Doctor Who: The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe

TBA • NR • Series • Catalog pick

A London family flees the bombing of World War II and comes to a country estate, where two children and their mother discover a doorway to anoth er world… but what lies on the other side is definitely not Narnia. Inst ead, it's a wintry forest planet on the brink of destruction, and only t he infinitely clever time-and-space-traveling alien being known as the D octor (Matt Smith) can figure out how to save it. The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe doesn't have the complex story of the last Doctor Who C hristmas special, A Christmas Carol, and the Doctor coming into a family 's life and making it better veers perilously close to Touched by an Ang el territory--but what makes up for it is the rich creepiness of the sno wbound forest and the eerie creatures who live there. As with any Steven Moffat script, the dialogue is smart and sprightly. And Matt Smith, with his deep-set eyes, gangly body, and effervescent fusion of whimsy and intelligence, continues to develop a multilayered incarnation of the Doc tor that's as compelling as any that's gone before. Extras include a ver y peculiar look back at Doctor Who's sixth season, in which an odd mix o f artists and celebrities (including alternative comedians like Reggie W atts and Eugene Mirman, Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls, magazine edi tors, podcast hosts, and random actresses) enthuse about their favorite aspects of the show. Only the best buy direct from GRUV