New Who Review for the Unicorn and the Wasp
Posted By Kathleen David on June 14, 2008
So does anyone else want to play Clue or Charades now?
This is a nice historical piece placed within the timeline of Agatha Christie life with a nice science fiction twist. Fenella Woolgar looks like a young Dame Agatha and plays the part with the right touch of drawing room drama that is all through out this piece which makes sense since she is a theatrical actress who studies at RADA.
Again my love for Donna increases. This one felt like the writer was not quite sure what to do with her. Some times she felt very Donna and others it felt like she was being used as a sidekick.
And does anyone have a tally for how many times the Doctor and Donna have declared themselves not a couple?
Of course spoilers behind the cut and in the comments.
Next week, from the new producer of Doctor Who who also informed us not to Blink, we now have to avoid the shadows. Ariel slept with her light on for two nights after the next two and that is my only comment until the episodes air.
OK best part for me was the Doctor trying to tell Donna what he needs to counteract the cyanide. That bit had both the ticking clock and the comedy that works so well for Tennant and Tate. What is that? Salt! No too salty! Shock to the system! It was all great fun.
It did feel like an Agatha Christie novel being acted out and it worked for me. I loved everyone being called to the drawing room for questioning (well everyone who was not a servant because they don’t count). And the reveals were timed well.
All in all this was a silly bit of fun and sometimes I think we need to be reminded that Doctor Who can be a silly bit of fun. We don’t alway need Emo stories for the show to work.
Actually, i haven’t watched “Unicorn and the Wasp” yet; the “coming attraction” for it put me off somehow.
The rumour, of course, is that Donna will eventually come to a Bad End – one early rumour implied that perhaps she’ll deserve it.
As to the Library episodes – “We’re in the biggest library on the universe, with every book ever published. Look me up and then decide if you want to tangle with me.” (or words to that effect. Love it.
Seems to recycle some of the ideas from “Empty Child” – and at least one of the gadgets, too – though.
Have you noticed that IMDB has episode titles for every episode – even the ones that haven’t aired yet – except for the next-to-last?
“Season 4, Episode 11: Turn Left
Original Air Date: 21 June 2008
Season 4, Episode 12: Episode #4.12
Original Air Date: 28 June 2008
Season 4, Episode 13: Journey’s End
Original Air Date: 5 July 2008”
Also note that the detail page for Episode 12 mentions that Harriet Jones will be back…
Wikipedia lists the next to last episode as The Stolen Earth. It airs in the UK on June 28th and is written by Russell T. Davies.
David
Hmmm. This was a delightful episode, a loveletter to Dame Agatha.
Tennant has a way of having great chemistry with his female co-stars and guest stars.
While the Doctor’s comment about the date being the day of Christie’s disappearance did sort of telegraph some type of induced amnesia, I was genuinely surprised by the exact manner in which it happened.
I also enjoyed how the Doctor’s own recollection of Charlemagne was framed the same way as all the suspects’ accounts of where they were during the Doctor’s questioning.
The one point I had trouble with was when Donna first encountered the giant wasp and it stabs its stinger through the door after she’s left the room. All that time she’s arguing with the Doctor and Agatha, I was beginning to think the stinger was going to vanish somehow. I was sitting there, almost literally screaming at the TV, “Show him the stinger in the door, you idiot!” If the stinger HAD vanished, then I would have been properly left confused as Donna would’ve been. But the stinger was there and all that time was wasted so it certainly came as no surprise that the wasp was long gone.
I just loved seeing Felicity Kendal again, one of my great loves from when I was around 9 to 14. She’s still quite lovely. (or as neil’s father put it on THE YOUNG ONES, “sweetly pretty”.)
Christie-buffs may wish to see how many of her novels’ titles are woven into the dialogue of that show – “Sparkling Cyanide” and “Taken At The Flood” are my favourites…
The Moffat episodes are pure dead brilliant, as always. Moffat fans might like to check out a pece of news at http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/news/production/080520_news_01
Davies fans should also take a peek at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/news/latest/080614_news_01
Cheers.