Newer viewers, people who have not yet come to realize the TARDIS is a full member of the cast, with intelligence, personality, and her own agenda, will be left watching a random Who episode, focused on the evil House, his capture of the time machine, and the real perils faced by Rory and Amy. And that's a good, if somewhat cheesy, episode. Maybe they know what an Ood is, and are puzzled about Nephew's presence on House. But those of us who grew up watching Doctor Who have always known the TARDIS was the Doctor's true love, ever since he stole her and ran off to meddle in the affairs of the universe.

The focus of the "The Doctor's Wife" the interaction between the TARDIS, made flesh as the female Idris (played by Suranne Jones) and the Doctor (played by Matt Smith). And both Smith and Jones  (Who fans can nod knowledgeably at the reference to "Smith and Jones" here) perform marvelously. Their acting is aided immensely by the sharp, witty, and down-right funny dialog written by Gaiman. You find yourself thrilling in the banter, and some of the lines are so damn funny, I'll wager nearly every Doctor Who fan promptly updated their Facebook Status with a quote from the show. My personal favorite was "Biting is like kissing, except somebody wins!".

And hardcore Whovians will also love some of the references to old Who - and some of the quirks of the show are pointed out for new viewers (such as the directions on the TARDIS door, which the Doctor disregards, and has since the first episode in 1963).