(The answer is, of course, because they are going to be sad later.) I just finished a great rehearsal for the show I am in this summer, and even finished two hours early. Bonus! Now I just need to write this post and then I can go to bed. Yay! It's been two weeks, so it's Christmas again already. And then next Monday it will be Christmas again, because it's Doctor Who and time gets all wibbly-wobbly.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves, and stick to Christmas 2011. Or 1941. Or, actually, 5345. Like I said, wibbly wobbly.

The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

Inspirationally, this episode is a bookend to the previous year in that it is another story inspired by a classic Christmas tale. Where last year was Dickens, this year is C.S. Lewis (but without the Jesus Lion). The story opens with the Doctor in the midst of blowing up an invading spaceship in 1938, escaping only by climbing into a spacesuit as he is falling to Earth. He survives the fall, albeit with the suit on backwards, and is aided by a very kind British woman named Madge who helps him get to his police box. He thanks her, and says if she ever needs his help to just make a wish.

Three years later, he lives up to his promise. Madge's husband is (was) a pilot in the war, and is missing and presumed dead. Because it is Christmas, she has not told her two children Cyril and Lilly that their father is dead.  Due to the bombing, the three are relocated to the country to their deceased uncle's estate. There, they find the Doctor posing as the caretaker. He has planned a fantastic Christmas for the family. Among the surprises: a giant wrapped package that turns out to be a portal to a snowy Christmas planet. Of course it turns out that there is danger there, what with the trees being sentient and about to be deliberately melted down by acid rain to be used as fuel for Androzani Major. Just, you know, normal stuff.

So the drama happens, the kid learn some life lessons, Madge puts on a magic crown and carries the souls of the entire forest to freedom, and along the way rescues her husband and saves Christmas. A happy ending! (of course)

The Christmas episodes are always lighter on drama and amped up on the warm and fuzzy, and this one is no exception. I like this one a lot, much more than the previous year. The plot holds together much better, and everything ties up nicely.

There are two small roles in the show that really made me laugh out loud though, since I immediately recognized two out of the three Androzani Major harvest rangers. The first is played by Paul Bazely.

This guy

I know him better as Michael the Magnificent from The I.T. Crowd:

The second is played by comedian Bill Bailey, whom I know best from this classic bit:

So yeah, it was fun having both of them there. I would go so far as to say they work much better and more organically than the comedy duo that is coming up the day after tomorrow...

STATS:

Doctor(s): Eleventh
Companion(s): Amy Pond, Rory Williams (both very briefly at the end)
Episode(s): The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe
Steps Walked: 8,035 today, 3,206,234 total
Distance Walked: 4.24 miles today, 1,674.79 miles total
Push-ups Completed: 100 today, 5,864 total
Sit-ups Completed: 0 today, 929 total
How Many Times has Rory Died?: 4
How Many Times has Amy Died?: 3
Is Anything Cool?: Naturally occurring Christmas trees are cool, and so is watching the Doctor's blue box do its thing
Weight: 251.22 lbs (five day moving average), net change -56.08 lbs