My word. There HAS been some exercising of minds hasn't there over the just-over-half-way-point-Who episode. Comments got very excitable about wasps using lead piping. Paul Fuzz duly - and wittily - slapped 'em down a tad for kinda losing the point [even if MediumRob advised him that way danger lies].
Anna loved it. Marie loved it. (Though both with qualifications).
MediumRob was more qualified still - perhaps not helped by his antipathy to Agatha Christie.
There's been criticism that it was lightweight and dull, plenty that it wasn't a Doctor Who episode at all (really? I won't be the first to cite episodes from earlier DW incarnations that do similar cross-genere things).
What I thought:
Fenella Woolgar - gah, she's divine in this. Perhaps the most perfect bit of casting they could have managed (and even if Felicity Kendall WAS revealed to have been shagging a wasp, she too was beautifully selected for the role.)
Donna - with the magnifying glass. BRILLIANT. She was just fabulous in this episode and is proving the best challenge to many new Who critics in confounding their expectations.
Comedy - you didn't laugh? Shame on you! Okay, so I doubt I would go so far as to quip you being a 'humourless muppet' (for fear of offending Muppets - when DID 'Muppet' become a term of ridicule and abuse? I digress....), but it was funny! Yes, all those cross references to Christie stories were a tad wearing - just as they were in The Shakespeare Code - but there are worse traits to keep re-using [I may slap someone if they keep doing the 'talking in exaggerated way: the Doctor tells them 'no, don't do that''] Personally, I loved the 'Ginger Beer' request from the Doctor in his poisoned state to the hapless footman. An obvious gay reference joke? of course, but it was still pretty witty.
Gratuitous Marie-pleasing action - Lord knows after her recent criticism of him, I'm not entirely sure she deserved it, but there was some seriously lovely waspy-honey-stuff licking with glasses on. In a comedy Who episode. I don't think you can complain about that.
The Wasp - the only thing that hacked me off about the Vespiform was the utterly pointless (except for episode padding) death/not-death of Agatha when the Vespiform was about to die. Wasn't Gareth Roberts under on his Shakespeare episode as well? Didn't notice as much padding there as here - all the swirly fade-outs aside - but the moment when the pink bubbling light of the Vespiform seemed to be taking the life of Agatha with him as he drowned only for LITERALLY TWO SECONDS LATER it to change it's mind... meh. Seriously weak moment.
The Unicorn - apart from lending itself to the title, there really was no point to the thief was there? She was pretty though. Not much of a mystery.
The buzzing vicar - Don't know why I didn't guess it was him earlier really...
ANYWAY.
I liked it so much that - albeit by force of timing - I watched it twice. First by iPlayer and then (because it was bang on the start time on BBC3 when we'd finished doing that) on the TV screen. Thoroughly good fun followed by the end of Indiana Jones.
Lovely stuff.
Shame we have the Euro delay after this, but I'm already freaking over the forthcoming Moffat-fest. Anyone NOT already afraid of shadows.... you will be.
7 comments:
Yes, a fun episode;all silly stuff allowable really. It seemed to push all the right buttons with my brood anyway!(after a couple of Christie explanations)They liked the Doctor/ Donna poison/charades slapstick!
Yes Miss Redmond was merely a (pretty) decoy, after all every AC book has to have one I believe!
Oh I loved it too - who cares how silly it was...
I did wonder at the end why Agatha didn't remember being deposited at the hotel in the Tardis? How come her memory got wiped of the next nine days as well? Still that is a cavill.
I have already suggested on Marie's blog they should have gone for Appointment with Death and done an Indy style Dr Who. Now THAT I would like to see...
I also don't mind the Christie cross references, and enjoyed that in the Shakespeare epsiode too.
Every time I see the name Moffat I do a slight doubletake as that was my maiden name, albeit spelt wrong. I do like his episodes the best though...
Jane Henry you must be SO happy at the Moffat news!
I loved this one; I completely loved it. Although...
An obvious gay reference joke? of course, but it was still pretty witty.
Did I miss something?
Yup Lisa sure am!! And not just for sharing his surname. My favourite episodes have all been his. (Though it is a TAD spooky having children greet you at the dinner table with Are You My Mummy? or playing scary statues...)
Rosby - Ginger Beer is (I think) rhyming slang for Queer.
Lisa - Gratuitous Marie-pleasing action - Lord knows after her recent criticism of him, I'm not entirely sure she deserved it... Bless him, he was clearly trying, entirely successfully, to get back in my good books, even though when I was watching I thought he sniffed the honey, not licked it - must have blinked at the worst possible moment (DON'T BLINK). Fortunately I've got it taped...
Marie: yep, you're right about Ginger Beer. And re: the lick, well, either I imagined it (wilfully?) or it was there. I'm convinced there was both a sniff and a brief finger of honey to the lips... gah, sorry folks, that in no way sounds good. I can hear certain people laughing already.
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