The Crimson Horror

237 – "The Crimson Horror"
Doctor Who episode
Cast
Doctor Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor)
Companion Jenna-Louise Coleman (Clara Oswald)
Others Diana Rigg – Mrs Gillyflower Rachael Stirling – Ada Catrin Stewart – Jenny Neve McIntosh – Madame Vastra Dan Starkey – Strax Eve de Leon Allen – Angie Kassius Carey Johnson – Artie Brendan Patricks – Edmund & Mr Thursday Graham Turner – Amos Olivia Vinall – Effie Michelle Tate – Abigail Jack Oliver Hudson – Urchin Boy
Production
Directed by	Saul Metzstein
Written by	Mark Gatiss
Produced by	Marcus Wilson
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat Caroline Skinner
Music by	Murray Gold
Series	Series 7
Running time	45 minutes
First broadcast	4 May 2013 (2013-05-04)
Chronology
← Preceded by "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" Followed by → "Nightmare in Silver"

"The Crimson Horror" is the eleventh episode of the seventh series of the British science-fiction drama Doctor Who. It was written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Saul Metzstein. The episode is the 100th broadcast episode (not including mini-episodes) since the series was revived in 2005.

Plot

In 1893, Silurian Madame Vastra, her human partner Jenny, and their Sontaran butler Strax investigate "The Crimson Horror", a mysterious cause of death in which victims are found with red skin. Superstition states that the retina retains the image last seen by the person, and they are shocked to find that the latest victim had seen the Doctor. They travel to Yorkshire, where Jenny infiltrates Sweetville, a community lead by Mrs. Gillyflower and Mr. Sweet, who is not seen. Mrs. Gillyflower preaches about the coming apocalypse to encourage people to come. She has a daughter, Ada, who is blind because she had been beaten by her late father, according to Mrs. Gillyflower.

Jenny discovers the Doctor, who is chained up and exhibits red skin and a stiff stature. The Doctor enters a chamber to reverse the process, and explains to Jenny that he and Clara had arrived and discovered the mystery of "The Crimson Horror". They had joined Sweetville to investigate, but learned that they were to be preserved to survive the apocalypse. The process did not work on the Doctor because he was not human, and was saved from being destroyed by Ada, who affectionately calls him "my monster". The Doctor finds Clara and reverses the process on her. Meanwhile, Vastra recognises that Sweetville is using the venom of a prehistoric red leech. The Doctor and Clara confront Mrs. Gillyflower, who reveals that she plans to launch a rocket to spread the poison all over the skies. "Mr. Sweet" is also revealed to be a red leech that has formed a symbiotic relationship with Mrs. Gillyflower. The Doctor berates Mrs. Gillyflower for experimenting on Ada to get the preservation formula right. Ada, overhearing this, angrily advances toward her mother, but Mrs. Gillyflower holds a gun to her head and heads into the rocket silo, which has been disguised as a chimney.

Mrs. Gillyflower launches the rocket, but Vastra and Jenny reveal themselves with the vat of poison that they have removed from it. Mrs. Gillyflower turns on the Doctor, but Strax appears at the top of the chimney and shoots at her, causing her to tumble over the staircase. As she dies, Mr. Sweet abandons her. In rage, Ada strikes the leech with her cane. The Doctor and Clara say goodbye; Ada says that she is looking forward to finding new opportunities on life. Vastra and Jenny ask about Clara, as they had previously met a Victorian version of her in "The Snowmen", in which she died. The Doctor does not wish to explain, however. Clara returns home, where she is confronted by the two children she babysits for, Angie and Artie. They pull of pictures they have found of her in the past on the Internet, and question if she has been travelling in time with the Doctor. They then blackmail her by threatening to tell their father if she does not take them on a trip.

Continuity

When the Doctor arrives, he mentions to Clara that he once spent ages trying to get a "gobby Australian" to Heathrow Airport, a reference to his fifth incarnation's companion Tegan Jovanka and his efforts to get her back to Heathrow from Four to Doomsday to Time-Flight. Further reference to Tegan is made when the Doctor tells Clara, "Brave heart, Clara," a phrase he often used when talking to Tegan. Tegan had been referred to previously in the revived era in both "Time Crash" and Death of the Doctor.

In the flashback sequence when the Doctor says that the Gypsy's believe that the last image the dead person sees is retained on the retina this a version of what Doctor number four (Tom Baker) tells the crew of Nerva Beacon just before he connects his mind to the retina of the dead Wirrn in The Ark in Space.

Upon arriving home, Clara discovers that the children she looks after have found historical photographs of her from 1974 ("Hide") and 1983 ("Cold War"). They also found an 1892 photo of Clara as seen in "The Snowmen", who they assume is also their Clara.

Production

"The Crimson Horror" saw the return of Vastra, Jenny, and Strax from "The Snowmen". Executive producer Steven Moffat told Radio Times that the story would be from their point of view, for the audience "to see them tackle a case of their own, and stumble across the Doctor's path, quite accidentally".

The episode was "specially written" for mother and daughter Diana Rigg and Rachael Stirling. It was the first time the two had worked together on screen. Gatiss had worked on a play with Stirling, who mentioned that she and Rigg had never appeared in something together, and Gatiss offered to "tailor" them into his Doctor Who episode, for which he had devised the basic premise. Stirling said that Gatiss had written "an on-screen relationship between Ma and I that is truly delicious. We have never before worked together because the offers have not been tempting, but when such a funny and original script comes through you know the time has come." Gatiss also stated that he wanted to write "a properly northern Who" and revealed that Rigg was able to use her native Doncaster accent for the first time.

The episode began filming the week of 2 July 2012, with location filming done in Bute Town, Caerphilly.

Broadcast and reception

"The Crimson Horror" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 4 May 2013. Overnight ratings showed that it was watched by 4.61 million viewers live.

Critical reception

"The Crimson Horror" received generally positive reviews from critics. Ben Lawrence of The Daily Telegraph gave the episode five out of five stars, writing that it "crammed in idea after idea while still maintaining a terrific, breezy pace and delivering a fantastically satisfying story". He praised the way the Doctor and Clara did not enter the episode for fifteen minutes, which cut down on the amount of exposition. The Guardian reviewer Dan Martin was positive towards the way the episode played with genre and form, saying that it "was as demented and creepy as the show should always be". Neela Debnath, writing for The Independent, said that the episode had a "great plot to match the gigantic scale".

Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times wrote that it had "decent mystery, a logical plot, a dollop of camp but perhaps most rewarding of all it's a danse macabre". He noted that the episode had "more than a dash of The Avengers", which Rigg is famous for starring in. IGN's Mark Snow gave "The Crimson Horror" a rating of 8.7 out of 10, calling it "arguably the half-season's best yet". He praised the humour and style, and commented, "the threat was never truly looming, nor was the scale as grand or epic as its recent predecessors, but that also meant that for once there was just enough story to fit into one sole episode". SFX reviewer Nick Setchfield gave the episode four out of five stars, describing it as a "sufficiently sure-footed to waltz right to the brink of parody and no further". While he praised Rigg, he said that Stirling had "the stand-out performance". However, Digital Spy's Morgan Jeffery was more critical, giving the episode two out of five stars. He remarked that it felt like "filler" and criticised Rigg's character for being "an over-the-top cackling crone". On the other hand, he praised the emotional depth added by Stirling's character and the direction.

External links

• "The Crimson Horror" at the BBC Doctor Who homepage
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• "The Crimson Horror" at IMDb