Harry -
A pocket story in a pocket universe. Sort of. Think of soap bubbles or something. Anyway, the TARDIS takes a very long detour, so far away that even Moffat's season-long story arc is barely in view.
Sarah -
Who doesn’t love a pocket universe? They’re so cozy.
Harry -
I think this story was perfectly placed as a sidebar before we go back into the main season arc.
Sarah -
What I remember most about this story is how fandom lost its collective mind when it was announced that Neil Gaiman would be writing for Doctor Who.
Harry -
Surely I was among them. After seeing so many big name writers say "Oh I'd love to write for Doctor Who" over the years, here finally was a big name writer coming on board.
Sarah -
And then it lost its mind all over again when the title was announced, followed by the never-ending speculation of who would be The Doctor’s Wife. The TARDIS was almost a disappointment after all that.
While working on "The Caves of Androzani", John Nathan-Turner wrote the title “The Doctor’s Wife” on the white board in his office to identify the person who was leaking information to the media. It worked and he found the leak. I imagine Moffat had been waiting decades to use The Doctor’s Wife as a title!
Harry -
An amusing bit of history there.
Almost from the start there's some misdirection about who the titular wife might be. The Doctor receives a Gallifreyan distress cube in the middle of space from a previously unknown Time Lord called the Corsair. We learn that the Corsair is a friend of the Doctor's and has changed gender multiple times, a bit of foundation-laying for Michelle Gomez and Jodie Whittaker. Without further ado, the TARDIS heads outside the universe into all manner of strangeness and trouble.
Sarah -
Well played, Moff! I’d forgotten it was in this story.
Harry -
Turns out the Corsair was not the Doctor's wife, but the victim of a sentient asteroid that has been luring and killing dozens of Time Lords in this pocket universe, and devouring their TARDISes. Seeking to capture the Doctor's TARDIS, the asteroid (identified as House) drains out its matrix, leaving an empty shell ready to be occupied. The matrix meanwhile is dumped into the body of a human named Idris, one of a handful of scraggly people clinging to life on the asteroid. Perhaps these people were surviving companions of other Time Lords?
Sarah -
That’s so sad and entirely possible.
Harry -
Watching the story again, Idris' initial nonsensical dialogue made much more sense. "Thief, thief!" she shouts when spotting the Doctor. Over the years there has been the occasional gag about the Doctor and TARDIS sharing amorous communications between themselves but here they are finally both able to vocalize together at the same time. I particularly liked the line "You stole me, and I stole you."
Sarah -
At least it was consensual and they’ve been committed for millennia.
Harry -
The story is very clever and spreads out nicely over 45 minutes. Did it strike you that Gaiman didn't give Amy and Rory much to do, other than being trapped inside the TARDIS for much of the story?
Sarah -
Just another week of Amy and Rory being traumatized – again.
Harry -
Their lack of involvement really stood out here, until they were subjected to some horror story wandering in the TARDIS corridors. It didn't seem to mesh with the rest of the story.
One thing I remembered about this story was the colour palette. Grey, grey and more grey. It definitely contributed to the lifeless atmosphere on the asteroid.
Sarah -
Not a place you’d like to spend any more time than necessary. It’s a well-paced episode and I enjoyed it more than I expected.
Harry -
The Doctor and the TARDIS throw together another console from junk parks, reclaim the TARDIS shell and expel House, problem resolved.
Later on, Gaiman said that he would have liked to write another story for the Capaldi era. It never happened and who knows if he'll ever write for the show again. As far as I know, there hasn't been much spinoff content regarding the Corsair. Perhaps Gaiman is hanging on to that for future opportunities.
This was an interesting story. Big on ideas, with a huge focus on the Doctor and TARDIS. It was nice to hear the TARDIS' side of things for once.
Sarah -
Best Line:
AMY: She's the TARDIS?
DOCTOR: And she's a woman. She's a woman and she's the TARDIS.
AMY: Did you wish really hard?
Favorite Moment: Amy and Rory asking to get rid of the bunk beds.
Lasting Image: The spare-parts TARDIS
6/10
Harry -
Best Line:
DOCTOR: I don't know what to do. That's a new feeling.
Favourite Moment: The Doctor and TARDIS saying hello.
Lasting Image: Idris
7/10
Our marathon continues with Story #217: The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People...
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