Doctor Who - 'The Husbands of River Song' reviewed...

There's a sign on the Tardis doors proclaiming that carol singers will be 'criticised' and the Tardis has even provided its helmsman a pair of novelty antlers in an attempt to cheer him up - much to his chagrin. It must be Christmas... but the Time Lord isn't really in the mood to celebrate.

The universe has other plans as he finds himself drawn into a situation that could have massive complications for the galaxy. A despot needs surgery and the despot's wife wants her husband saved for the good of the willing populace that worship him. She'd also appreciate it if the 'surgeon' she's just shanghai'd could remove the diamond shard from her husband's head.But, if it kills him... meh so be it. Normally the Doctor would want nothing to do with despots, diamonds or devious damsels... but the wife in question is also his own... River Song.

But River doesn't recognise his face or the man before her. As far as she's concerned, the Doctor only had twelve faces and she knows them all. If the Doctor is going to help her, then he's going to have some fun first...

*Spoilers, Sweetie!*

While the last season of Doctor Who was generally far superior to the previous year's stories, there was generally a sense of dark foreboding permeating much of that latest run. The early news of Clara/Jenna Coleman's departure hung over the latter half of the season and the finale, while something of a narrative mess, was largely fueled by regrets, vengeance and a need to package death (and a solution to avoid it) as something palatable for all ages.

So it's rather good news that the now obligatory Christmas special manages to firmly change the pace and tone without it feeling like a bizarre handbrake turn. Capaldi's Time Lord is still shaped by recent-ish events (it's not stipulated quite how long has passed since Hell Bent ...and even then time can be an illusion, hiatus, doubly so) and there's more than an undercurrent of the brusque, leave-me-alone-ness of his earliest appearances, but the moment River Song arrives, he takes the opportunity to embrace the distraction. Given that River has usually had the upper-hand in their appearances, it's nice to see the dynamic usurped for a while,  the Doctor holding most of the aces as he takes stock of the current situation - often at River's expense. 

The supporting cast embrace the fun. Greg Davies as the despotic King Hyrdoflax enjoys eating the scenery as the literal 'head' of a global empire and Matt Lucas extends more comic relief as the unfortunate Nardole. It's all very silly, a cosmic pantomime that embraces some touchstones of the 'nu-Who' era and mocks them gently and affectionately. The story meanders a little and there's certainly some filling and stuffing in an effort to fill out the full hour, but as a seasonal antidote to what has come before it all works well as an all-ages romp. The moment where the Doctor begins laughing in the snow - observing the absurdity that they are being threatened 'by a bag with a head in it...' is a necessary watershed moment where we're told explicitly that it's okay to smile again after the hard times... there are worse Christmas messages to be given.

As mentioned in our review of Hell Bent, there's a clear underpinning that Moffat was considering this could be his swansong and so there's a kind of book-ending to the saga of River Song. It proves quite important to proceedings that the Christmas special does take place after Hell Bent as otherwise even the Doctor might have been tempted to play with cause and effect and cause. Now, post-Clara, he is in a place where he can tell River - even avoiding specific 'spoilers'  - that whatever happens, has happened and will happen, he cannot interfere with it, whatever the cost. As the couple stand on a balcony and listen to the The Singing Towers of Darillium, the Time Lord knows that the next time River meets him will be the first time her met her and it will lead to the fateful events in 'The Library' - one that the Doctor's tenth incarnation will have to endure. But given that the nights on Darillium last considerably longer than Earth, it's now seen as a melancholy revelation rather than a tragic one.

The Husbands of River Song is not the greatest story ever told but as a needed pick-me-up it proves to be just what the Doctor ordered - ideal Christmas Day shenanigans. (Seriously, the Doctor's 'fake' reaction to the Tardis' dimensions? Worth the price of admission alone!) Whenever Doctor Who returns to our screens - and there's still wiggle room for it to be the best part of a year - even giving its extraordinary popularity and commercial success - it feels that a new tone will be heading our way. Happy, sad, grumpy or frumpy? Moffat will still be at the helm and it will be interesting if the next run will be a new chapter or an epilogue.