And so, this latest series of Doctor Who finally delivers a brilliant episode, The Crimson Horror, written by the excellent Mark Gatiss... Starting out like that one-per-series episode from the bad old days, the Doctor and his companion are nowhere to be seen, the episode seems to centre on the Victorian mixed-race detective team of Silurian Madame Vastra, human Jenny and their curious Sontaran valet, Strax. The interplay between these three is always rewarding, but Vastra and Jenny almost took a back seat to Strax's exuberance this time round.
That's not to say the other two didn't get their fair share of the limelight... Jenny got to show off her lock-pickin' and arse-kickin' (loved that catsuit, concealed under her voluminous dress!), and Vastra was in full-on Sherlock Holmes mode.
But even that wasn't what made this episode outstanding... Nor even the presence of the legendary Diana Rigg as Mrs Gillyflower, turning Clara into one of her very own set of Stepford wives (and husbands) in her walled city of Sweetville... Nor even her daughter, Rachel Stirling as Ada Gillyflower, blinded and scarred, devoting herself to the care of her 'monster', a reject from her mother's experiments...
What actually made this episode something special was that it was a complete and satisfying story, with none of the leaps in logic or dei ex machina that have plagued the series so far. I'd still complain that it was far too short (the photographic montage backstory scenes were a neat trick, but shouldn't have been necessary), since the origins of the mysterious Mr Sweet were hurriedly explained, and it was never entirely clear how much of Mrs Gillyflower's ranting was truly her, and how much the influence of her 'benefactor'.
I'm still much preferring this New Who to the later RTD-helmed series (Donna improved things somewhat... but the emotional range of DT's Doctor ran from Smarmy through Broody to Shouty, and I may never forgive his mawkish regeneration scene) but, every so often, we are offered a glimpse of how truly awesome a series it could be, if only its episodes were longer, or if each story was made of two or more episodes (each with a terrifying cliff-hanger!). Mark Gatiss is shaping up to be one of the more reliable writers, because he clearly has a passion for - and a sense of fun about - the series... and enough sense not to make the Doctor the centre of attention in every scene.
Part way through, though, I realised something particularly cool... Since The Sarah-Jane Adventures are over (and Elizabeth Sladen sorely missed), Children's TV needs a new plucky detective team... and who better than Madame Vastra's team? I mean, think about it: complex detective stories, sometimes involving aliens with superior technology, plenty of action since all three are able to wield many weapons (Vastra and Jenny preferring those that suit their period in time), and plenty of comedy from Strax proposing detailed strategies invariably involving the biggest guns and explosives in their arsenal, or getting his genders confused, or just having a silly scene, like the one he shared with Thomas Thomas, whose unerring sense of direction (I see what you did there, Gatiss!) helped Strax save the day. There would even be huge crossover potential for end-of-season stories. They might have to alter the dynamic between Vastra and Jenny for kids' telly, to make it a more ambiguous Holmes and Watson relationship but, in this day and age, even that might not be necessary.
Come on, BBC: Madame Vastra, Consulting Detective... Make it happen.
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