I was contacted last week by a number of people, the C.S. Lewis company included, about the upcoming Doctor Who special that was inspired by Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The episode is entitled The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe.
The Christmas Special stars Matt Smith as the Doctor… Evacuated to a house in Dorset from war-torn London, Madge Arwell and her two children, Lily and Cyril, are greeted by a madcap caretaker whose mysterious Christmas gift leads them into a magical wintry world…
More at Doctor Who TV
I wonder if Aslan will show up to help the Doctor? It would be just Fantastic to me!
That looks really good. He’s my favorite doctor who. 🙂
Love the Dr …. would love a small role on that show 😉
But when will it be shown? If we can see it in America or not?
Good question. I was wondering the same thing! I hope they show it in America!!
It airs on Christmas Day in both the U.K. and U.S.
Do you know what time and what channel?
BBC America; and they haven’t announced a time. I believe Doctor Who usually airs at 7.
(I don’t have cable so I am going to watch it online)
Thanks!
Wow, that was… interesting…
Maybe I’m just not “in” on this, but it seems pretty strange to me. Anyone want to explain what’s going on? Thanks.
Dr Who is a BBC show about a time traveler named–wait for it–Dr Who.
no. No, it’s not. ;p
The programme is called “Doctor Who”. The character is called The Doctor. “Doctor Who” is a question, not a name.
ah. thank you Afya. I din’t know that.
Oh, that was surreal. I honestly didn’t know if I clicked through to here as a Narnia fan or a Doctor Who fan, I have news feeds from both on Facebook. 😀 This should be fun.
Katy in AL, Doctor Who is British sci-fi/drama/comedy for a family audience. The Doctor runs around through space and time saving people / the world / the universe. There are usually aliens. 😉 When they do a tribute episode like this it will be littered with in-jokes for fans of whatever’s being parodied, but you might not ‘get’ the episode itself if you’re not familiar with Doctor Who. (Having said that, it’s a Christmas episode and those are usually fairly stand-alone, for the sake of all the confused grannies who watch it with their kids and grandkids on Christmas Day) 🙂
Thanks, much obliged. 😉
A little primer on Doctor Who for other Americans who haven’t seen it:
Doctor Who is a science fiction tv show, geared towards the family market (PG rated, low on language, violence, and innuendos), originating from the BBC way back in 1963; rebooted for a new generation in 2005.
The premise: A timetraveling alien saves the Earth, the galaxy, and the universe with his police box space/timeship and human companions. Every time he dies, he regenerates into a new actor — hence the longevity of the show.
Right now we’re on the Eleventh Doctor, played by Matt Smith. Other regular actors on the show have been Alex Kingston, Arthur Darvill, and Karen Gilliam. Many actors known for roles in other BBC productions like Merlin and spinoff DW shows Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures also have appeared.
Last year’s Christmas special was A Christmas Carol, and was absolutely brilliant. Moffat (current showrunner) promised us something better than last year and I think he’s going to deliver.
Christmas specials are shown on BBC America but I’m not sure when. I would assume Christmas Day but not sure. They’ll announce that. I watch online.
@Katy in AL: Doctor Who is the longest running british science fiction television series, having originally started in 1963, on November 23. Probably the longest running SciFi show around the world, but it is put out by the BBC.
PS: Last year they did Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol
For those who don’t know Doctor Who, you better start researching it or watching it. It’s difficult to explain if you have never watched it. And yes, it can be seen in America on Christmas day on the BBC America. Check with your local cable or satellite provider for the channel line-up. The regular series (“seasons” in USA) usually start around mid-April.
On another note, the BBC is definitely tapping into Narnia fandom for those who are not aware of Doctor Who. Lots of money to be made there.
I don’t particularly mind since I like both.
The next series, series 7, is slated for Autumn 2012.
I wonder what C.S. Lewis would say. The Chronicles of Narnia are unashamedly Christian series of books. Dr. Who, although, usually inoffensive, does not even claim to believe in God. He is mysteriously sent out to combat evil by the apparently intelligent energy that powers his time machine, called the “heart of the Tardis.” In the Tom Baker years, the character spouted lines promoting Godless evolution and other ideas offensive to Christians. One episode suggested that all of the intelligence and advancement in the world was do to an alien who exploded causing parts of his being were distributed through time. They even alluded to Jesus Christ being part of his personality. Nowadays the series seems more friendly towards Christianity. A recent Dr. Who was even sent to fight the devil in an episode or two. But even in the face of dealing with ultimate evil the doctor remains an agnostic.
