Eyes On The Box// Doctor Who Series 7, Episode 12: The Crimson Horror
Warning:
Contains spoilers!
Cast:
Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Dame Diana Rigg, Rachael Stirling, Catrin
Stewart, Neve McIntosh, Dan Starkey
Written by Mark
Gatiss, Directed by Saul Metzstein
The
story: England 1893. Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax head
oop North to investigate some strange goings on in the Yorkshire town of
Sweetville.
Oh, Mark Gatiss, I
bloody love you! Long-time Doctor Who fan, Gatiss has already brought us the
excellent Cold War in this latest series of Doctor Who and now he brings
along this little gem.
The Crimson Horror
is without the Doctor for the first 15 minutes as his sometime companions
Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax set out to investigate a spate of suspicious
deaths in the seemingly idyllic Sweetville.
At the behest of Mr
Thursday, whose brother Edmund has been found dead of what is known as Crimson
Horror, Jenny, the only human of the Victorian crime-fighting trio, infiltrates
the town of Sweetville and its factory to discover the source of the deaths.
Sweetville is run by
the fire-and brimstone Mrs Gillyflower (Diana Rigg) and her silent partner, Mr
Sweet, who claim to be founding a new Jerusalem in them there Yorkshire hills
following Mrs Gillyflower’s prophesised “end of days”. Meanwhile, Mrs
Gillyflower’s blind, disfigured daughter, Ada (Rigg’s real-life daughter,
Rachael Stirling), secretly keeps a “dear monster” locked up in a prison cell
for company.
When the Doctor
finally puts in an appearance, it’s preceded by a truly jump-out-of-your-seat
moment. Jenny, resplendent in a kick-ass Victorian cat suit and corset, fights
her way through Mrs Gillyflower’s ‘pilgrims’ before going on the run through
the factory, Doctor in tow, as they go in search of the missing Clara.
We’re spoiled rotten
with guest star performances this week. The return of Vastra, Jenny and the
wonderfully sulky Strax is an absolute delight. Strax threatening an
uncooperative horse and a street urchin who talks like a satnav are just a
couple of highlights. Diana Rigg brings oodles of dastardly, demented fun as
Mrs Gillyflower, and Rachael Stirling is by turns heartbreaking and
heart-warming as Ada.
The revelation of Mr
Sweet is slightly reminiscent of Total Recall’s Kuato in terms of
ickyness, and Ada’s splatting of him is a proper laugh out loud moment.
It’s worth noting the
wonderful set design and direction in The Crimson Horror. From the vast
space of the factory floor, filled with giant gramophone type devices, to the
Victorian couples preserved in bell jars and the steam punk rocket, every scene
is gloriously done. One particular treat is the grainy old film as the Doctor
recounts how he and Clara ended up in Sweetville. It’s so well done it
practically tears a crack in the fourth wall. The music by Murray Gold adds to
the episode marvelously from the sweet tune that underscores Clara awakening
to the brilliant and rousing I Am The Doctor as this jolly adventure
reaches its climax in Mrs Gillyflower’s factory.
All in all The
Crimson Horror is a brilliant, camp-as-Christmas, terrifying, good
old-fashioned romp, which even…unlike some episodes in this series…has a more
than satisfying end to the story.
Which leads us on to
real ending, with Clara back home at the start of the series, pictures of her
on a laptop from recent (old) adventures and her young wards having guessed
that her “boyfriend” is a time traveller. This, of course, is a set up to Neil
Gaiman’s much anticipated Nightmare in Silver next week. Can Gaiman do
for the cybermen what Gatiss did in Cold War for the Ice Warriors and
make them menacing again? It’s going to be long week waiting.
Best
line: “I’m the Doctor, your nuts and I’m going to stop
you”
Best line (runner
up): “I’m gonna go play with my grenades”
Best line (second
runner up): “Oh great. Attack of the supermodels”
Shut that door!:
The Doctor uttering The Generation Game host Larry Grayson’s “Look at
the muck in ‘ere” catchphrase. Priceless.
Did you know:
The Crimson Horror is the 100th episode since the show’s
reincarnation in 2005.
Plea to the BBC:
Please give Vastra, Jenny and Strax their own spin off show!
Fan
pleasing moments: “I once spent a hell of a long time
trying to get a gobby Australian to Heathrow airport”, “Brave heart, Clara”
Reviewed by Andrea McGuire.
