Doctor Who: The Crimson Horror

It's hard to believe that Vastra, Jenny and Strax have only appeared in three Doctor Who stories so far. It feels as if they have been around for much longer. The character of Madame Vastra only exists because John Barrowman wasn't available to play Captain Jack in A Good Man Goes to War, but she and the other gang members feel like they're as important to the Matt Smith era as UNIT did to the Jon Pertwee era. This Doctor-lite episode gives the writer, Mark Gatiss, a chance to show these guys investigating without the Doctor.

The year is 1893. Bodies are turning up in Yorkshire covered in what the pathologist calls "the Crimson Horror", a substance that turns peoples' bodies waxy and red. The Paternoster Gang are investigating the death of one of the victims when they find the image of the Doctor left on the eye of the dead man.

Jenny has been the least developed of the three Gang members, so it is great that she is the one who is sent to the Yorkshire town of Sweetville to investigate, allowing her to take centre stage for a while. We get to see her infiltrate, fend for herself, and martial arts skills against the supermodel residents of the factory town. She also gets an opportunity to save the Doctor when he is found, infected with the crimson horror and being held prisoner

Vastra takes more of a back seat. However, she is the only one who is able to recognize that the Crimson Horror originated from the Jurassic period. Strax continues to be a slightly one joke character, threatening to shoot everything and everyone.

After Jenny rescues the Doctor, and he somehow uses the sonic screwdriver to cure himself and Clara of the disease, the Paternoster Gang take more of a back seat as the Doctor takes charge. Matt Smith seems to be playing the Doctor on autopilot this week. Since it is a comedy episode, and his supporting cast are taking a more important role, the Doctor doesn't have to do much.

The mastermind behind the Crimson Horror is Mrs Gillyflower, a very arch villain played expertly by Dame Diana Rigg. She manages to balance out the archness with the seriousness. It is not entirely clear since she is planning to poison the world and preserve perfect people to survive. Still, this episode is such a barrel of laughs you never stop to care. Mrs Gillyflower's daughter, Ada, is a more sympathetic, and slightly more human character. One of the only blind characters to appear in the whole of Doctor Who. Rachel Sterling portrays Ada in a more downplayed note. It is funny to see mother and daughter actor in reverse roles.

The creature motivating Mrs Gillyflower, Mr Sweet is a sickly red parasite attached to Mrs Gillyglower's body. There is something disgusting about the little thing. Its death at Ada's cane are wonderfully gooey and sick.

Where Cold War was a love letter to the Ice Warriors, Gatiss is writing his other favourite retro genre, the penny dreadful. The pathologist felt like a character from The League of Gentlemen. It also borrows heavily from the James Bond film Moonraker, with a rocket taking off and a villain wanting to poison the world so that a new master race can take over. Pastiche is nothing new in Doctor Who. It is Gatiss' confidence in playing with his favourite genres that makes the plot feel so good.

One negative aspect to this tale is that, once again, we get no progress on Clara's true identity.
The reason this story happens is because the Doctor took Clara to 1893 to relate her to the Governess Clara from The Snowmen. But by the end of the episode, they leave the Victorian period, no closer to any answers. Another problem is the unconvincing on ending where Clara's kids, Artie and Angie, reveal that they have seen Clara's picture in old photographs and blackmail their carer into taking them in the Tardis or else they will show their dad. It's hard to believe their dad would believe his children, rather than thinking it was just a photoshop job.

A few niggles aside, The Crimson Horror is a strong episode. All of the jokes are funny, witht he possible exception of the cheesy "Thomas Thomas" joke. It is better than Gatiss' other episode, Cold War and on par with The Unquiet Dead as one of the best scripts he has written for the new series. I'm not convinced it makes him good enough to be the next show runner, but it does show that he has promise.

8/10