TV Review: Doctor Who: S07E11

TV Review: Doctor Who

Series 7, Episode 11: The Crimson Horror

Air date: May 4th

It's episodes like The Crimson Horror that make me long for a sick bucket followed by Netflix. Why? So that I can re-watch the episode Human Nature from the Tenth Doctor's era and remind myself that Doctor Who is capable of great stories - it just takes a lot of stinkers along the way.

Said stinker is the latest from acclaimed Doctor Who and Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss, whose previous episode this series, Cold War divided fans and critics alike. For The Crimson Horror, Gatiss not only takes everything that was enjoyable about Cold War and throws it away, he manages to do a large disservice to the two central characters while also throwing away what could have been a great opportunity for fan-favourites Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax.

The trio of warriors-turned-sleuths return in late 19th century Yorkshire, investigating the mysterious appearance of oddly coloured dead bodies in the Sweetville canal. With The Doctor and Clara curiously absent from the proceedings, it's up to Strax, Jenny and Madame Vastra to take matters into their own hands - but when it becomes clear that The Doctor is one of the victims of "The Crimson Horror" inside Sweetville, the trio take on the sinister Mrs Gillyflower and her seemingly perfect little community.

Considering he's written a wealth of crime novels, sleuth series and is behind the BBC's reinvention of the world's most famous detective, it's surprising to find that Mark Gatiss' latest foray into the world of Doctor Who is a disappointment not just from a narrative standpoint but from an executive one too. 

That's because the "Scooby Doo gang" of Strax, Jenny and Madame Vastra were essentially given enormous supporting roles during last year's Christmas special, and as a result their appearance here feels very latched on. The Crimson Horror may as well be called The Snowmen 1.5.

Saying that, as far as Doctor-lite episodes go, those being episodes in which The Doctor doesn't actually appear until around halfway into the episode, this is much better than some that have come before thanks to the chemistry between the Scooby Doo gang. I'm looking at you, Love And Monsters. 

While their appearance was mostly justified in the excellent Series 6 episode A Good Man Goes To War, the sleuthing trio do make a really good impact here. If someone somewhere hasn't pitched the idea of a children's spin-off to the BBC yet then I'll eat my fez.

Yet that's part of the problem with The Crimson Horror - it feels like an episode of a children's show, not the sophisticated sci-fi that Steven Moffat has insisted he's tried to mould Doctor Who in to. The threat never really looms but the consistent focus on comic buffoonery from The Doctor and Strax becomes more of a nuisance than a thrill.

Then there's the wasted potential of having Diana Rigg - Diana Rigg! - in a villainous role that is occasional bark and no bite. The eventual reveal of the big bad is intentionally misleading (the constant use of the word "Great" building up to something not so great and not so intelligent), made even worse by the fact that the enemy looks like something even Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor would have laughed off screen in 2005. 

To save itself, there's a pretty cool directorial decision in The Crimson Horror by way of a fuzzy, sepia-tinged Victorian flashback. But even that is hurtled back into the world of camp spoof by Matt Smith's over the top performance which, matched with a lack of chemistry with the suddenly dull Jenna Louise-Coleman (Okay, maybe I miss Amy and Rory just a little) feels very generic and disappointing.

Summary

Just when it felt as though Series 7 of New-Who was starting to reclaim its irresistibly energetic sci-fi vibe, Mark Gatiss had to go and produce what can only be described as one of the most unintentionally laughable episodes in recent years. A wasted villain, a wasted lead actor and three wasted albeit mildly entertaining cameos make for a waste of time; the 50th year of Doctor Who deserves much better than this. Let's retain a little hope though - next week's episode comes courtesy of none other than Neil Gaiman, the man responsible for the Series 6 fan-favourite The Doctor's Wife. There are also some Cybermen, whatever they are...

2/10 - Doctor No

Next Episode: Nightmare In Silver

Air date: May 11th