Series 4 Boxset:
Series 4 Part 1:
Series 3 Boxset:
Director:
Graeme Harper/b> (TV: Rise of the Cybermen, The Age of Steel, Army of Ghosts, Doomsday, 42, Utopia, Last of the Time Lords, Planet of the Ood, Unicorn and the Wasp, Turn Left, Episode 4.12, Journey's End)
Screenplay:
Gareth Roberts
(TV: The Shakespears Code, The Unicorn and the Wasp)
Cast:
The Doctor: David Tennant
Donna Noble: Catherine Tate
Agatha Christie: Fenella Woolgar
Lady Eddison: Felicity Kendal
Robina Redmond: Felicity Jones
Colonel Hugh: Christopher Benjamin
Reverend Golightly: Tom Goodman-Hill
Professor Peach: Ian Barritt
Greeves: David Quilter
Roger Curbishly: Adam Rayner
Davenport: Daniel King
Mrs Hart: Charlotte Eaton
Miss Chandrakala: Leena Dhingra
Synopsis:
The Doctor and Donna arrive in 1926 and have to help Agatha Christie solve
a murder that appears to involve a giant wasp...
Gareth Roberts returns after The Shakespeare Code with another story
that puts a sci-fi spin on a literary author. This time he sets his sights on
Agatha Christie (Fenella Woolgar) – explaining her infamous 10-day
disappearance in 1926 as a consequence of helping The Doctor (David Tennant)
and Donna (Catherine Tate) defeat an alien murderer...
As you'd expect from the premise, The Unicorn And The Wasp is
crammed full of murder mystery iconography: an English country mansion, posh
residents, a kindly vicar, a thunderstorm, a jewel thief, a stabbing during a
blackout, a body in the library, two secretly gay men, a suspicious-looking
Butler, a Drawing Room scene where the villain is unmasked, etc.
There are even a few allusions to the board game Cluedo in the alliterative
Professor Plum, whose death by lead piping kicks off this whodunit. Roberts is
clearly a fan of Christie's work, as there are plenty of clever in-jokes and
references -- most of which have entered pop-culture, so don't exclude anyone.
But for Christie aficionados, there are a few cleverer moments – such as
a plot-point of a wasp sting in Death In The Clouds being linked to events in
this episode.
David Tennant is very good, as usual – with The Doctor as captivated by
Agatha Christie's presence as he was Charles Dickens' in The Unquiet Dead,
although it was amusing to see Christie turn her nose up at his (slightly) distasteful
glee at being in a murder mystery. As the world-famous authoress, Fenella Woolgar
was excellent, and one of those actresses with a "period face" well-suited to
the 1920s. Woolgar gave a measured, believable performance, and the script
managed to make her a decent temporary companion for The Doctor, but one who
never overshadowed proceedings.
Catherine Tate was okay, but does anyone else think Donna's role in recent
episodes has been purely to add the occasional joke and be The Doctor's conscience?
She does it better than most people expected, but I'm not really sensing a big
arc for her character. She's just along for the ride, with her granddad's
blessing.
Tate gets a few nice comedy moments to play (more playfulness last seen in
The Fires Of Pompeii), a handful of dumb sequences (her magnifying glass
versus the giant wasp scene - below-right - was far too silly) and her obligatory face-pulling
in exaggerated shock. This was the first episode Tate filmed as Donna after
her Runaway Bride debut, so I can overlook a few lapses as her learning
to adjust the character.
The supporting cast were all playing stereotypes, as befitted the spoof style --
but Felicity Kendal (The Good Life) and Tom Goodman-Hill
stood out as Lady Eddison and Reverend Golightly, respectively. Everyone else
was perfectly fine, and the script did a good job of keeping the killer's identity
a secret (neatly avoiding the comedy resolution of "the butler did it").
I was a bit disappointed in how jewel thief "The Unicorn" factored into the
story, and must confess that the eventual solution to things – involving an alien
lover for Lady Eddison and a mysterious Firestone gem – began to strain credibility.
A part of me would have preferred a more human climax to events, but I suppose
Doctor Who has to strike a balance between pleasing adults with a worthwhile
whodunit, and kids who just want to see The Doctor battling a giant insect.
Overall, this was an amusing and spirited adventure that unfortunately became
a bit too preposterous towards the end. But the script's sense of fun, boundless
energy, and intelligent links to reality made up for a few lapses. Writer Gareth
Roberts clearly intended to put a pseudo-historical spin on Agatha Christie's
1926 disappearance, while indulging all the whodunit clichés and just having
fun with literary traditions.
The Unicorn And The Wasp totally succeeds on that level and provided
plenty of entertainment. It got a bit too silly at times (the Time Lord
cyanide "detox" scene was fun, but overcooked), and the resolution wasn't
as neat and concise as I'd hoped for. But for sheer enthusiasm and narrative bounce,
this really hit the spot.
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Series 4 Boxset:
Synopsis:
The Doctor and Donna arrive in 1926 and have to help Agatha Christie solve
a murder that appears to involve a giant wasp...
David Tennant is very good, as usual – with The Doctor as captivated by
Agatha Christie's presence as he was Charles Dickens' in The Unquiet Dead,
although it was amusing to see Christie turn her nose up at his (slightly) distasteful
glee at being in a murder mystery. As the world-famous authoress, Fenella Woolgar
was excellent, and one of those actresses with a "period face" well-suited to
the 1920s. Woolgar gave a measured, believable performance, and the script
managed to make her a decent temporary companion for The Doctor, but one who
never overshadowed proceedings.
The supporting cast were all playing stereotypes, as befitted the spoof style --
but Felicity Kendal (The Good Life) and Tom Goodman-Hill
stood out as Lady Eddison and Reverend Golightly, respectively. Everyone else
was perfectly fine, and the script did a good job of keeping the killer's identity
a secret (neatly avoiding the comedy resolution of "the butler did it").
