The real world isn’t always a nice place to be. Escaping to a world of fantasy, where (most of the time) the Doctor and his friends save the day is one way to cheer oneself up. Here are some episodes that will, at the very least, bring a smile or two to your face.
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Partners in Crime – Series 4, Episode 1
Doctor/Companion: Tenth Doctor (David Tennant)/Donna Noble (Catherine Tate)
Backstory: Prior to meeting Martha, the Doctor met Donna Noble and invited her to travel with him. At the time, she declined, and has since come to regret it. Meanwhile, the Doctor met and travelled with Martha, who had unrequited romantic feelings for him. After a traumatic series of events (both for the viewer and for the characters) Martha left the TARDIS and the Doctor starts the episode off travelling alone.
Synopsis: The Doctor and Donna, first separately and then together, are investigating Adipose Industries, a diet pill company, led by an evil-yet-maternal-seeming Mrs. Foster.
Why It Will Make You Smile: First off, there is a certain comedy of errors aspect to seeing the Doctor and Donna at the beginning of the episode. It can border on cheesy at times, but at others it does make one laugh. The Adipose themselves are downright adorable, and who doesn’t like a well-dressed, well-spoken, corporate-type villain?
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Vincent and the Doctor – Series 5, Episode 10
Doctor/Companion/Special Guests: Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith)/Amy Pond (Karen Gillan)/Vincent van Gogh (Tony Curran), Museum Curator (Bill Nighy)
Backstory: Seriously, if you didn’t believe me about spoilers before, believe me now. SPOILERS follow. The introduction to the show gives the relevant backstory as far as Amy’s history with the Doctor goes. Amy’s fiance Rory was consumed by a crack in time, and therefore never existed in the first place, the episode prior. Only the Doctor remembers who Rory is, but Amy is still sad and upset about something – she just doesn’t know what.
Synopsis: The Doctor takes Amy to the Van Gogh exhibit at the present-day Musie d’Orsay where the Doctor notices a strange monster in the window of the church in The Church at Auvers. They travel back to 1890 to battle the monster with Van Gogh, played beautifully by Tony Curran.
Why It Will Make You Smile: The episode, despite featuring a mentally ill character shortly before he ends his own life, is inspiring and ends on a hopeful note. There is a beautiful moment with Van Gogh at the end of the episode that is followed by another Great Doctor Speech that conveys a wonderful message of hope. Even my hard to convince cynic son finds comfort in it.
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The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe – Christmas Special, 2011
Doctor/Companions: Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith)/Madge Arwell (Claire Skinner)
Backstory: Woah! This is a doozy. The last few minutes of the show refer to the events of The Wedding of River Song, so if you want to see this episode and have forgotten the one prior, it’s probably best to get caught up first. I know I warned about spoilers, but that’s a pretty big one.
Synopsis: This isn’t the most popular Doctor Who episode; in fact, there are a great many vocal fans who don’t like it in the least. I can completely respect their opinions, and in certain cases, even agree with them on a certain level. But, I am a sucker for whimsy and fantasy and this episode really ticks all the boxes on my dream Christmas episode checklist. I couldn’t help but include it. Anyway, I digress…
As with quite a few other episodes, this one is set in WWII London, where the Doctor is acting as the caretaker of the home in which the Arwell family will be spending the holidays. Madge was recently widowed, but has decided not to tell her children until after the holidays. The Doctor, repaying Madge for an earlier kindness, decides to take the family on a special Christmas trip using a portal hidden in a Christmas present. Cyril, the youngest, sneaks in early and a beautiful adventure ensues.
Why It Will Make You Smile: It is visually beautiful, perfectly scored, and contains just the right amount of cheese to bring a smile, reluctant or not, to one’s face. I’m pretty sure a viewing of this episode would have prevented the Grinch from ever wanting to steal Christmas. Just Sayin’.
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Dinosaurs on a Spaceship – Series 7, Episode 2
Doctor/Companions: Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith)/Amy Pond (Karen Gillen), Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), Brian Williams (Mark Williams), Queen Nefretiti (Riann Steele) and Riddell (Rupert Grave)
Backstory: I believe the necessary backstory is explained in Amy’s introduction, with the exception of not specifically noting that Rory’s dad had not travelled with them before.
Synopsis: The Doctor, Amy, Rory, Rory’s Dad Brian, Queen Nefretiti and an explorer/hunter named Riddell find themselves on a spaceship that seems to be abandoned by everyone except some strange robots, and a bunch of dinosaurs.
Why It Will Make You Smile: It’s dinosaurs! On a spaceship! How can that not be fun to watch!? I found the addition of Queen Nefretiti and Riddell to be fun to watch, and enjoyed the way the larger cast played off each other.
So, what do you think? Did I miss one?