The Doctor's Wife

"The soul of the TARDIS has just vanished."

Writer: Neil Gaiman

Format: TV

Broadcast: 11 May 2011

Series: 6.04

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis

The Doctor is lured by a Time Lord to a junkyard outside of the universe. There, the TARDIS matrix is implanted into a woman called Idris, and for the first time the madman and his box interact. But House is at hand, and plans on continuing his feast of TARDISes...

Verdict

The Doctor's Wife was just a beautiful episode of Doctor Who. The title is eye-catching for obvious reasons and it's quite fun that it actually has nothing to do with the series finale! Of course, this is an episode many had been waiting for forever! The concept of the TARDIS being humanised and allowing some interaction with it and the Doctor is just magnificent and what we get is just glorious. There is a sub story going on with everything concerning House and the wreckage planet in the bubble universe, but for me it's just all about the Doctor and the TARDIS getting to talk. I think Idris is a fine character to have the soul of the TARDIS go into and it's obviously a big jump to go from being a massive time and space machine with an insane amount of potential to being within one small body. There are so many enjoyable lines in the episode with Idris referring to the Doctor as her thief and it's quite fun to think that the events depicted in The Name of the Doctor would actually be orchestrated by the TARDIS! She also wanted to see the universe so she needed a madman to take the box. It's a wonderful concept and just shows how perfect they were for each other. I loved how much the TARDIS liked being referred to as old girl which is a classic and the outburst of sorts between the pair regarding the reliability of the TARDIS is both hilarious and very strong! It's no secret the Doctor couldn't always get where he wanted to go, but the TARDIS always got him where he was needed! It was hard to argue that. The humour and chemistry between the pair was marvellous and Suranne Jones is tremendous casting. She plays it so role and delicately because this episode is one that could have gone very wrong. Thankfully, it's superb. The Doctor's excitement at getting mail and having the hypercube knock on the door was brilliant. Watching as always in the modern era rewatch with my girlfriend, it was lovely to throw some Classic era knowledge on her with these coming from The War Games which so happens to be my all time favourite story. It's marvellous continuity. With Time Lord business at hand, it's fun for the Doctor to send Amy and Rory back to the TARDIS. We get to see a good exploitation of the interior though! And the return of the Ninth and Tenth Doctor's console room is really fun and just looks wrong to see this TARDIS trio in those surroundings! I'm all for it though. Idris thinking Rory was the sexy one was amusing but not something I agree with considering who his wife is! I also loved the referring to the companions as strays. That was perhaps a little harsh but is tremendous comic value. The way the Doctor takes on House is outstanding and the retort he has about fearing him because he's killed all of the Time Lords is chilling. This is Matt Smith at his best. Building a junk TARDIS is magnificent and it looks really great! There's a good sense of action as the story goes on and the anger of the Doctor is clear as Idris was correct that the boxes would indeed make him angry. The hints at the future with the meaning of the word in the key and then hinting at River's true identity was nicely done. Subtle enough but also something you can really appreciate in hindsight. Amy's reaction to learning about Idris was delightful as she thought the Doctor had wished really hard and Idris bursting out at being called Sexy was hilarious. There was a really emotional end though as Idris wouldn't last in the body and returned to the TARDIS when in the normal universe. But this was the time the Doctor and the TARDIS got to talk, and that's just stunning. Overall, a sublime episode! 

Rating: 10/10