The prequel for The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe has been released, as part of the Adventure Calender featured on the official Doctor Who website.
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Showing posts with label The Doctor the widow and the wardrobe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Doctor the widow and the wardrobe. Show all posts
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Matt Smith on the Christmas Special
In a recent interview with What's on TV, Matt Smith talked about the upcoming Christmas special: The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe.
Can you set the scene when widow Madge Arwell and her children turn up at this draughty manor house and meet the Doctor?
“He’s very excited to see Madge and her children and make Christmas wonderful for this family who’ve been through so much. It’s very cosy and Christmassy in this house. It’s quite nice to see children as the central characters in a Christmas special.”
Why does he call himself The Caretaker?
“He just wants to give himself a new name for a while. But he’s ridiculous and they’re like, this isn’t how caretakers behave! He just wants to take care of things but of course The Doctor taking care of things is making the house twirl about in ridiculous ways. It’s the Doctor landing in a normal situation and changing it in a way only he can.”
What happens to the Doctor and the family at Christmas?
“There’s a sort of slow-burning magic to the story and it has a Narnia-esque feel to it – they all get to crawl through this mysterious blue present and into an enchanted forest that looked amazing. They covered this forest in snow. It looks incredible. We covered whole forests in snow. The scale of it is vast and it feels magical. We never see that in this country. It’s never THAT snowy.”
Is there a monster in the forest?
“There is a monster. There is a threat in this magical world, a definite threat. I’ll keep the monster as a surprise. It’s one of our best. The design of it is classic. There are others in the forest, too, who are like forestry workers in these great armoured suits. Their leader is played by comedian Bill Bailey!”
How does he get on with Madge?
“Madge is a plucky feisty mum who is quite clumsy, too, but takes care of things. The Doctor finds out something tragic about her life – and subsequently tries to give her and her children the best Christmas ever – which turns out to be the best Christmas ever in a really dangerous forest! Claire Skinner, who plays her, is great. I’m a big fan of her in Outnumbered.”
What can you reveal about the black space suit he wears at one point?
“At the beginning of the episode the Doctor finds himself in this space suit and he crashes to Earth in it. His helmet’s on backwards and he can’t see to navigate – which is funny, hopefully.”
Do you get a lot of stunts in this episode?
“Oh yes. It’s quite action-adventurey which I like. I’ve done all my own stunts this year – well I’ve done two. There have only been two! There’s a big explosion and I do the jump. And another one involves leaping over something which hopefully will be very funny as I land awkwardly. I really enjoy that. Maybe we’ll see more of an action hero Doctor next season.”
“He’s very excited to see Madge and her children and make Christmas wonderful for this family who’ve been through so much. It’s very cosy and Christmassy in this house. It’s quite nice to see children as the central characters in a Christmas special.”
Why does he call himself The Caretaker?
“He just wants to give himself a new name for a while. But he’s ridiculous and they’re like, this isn’t how caretakers behave! He just wants to take care of things but of course The Doctor taking care of things is making the house twirl about in ridiculous ways. It’s the Doctor landing in a normal situation and changing it in a way only he can.”
What happens to the Doctor and the family at Christmas?
“There’s a sort of slow-burning magic to the story and it has a Narnia-esque feel to it – they all get to crawl through this mysterious blue present and into an enchanted forest that looked amazing. They covered this forest in snow. It looks incredible. We covered whole forests in snow. The scale of it is vast and it feels magical. We never see that in this country. It’s never THAT snowy.”
Is there a monster in the forest?
“There is a monster. There is a threat in this magical world, a definite threat. I’ll keep the monster as a surprise. It’s one of our best. The design of it is classic. There are others in the forest, too, who are like forestry workers in these great armoured suits. Their leader is played by comedian Bill Bailey!”
How does he get on with Madge?
“Madge is a plucky feisty mum who is quite clumsy, too, but takes care of things. The Doctor finds out something tragic about her life – and subsequently tries to give her and her children the best Christmas ever – which turns out to be the best Christmas ever in a really dangerous forest! Claire Skinner, who plays her, is great. I’m a big fan of her in Outnumbered.”
What can you reveal about the black space suit he wears at one point?
“At the beginning of the episode the Doctor finds himself in this space suit and he crashes to Earth in it. His helmet’s on backwards and he can’t see to navigate – which is funny, hopefully.”
Do you get a lot of stunts in this episode?
“Oh yes. It’s quite action-adventurey which I like. I’ve done all my own stunts this year – well I’ve done two. There have only been two! There’s a big explosion and I do the jump. And another one involves leaping over something which hopefully will be very funny as I land awkwardly. I really enjoy that. Maybe we’ll see more of an action hero Doctor next season.”
How do you get into a Christmas frame of mind when you start filming it in September?
“The wonderful set does it for you – the snow, the pine trees and the smell of them. I’m so looking forward to Christmas! There have been a few night shoots – they can be tough.”
What were your favourite Christmas memories as a kid?
“I didn’t have Doctor Who as a kid sadly. Boxing Day was always the football in my house. I love Christmas. I can’t wait – family, presents and the rest. The older you get, the more you like buying things for other people. Working so much has meant I haven’t had much time with my family as I have previously, so to have a run of two or three days with them is good.”
Will you watch Doctor Who with your family?
“We will sit down and watch it together. My sister usually gabbles on during the middle of it. My dad will be like sssshhhhh. They like the surprise. I always get a text every Saturday saying they liked each episode.”
“The wonderful set does it for you – the snow, the pine trees and the smell of them. I’m so looking forward to Christmas! There have been a few night shoots – they can be tough.”
What were your favourite Christmas memories as a kid?
“I didn’t have Doctor Who as a kid sadly. Boxing Day was always the football in my house. I love Christmas. I can’t wait – family, presents and the rest. The older you get, the more you like buying things for other people. Working so much has meant I haven’t had much time with my family as I have previously, so to have a run of two or three days with them is good.”
Will you watch Doctor Who with your family?
“We will sit down and watch it together. My sister usually gabbles on during the middle of it. My dad will be like sssshhhhh. They like the surprise. I always get a text every Saturday saying they liked each episode.”
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Images and Summary for The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe
Several pictures and an official summary have been released for the 2011 Christmas special, entitled The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe.
The summary:
The summary:
It’s Christmas Eve, 1938, when Madge Arwell comes to the aid of an injured Spaceman Angel as she cycles home, in this year’s Doctor Who Christmas Special, starring Matt Smith as the Doctor.
He promises to repay her kindness – all she has to do is make a wish.
Three years later, a devastated Madge escapes war-torn London with her two children for a dilapidated house in Dorset. She is crippled with grief at the news her husband has been lost over the channel, but determined to give Lily and Cyril the best Christmas ever.
The Arwells are surprised to be greeted by a madcap caretaker whose mysterious Christmas gift leads them into a magical wintry world. Here, Madge will learn how to be braver than she ever thought possible. And that wishes can come true…
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