I really don’t think it’s a concern.
It’s not being billed as an adaptation, and the Doctor always references books like they’re books – he’s probably met C. S. Lewis. (Like Dickens; last year’s Christmas Carol) I suspect he would highly respect C. S. Lewis because at least the new Doctors have a great respect for men who have faith.
Besides, we never complain when we make Christian ripoffs or parodies or spin-offs of secular books. (How many Christian Eragon ripoffs are there in the Christian book catalogs every year?)
I sincerely doubt they’re going to do anything that will damage the Narnia name or story. They honestly can’t stick too close to the original because they don’t have the legal rights. They look like they’re just borrowing some basic ideas, and allowing the Doctor to make as many Narnia references as he can in one hour-long episode.
(As a side, speculative note: In-universe, new series, it feels to me like the Doctor is running from God with perfect awareness of who he’s running from; no clue if this was intended by the current writer/producer Stephen Moffat)
Ultimately, what it comes down to is: if you don’t like it, you don’t have to watch/recommend it; but preferably don’t slam it for those of us who do enjoy Doctor Who and Narnia both.
LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!
Both Doctor Who and Narnia
Should be AWESOME!
Andrea
I am a fan of Dr. Who, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Eragon. I even caught the reference to Dr. Who as a “lonely god” written into the Eragon series. My son, who has read the latest book in the Eragon series, tells me there’s more references to the doctor.
I think you have a very keen insight about the doctor running from God… although it used to be from Gallifrey. I don’t have to like every word the writers put into the mouth of a character to enjoy an imaginative series. I can easily filter out all things offensive. I still wonder what C.S. Lewis would say to this character entering his land…good or bad.
(I rather doubt that the Doctor will actually enter Narnia itself – copyright violation – I suspect that they’re drawing on the Narnia similarities like the concept of a box that’s bigger on the inside [the wardrobe, the stable, the TARDIS] and he’ll just make Narnia references all day. Which ought to be fun. :D)
Oh, I think that C. S. Lewis would’ve enjoyed Doctor Who if he’d lived to see it. 🙂
I only made it through the first three books of Eragon once. I’m not much for Paolini’s writing style or plot. Sadly I hadn’t watched Doctor Who yet so I caught no DW references.
In the old series, yes, the Doctor was definitely running from Gallifrey… in my little speculation, I call that part of his arc. He was young then and couldn’t see it. War changes a person drastically.
Sorry for my initially terse comeback – I’ve seen people go ballistic over the crossover already because they think that “Narnia is being brought to wreck and ruin by Doctor Who!” on other places.
The Doctor won’t enter the ‘real’ Narnia. Whichever world he ends up in, I have a feeling he might imply that C. S. Lewis somehow stumbled into the same world and that’s how he got the inspiration for Narnia.
Interesting bit of trivia: The first Doctor Who episode aired the day after C.S. Lewis (and JFK and Adolphus Huxley) died. It is believed that the premiere episode received poor ratings because it was overlooked by many due to all the news of that day. 🙂
what channel? I assume that the time given is in the U.S., but what time zone?
as for the episode somehow ruining Narnia. well I rather doubt it. If anything I see it as a possible expansion of the fan base.
BBC America in the US. I’ve heard different things about the day: I’m sure they’ll do an official announcement soon.
thanks. I will have to check in once in awhile.
I love Doctor Who, and I love Narnia! This looks like it’s going to be great!
As for people complaining that there’s a Narnia tie-in, this isn’t the first time the Doctor Who series hasn’t had fun with book tie-ins. They’ve done Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, even J.K. Rowling (they didn’t meet her in the episode, they just mentioned Harry Potter briefly (in an episode where they fought evil witches)). I’m excited that they’re doing a Narnia tie-in. (About time, in my opinion) I think it’s the writers’ way of saying, “Thank you for these wonderful books” whenever they do an episode like that.
I just see the previews of Doctor Who, and it looks…….()……..I wonder why they would do that………..
I can’t wait. Also, LWW is on the day before on Christmas Eve. Of course I will watch it- again. 😀 But I love Doctor Who & Narnia, so this is my Christmas set. 🙂
I have a Whovian for a friend, and she hates it when I talk about Narnia. Now, we can finally agree on something!