Emma Talks Nerdy About: Doctor Who "The Crimson Horror"

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

If you were to ask most fans what the single best thing about Doctor Who is I think most would say "the flexible format." Doctor Who is a show that can literally go anywhere and do anything but if there's one setting that is beloved by writers through the ages it is the Victorian age. From some of the earliest stories right through to the very end of the show in the 80's the lure of setting stories in the gas lit streets of the 1890's seems to be irresistible. So it was of little surprise when Mark Gatiss, in his second story of this series chose to once again exploit the time of the Penny Dreadful and Jack The Ripper. This is the second time that Gatiss has visited the period himself, the first time was with "The Unquiet Dead" but with this story he's taken a different approach as "The Crimson Horror" takes a hefty pinch of camp and mixes it with a big dose of black comedy.

"The Crimson Horror" is Doctor Who at its most knowing and arch, it goes right to the edge of self parody but doesn't tip over, the dialogue is some of Gatiss' best yet, from Ada busting out some top quality Victoriana swears ("you perfidious harpy!") to some brilliantly quotable lines from Strax ("horse! You have failed in your duty!") the whole thing just jumps off the page. I really enjoyed the different ways they found of telling the tale to the audience, I loved the sequence of The Doctor telling Jenny the story of how he ended up in Sweetville bright red and chained up was done in sepia toned, blotchy film with an nice, wonky soundtrack, it was a massive wink and nudge to the audience and struck just the right tone between bonkers camp and some seriously grim happenings. I mentioned in my review of "Cold War" that I was waiting for Gatiss to deliver a truly killer Doctor Who script and I think he might have finally cracked it here. Mixing a North Korea-esque bonkers cult (complete with a missile of dubious effectiveness) with the dirty underbelly of the Victorian age and some pitch black comedy (Ada pulping Mr Sweet with her cane anyone?) he's been allowed to write to his strengths with total freedom and it shows.

Along with an ace script the praise must go to the guest cast in this episode, the very welcome return of the Paternoster Gang of Strax, Jenny and Madame Vastra. Jenny steps forward into the limelight here and Catrin Stewart seizes the opportunity with both hands. In full Mrs. Peel of "The Avengers" mode she expertly infiltrates Sweetville then at the first opportunity sheds her prim dress and gets down to her leathers ready to kick some serious butt. That's not to say that Vastra and Strax don't get a chance to shine, Vastra, in between rolling her eyes as her visage prompts another fainting spell, is cracking and Stax might be the best comedic foil in Doctor Who history. It's a full 14 minutes into the episode before The Doctor and Clara show up and you don't really mind at all, I'm seeing whispers online that this may have been a backdoor pilot, to see if a spin-off series has legs, on the evidence here I sincerely hope so. The Paternosters weren't the only treat as the real life mother and daughter combo of Diana Rigg and Rachel Stirling were absolutely outstanding. Diana Rigg obviously reveled in playing pious harridan Mrs Gillyflower, using her native Doncaster accent on screen for the first time she embraces the camp to the fullest, I mean how can you go wrong with lines like "kindly do not claw and slobber at my crinoline!" Rachel Stirling injects some lovely pathos into the story as the unfortunate Gillyflower Junior, her line of "she does not want me monster" is beautifully delivered and stops the story flying off into complete farce.

There were some very nice fannish moments on display too as The Doctor recounts his experiences with a certain mouth on legs. Gatiss tackled something I'd always wondered about in post 2005 Doctor Who as Clara is caught out as a time traveller by a couple of savvy kids with an internet connection. You wonder why that doesn't happen more as The Doctor and his companions more often than not find themselves at the centre of history. This also set up some intriguing future storylines as Clara sees the picture of Clara Oswin Oswald from "The Snowmen", whatever will she make of that? I guess we'll have to wait and see but with just two more stories remaining of this series perhaps time is running too short?

For me "The Crimson Horror" was a load of silly, camp fun, just what Doctor Who needs from time to time and perfect fodder for a jolly Bank Holiday weekend. Oh and can someone get me a tshirt with "I'm The Doctor, you're nuts and I'm going to stop you" as soon as possible?