Live from Master Closet Studios, you’re listening to the only podcast on the internet that doesn’t work on wood: it’s the Noobs and the Whovian!
My name is Austin and I’m the Whovian, and these are my sons Corbin and Tripp and we’re the noobs!
This is the podcast that introduces a whole new generation to Doctor Who by watching an episode each week and discussing it from the perspective of a dad who’s seen it before, and two sons who haven’t.
Welcome to Episode 92 covering the 2011 Christmas special: The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe.
Super-short Recap
This is the one where the Doctor, Lily, Cyril, and Madge save a sentient Christmas tree forest inside a box in the sitting room in an old house in England. Pay attention!
Remember that one?
Production notes
- Story # 225
- Originally aired December 25, 2011 to 10.77 million viewers
- Written by: Steven Moffatt
- Directed by: Farren Blackburn
- He’ll be back for The Rings of Akhaten
Misc Trivia
- This one obviously drew a lot from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. We’ll point out some parallels as we go.
Cast
- Madge Arwell – Claire Skinner
- Sue in Outnumbered
- Wooden King – Spencer Wilding
- Played the Minotaur in The God Complex.
- Droxil – Bill Bailey
- Famous comedian/musician
Checklist
- Name of the episode spoken in dialogue?
- nope!
- Creature of the week
- Sentient Christmas trees
- The Wooden King & Queen
- CGI
- The faces of the king and queen
- Bow ties are cool
- Hats
- Backwards spacesuit helmet
- I look really good in a hat.
- Doctor Who?
- Geronimo
- So many great opportunities in this one, but nope!
- Running count – 8
- Stuff the Doctor loves
- Jiggery Pokery
- Sonic
- Still doesn’t work on wood!
- TARDIS
- Psychic paper
- Random
- Sonic
- Needless sacrificial death
- Thought there might be one this time, but nope!
- Jibberty Jabberty
- The life force of the whole forest has transmuted itself into a sub-etheric waveband of light which has… the souls of the trees are out among the stars, and they’re shining!
- Happy crying… humany wumany
Other stuff we noticed
- Madge took him to find an actual police box.
- They went to Uncle Digby’s house to escape the bombings. The Pevensie’s went to Prof. Digory Kirk’s to escape the bombings.
- Where are we? In a forest, in a box, in a sitting room. Try to keep up.
- Time doesn’t run consistently across the dimensional planes. Honestly what DO they teach you in school these days?
- Thing about people, we can never resist a door.
- One of the longest call-backs yet, within NuWho!
- Never underestimate a tree. I once met the Forest of Cheem, she fancied me.
- This was a call-back to Jabe in The End of the World.
Who’s Who?
- Who is Amy?
- Her door is TARDIS blue!
- She and Rory always set a place for the Doctor.
- Who is The Doctor?
- I’m the Caretaker! Usually called the Doctor, or the Caretaker, or Get-off-this-planet.
- Why would you rewire a wardrobe? Have you seen the way I dress?
- Do what I do – hold tight and pretend it’s a plan.
- I don’t have a home to think of. I’m older than I look and I can’t feel the way you do, not anymore.
- Got a bit clinchy there in the middle, but it worked out in the end. Story of my life.
Can we talk about Night and the Doctor?
- Go google Night and the Doctor
- Bad Night, Good Night, First Night, & Last Night
- It’s a delightful set of minisodes that are great character stories and awesomely wibbly wobbly.
Classic who connection
- The Doctor is in possession of the Magna Carta
- In the serial The Kings Demons – the Fifth Doctor prevented the Master from inciting a revolution that would have prevented the the writing and signing of The Magna Carta.
- Harvest Rangers
- The Harvest Rangers were from Androzani Major which we will visit when we do the Classic Who Rewind for the Fifth Doctor
- Respiratory Bypass System
- Gallifreyans have a different physiology from humans and this allows them to go longer without breathing. This has come up a number of times in Classic who
- The Third Doctor used it to survive strangling by the Nestene Consciousness in Spearhead from Space
- The Fourth Doctor survived strangling by a robot in Pyramids of Mars and avoided inhaling helium in The Robots of Death
- The Fifth Doctor survived the vacuum of space in Four to Doomsday and to get milk from a queen bat in The Caves of Androzani
- The Sixth Doctor did not breath in forum gas in The Two Doctors
Overall impressions
- Overall rating out of 10 –
- Jared – 8.5 shining shimmering souls
- Austin – 8.5 blinking trees
- Corbin – 5 pointless episodes
- Tripp -7.5 weird ball things
- Creep Level – out of 500
- Jared – 50
- Austin – 75
- Corbin – 30
- Tripp – 40
Theories
- What happens with Amy and Rory?
- Tripp thinks they’re coming back at least once in series 7.
- Corbin they’re definitely coming back to join the Doctor on adventures.
The Game Plan
- Next week, we begin series 7 with a fantastically fun episode, Asylum of the Daleks.
Closing
Noobs and the Whovian is a production of Master Closet Studios, where it’s always smaller on the inside. Your Senior Producer is Austin Reason. Our Audio Engineer is Tripp Reason. Corbin Reason is our Production Editor. Special thanks to tardis.wikia.com for the trivia, Jared for the Classic Who Connection. Shout outs to Victor and Jared for their Patreon support.
You can find us at facebook.com/noobsandthewhovian or twitter.com/noobswhovian and email us at [email protected]. Consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/noobsandthewhovian. Please subscribe and leave a rating wherever you found us, and share us with a friend not because we’re a great show but because we watch one.
