Episode 6.4 – “The Doctor’s Wife“

Minor spoilers for first ten minutes of “The Doctor’s Wife”.

This is the episode that Whovians have been waiting 47 years for, but just didn’t know it. With a woman-turned-TARDIS, companions running through actual TARDIS corridors and Neil Gaiman on board, it would be very hard to go wrong. There is no doubt that “The Doctor’s Wife” will go down as one of the most iconic episodes within both Series Six and the decades-spanning television series Doctor Who as a whole.

In “The Doctor’s Wife“, the TARDIS team receives a cube containing a distress call from another Time Lord. Following the source of the call, The Doctor steers the TARDIS outside of our universe and into what he haphazardly calls a “bubble universe”, a term he comes up with to silence the questioning Amy and Rory. Here the three travelers explore what they assume to be a junkyard on an asteroid. This is no asteroid, however. It is House (guest Michael Sheen), a very large sentient being with a hard outer shell who lives off the souls of TARDISes.

Not only is there Douglas Adams overtones throughout the entire script of “The Doctor’s Wife“, this episode also boasts the Emmy-winning Sheen (though unrecognizable and off-screen) and sci-fi scribe Neil Gaiman to boot. However, it’s the content of “The Doctor’s Wife” that labels this episode as a Doctor Who must-watch. The reason, plain and simple? The TARDIS speaks.

After over 900 years of traveling through space and time with the TARDIS — 47 years human time — The Doctor and his space craft have never spoken. Yes, The Doctor often talks at the TARDIS, but she’s never replied – verbally, that is. With “The Doctor’s Wife“, carefully and gloriously written by Gaiman, she finally does — and she’s just as ridiculous, crazy and sexy as we hoped. When The Doctor introduces Idris (guest Suranne Jones) to his companions, his repetition of the word “woman” does not go unnoticed. Amy asks, “Did you wish really hard?” Maybe it wasn’t The Doctor, but rather Gaiman and showrunner Steven Moffat who wished really hard. It’s kind of a Whovian dream come true, having The Doctor’s one true love — sorry, Rose — running and talking and kissing throughout an entire unforgettable episode of Doctor Who.

But just one irking, nagging point — Remember last week when I complied a list of how many times Moffat’s companions have died and then joked around that Rory is basically becoming the Doctor Who equivalient of South Park‘s Kenny? Yeah, well, “the pretty one” died again, didn’t he? Actually, I’m not even sure how many times he died in this episode; It could have been twice, but I’ve honestly given up. Amy has bawled her eyes out over her potentially-dead husband in at least four episodes now. Thank god Karen Gillan can pull it off or I’d be knocking down Moffat’s door in a rage.

Memorable Quotes and Moments

• Uncle: “I only wish I could go in your place, Idris. Nah I don’t, ’cause it’s really gonna hurt.”
• The Doctor’s expression when he exclaims, “I’ve got mail!”
• This kind of feels like NEVERWHERE but, you know, actually good!
• The biting!
• Idris: “Are you going to steal me. You have stolen me. You are stealing me. Oh! Tenses are difficult, aren’t they?”
• Rory: “He’ll be fine. He’s a Time Lord.”, Amy: “It’s just what they’re called. Doesn’t mean he actually knows what he’s doing.”
• THE CORRIDORS.
• TARDIS console room of Eccleston and Tennant, I see you!
• Amy: “Did you wish really hard?”
• House: “Fear me. I’ve killed hundreds of Time Lords.”, The Doctor: “Fear me. I’ve killed all of them.”
• Idris: “Hello, Doctor. It’s so very very nice to meet you.”
• That swing chair under the console. It continues to amuse.
• The Doctor: “Bunk beds are cool. A bed. With a ladder. You can’t beat that.”
• The only water in the forest is the river.