Synopsis: The Doctor and Donna arrive in 1926 and have to help Agatha Christie solve a murder that appears to involve a giant wasp...

Gareth Roberts returns after The Shakespeare Code with another story that puts a sci-fi spin on a literary author. This time he sets his sights on Agatha Christie (Fenella Woolgar) – explaining her infamous 10-day disappearance in 1926 as a consequence of helping The Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna (Catherine Tate) defeat an alien murderer...

As you'd expect from the premise, The Unicorn And The Wasp is crammed full of murder mystery iconography: an English country mansion, posh residents, a kindly vicar, a thunderstorm, a jewel thief, a stabbing during a blackout, a body in the library, two secretly gay men, a suspicious-looking Butler, a Drawing Room scene where the villain is unmasked, etc.

There are even a few allusions to the board game Cluedo in the alliterative Professor Plum, whose death by lead piping kicks off this whodunit. Roberts is clearly a fan of Christie's work, as there are plenty of clever in-jokes and references -- most of which have entered pop-culture, so don't exclude anyone. But for Christie aficionados, there are a few cleverer moments – such as a plot-point of a wasp sting in Death In The Clouds being linked to events in this episode.

David Tennant is very good, as usual – with The Doctor as captivated by Agatha Christie's presence as he was Charles Dickens' in The Unquiet Dead, although it was amusing to see Christie turn her nose up at his (slightly) distasteful glee at being in a murder mystery. As the world-famous authoress, Fenella Woolgar was excellent, and one of those actresses with a "period face" well-suited to the 1920s. Woolgar gave a measured, believable performance, and the script managed to make her a decent temporary companion for The Doctor, but one who never overshadowed proceedings.

Catherine Tate was okay, but does anyone else think Donna's role in recent episodes has been purely to add the occasional joke and be The Doctor's conscience? She does it better than most people expected, but I'm not really sensing a big arc for her character. She's just along for the ride, with her granddad's blessing.

Tate gets a few nice comedy moments to play (more playfulness last seen in The Fires Of Pompeii), a handful of dumb sequences (her magnifying glass versus the giant wasp scene - below-right - was far too silly) and her obligatory face-pulling in exaggerated shock. This was the first episode Tate filmed as Donna after her Runaway Bride debut, so I can overlook a few lapses as her learning to adjust the character.

The supporting cast were all playing stereotypes, as befitted the spoof style -- but Felicity Kendal (The Good Life) and Tom Goodman-Hill stood out as Lady Eddison and Reverend Golightly, respectively. Everyone else was perfectly fine, and the script did a good job of keeping the killer's identity a secret (neatly avoiding the comedy resolution of "the butler did it").

I was a bit disappointed in how jewel thief "The Unicorn" factored into the story, and must confess that the eventual solution to things – involving an alien lover for Lady Eddison and a mysterious Firestone gem – began to strain credibility. A part of me would have preferred a more human climax to events, but I suppose Doctor Who has to strike a balance between pleasing adults with a worthwhile whodunit, and kids who just want to see The Doctor battling a giant insect.

Overall, this was an amusing and spirited adventure that unfortunately became a bit too preposterous towards the end. But the script's sense of fun, boundless energy, and intelligent links to reality made up for a few lapses. Writer Gareth Roberts clearly intended to put a pseudo-historical spin on Agatha Christie's 1926 disappearance, while indulging all the whodunit clichés and just having fun with literary traditions.

The Unicorn And The Wasp totally succeeds on that level and provided plenty of entertainment. It got a bit too silly at times (the Time Lord cyanide "detox" scene was fun, but overcooked), and the resolution wasn't as neat and concise as I'd hoped for. But for sheer enthusiasm and narrative bounce, this really hit the spot.

Join in the discussion about this episode at Dan's Media Digest

OVERALL

Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2008.

The following is a list of all the Doctor Who content reviewed to date :

2008			Series 30, Episode 13 - "Journey's End", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 12 - "The Stolen Earth", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 11 - "Turn Left", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 10 - "Midnight", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 8 - "Silence in the Library" (part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 7 - "The Unicorn and The Wasp", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 6 - "The Doctor's Daughter", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 5 - "The Poison Sky" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 4 - "The Sontaran Stratagem" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 3 - "Planet of the Ood", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 2 - "The Fires of Pompeii", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 1 - "Partners In Crime", by Dan Owen

2006			Series 28, Episode 1 - "New Earth", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 2 - "Tooth & Claw", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 3 - "School Reunion", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 4 - "The Girl in the Fireplace", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 5 - "Rise of the Cyberman", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 6 - "The Age of Steel", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 7 - "The Idiot's Lantern", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 8 - "The Impossible Planet", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 9 - "The Satan Pit", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 10 - "Love and Monsters", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 11 - "Fear Her", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 12 - "Army of Ghosts" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 13 - "Doomsday" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen

2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 2 - "The End of the World", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 3 - "The Unquiet Dead", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 4 - "Aliens of London", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 5 - "World War Three", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 6 - "Dalek", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 7 - "The Long Game", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 8 - "Father's Day", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 9 - "The Empty Child", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 10 - "The Doctor Dances", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 11 - "Boom Town", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 12 - "Bad Wolf", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 13 - "The Parting of The Ways", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Dom Robinson
2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Paul Manners

And the Audio CDs :

2000			04: The Land of the Dead
2000			06: The Marian Conspiracy
2000			10: Winter for the Adept
2000			12: The Fires of Vulcan
2000			14: The Holy Terror
2000			15: The Mutant Phase
2001			16: Storm Warning
2001			18: The Stones of Venice
2002			28: The Chimes of Midnight
2002			30: Seasons of Fear
2002			31: Embrace the Darkness
2002			35: ...Ish
2002			39: ...Bang-Bang-A-Boom!

2003			Doctor Who Audio CDs: An introduction

DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.

PC games reviewed by the editor are on: