Doctor Who 4xIshouldreallylookthisupbeforeIpost

[jadesfire]

Includes spoilers for next week's trailer, but I've put in a spoiler space above and below.



I think I need a keyboard shortcut for "Donna Noble, how are you so awesome?" She just keeps getting better and better. Catherine Tate's range is fantastic, Donna rocks in every possible way and please can we keep her? Please?

This really felt like old-style Who, with the house of unlikely suspects, some silliness, the Doctor briefly in mortal peril and a cunning solution that neatly ties into historical events. I liked the way they kept the mood reasonably light, and that Agatha Christie was allowed to be a 'whole' person, not just a one-note character. Her mixture of bravado ("Can't a woman make her own way in the world?") and heart-break, her lack of confidence in herself or her books, was just perfect. The actress (who I recognised but can't name off the top of my head) did a wonderful job and this is the first time this series that I've really thought Damn, I want to watch that again. And not only to catch all the book titles (more on that later).

I'm also a huge fan of Felicity Kendall, because after all, if you need a fragile looking, British, female character who was brought up in India, who else are you going to choose? I was less impressed with 'The Unicorn' who really did a better upper-class accent than 'mockney'. Not so convincing, I'm afraid. But it was a nice subplot, and very Agatha Christie.

And that was what impressed me this week, where I'd felt let down last week. The writing for this was so strong, playing with our ideas and expectations and working on every level you can think of. There was the straight-forward, much mentioned, conveniently-explained main plot, where characters are killed off one by one for an apparently unconnected reason, but really because they know more than they should (the professor and housekeeper), or out of jealousy (the son). Then there was the 'unknown child' motif, which as well as fulfilling this season's theme, felt very Christie-ish. Then there was the handy and distracting subplot that really has nothing to do with the main story, but is a useful red herring. Then there were all the book titles, and Donna's excitement at the whole situation. Her eating grapes through the denoument was priceless.

The acting was pretty much what you get from Agatha Christie adaptations, in the supporting cast at least, making Donna and Agatha really stand out. I'd guessed most the secrets by about 10 minutes in, but that really didn't matter. As in the best Agatha Christies, the joy was in the how not the who. I also really liked that the mother knew she was having an alien baby. Her acceptance, her love and her grief were a nice touch, a counterpoint to the usual sci-fi tropes on these things. We'll forget about the biology, shall we? That's what *hand waving* is for.

The Doctor's poisoning scene was fun (er...you know what I mean...) if only for Donna's sheer uselessness at charades. Although I really have to hope that they weren't real anchovies. And if they were, that DT only had to do one take. Ugh. The shock was fun, and we've now got 'Kisses Companion' for our Season 4 bingo cards. But we didn't get 'war is wrong' this week, so I guess that compensates for it.

Otherwise, this was a wonderful romp of an episode, that will definitely be on my rewatching list. And so, on to the really important stuff. In terms of titles, it was said that she'd published six, which would be The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Secret Adversary, Murder on the Links, The Man in the Brown Suit, The Secret of Chimneys The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Obviously 'Death in the Clouds' doesn't count, so apart from that, I got:
-Murder on the Orient Express
-Sparkling Cyanide
-Cards on the Table
-They do it with Mirrors
-The body in the library
-Taken at the flood
-The Moving Finger
-Cat among the Pigeons
-Nemesis
?Death comes as the End (which is pretty much my favourite after 'The ABC Murders' so I might have imagined that...)

Any advance on that list?

So, I had fun. What about you guys?

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Okay, I'll admit, I'm the complete geek, and squeaked happily when I saw the library. I'll watch it just for the effects, never mind the plot, although that looks intriguing too.

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for leaving comments without getting spoiled, I hope :)

Comments

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

That's it! Yes, she definitely reminded me of Patricia Hodge - a combination of that and having seen her photograph a few times left me with that annoying sense of familiarity where you feel you should know someone but just don't.

Thanks :)