Daleks Episode 2: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship Episode 3: A Town Called Mercy Episode 4: The Power of Three Episode 5: The Angels Take Manhatten 2012 Christmas special: The Snowmen Episode 6: The Bells of Saint John Episode 7: The Rings of Akhaten Episode 8: Cold War Episode 9: Hide Episode 10: Journey to the Centre of the Tardis Episode 11: The Crimson Horror Episode 12: Nightmare in Silver Episode 13: The Name of the Doctor 50th Anniversary special: The Day of the Doctor 2013 Christmas special: The Time of the Doctor Series 6 Episode 1: The Impossible Astronaut Episode 2: Day of the Moon Episode 3: The Curse of the Black Spot Episode 4: The Doctor's Wife Episode 5: The Rebel Flesh Episode 6: The Almost People Episode 7: A Good Man Goes To War Episode 8: Let's Kill Hitler Episode 9: Night Terrors Episode 10: The Girl Who Waited Episode 11: The God Complex Episode 12: Closing Time Episode 13: The Wedding of River Song 2011 Christmas special: The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe Series 5 Episode 1: The Eleventh Hour Episode 2: The Beast Below Episode 3: Victory of the Daleks Episode 4: The Time of Angels Episode 5: Flesh and Stone Episode 6: The Vampires of Venice Episode 7: Amy's Choice Episode 8: The Hungry Earth Episode 9: Cold Blood Episode 10: Vincent and the Doctor Episode 11: The Lodger Episode 12: The Pandorica Opens Episode 13: The Big Bang 2010 Christmas special: A Christmas Carol