The Unicorn and the Wasp

Season 4, Episode 7, Aired
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Episode Summary

Location: England, Earth
Date: December 3rd 1926
Enemies: Vespiforms

The Doctor and Donna meet Agatha Christie at a manor owned by Lady Eddison. When Agatha Christie goes missing and a body turns up in the library, the adventure turns into a pulp sci-fiction murder mystery, with a murder, a jewel thief and a wasp alien. Can they solve the mystery?moreless

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Fan Episode Reviews (19)

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  • No doubt best episode of the entire series let alone season.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By ben-the-hen, Dec 06, 2010 Report Abuse
    No doubt best episode of the entire series let alone season.

    It was funny, fast, informative and clever.

    I'm into murder-mystery-type stories and this didn't disappoint. It was full of humour with Catherine Tate pulling off her best performence. The CGI team out did themselves with the vespiform which looked brilliant, beautiful and terrifying all at the same time. The storyline was thick and full of twits and turns and excitement around each corner. Every second was enjoyable and it had me on the edge of my seat right up until the end.

    This is the best episode since Dr Who came back to our screens and I hope there is more like this in the future.moreless

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    2 3

  • I swear i have seen this before

    7.0
    "Good"
    By dalekmonster, Dec 05, 2010 Report Abuse
    I'm not completely certain but this kind of story happens in every series of near every sci-fi program. Its simply were someone gets trapped in a book and every thing from the book is recreated. And why didn't you just look at the end of the book for the answer. This is again a real let down. The season is hitting rock bottom with those annoying cheap laughs. But once again this episode is saved by Donna. If you have a episode without her you have shot yourself in the foot. The writing is bleack. There is to little time travelling this season. I dislike the time travelling but the places they've been going are boring. I mean no one cares about pompei. At least in the older episodes things make sense. This is gibberish. I did like the bad guys because they were scary bad guys. The murder mystery story is also good but is there any other time period you could of done it in. So once again they bring back the cheap laughs which arn't working for me.

    But now I suppose as the season is near ending the better episodes are at the end. It seems things can only get better.moreless

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    0 7

  • In one of the best episodes since the reboot began, the Doctor faces a giant wasp, and butts heads with Agatha Christie. There's also a cook who gets squashed by a gargoyle and lots of running...and some intrigue too.moreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    By CodenameV, Jun 16, 2010 Report Abuse
    I didn't expect much from this episode. At all. The adverts didn't seem that great, the plot seemed amusing but ultimately average, and the Wasp Monster reminded me too much of the awful Tom Baker episode "The Leisure Hive". But this was good, classic, fun, amazing Doctor Who.

    The plot revolves around an Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery, involving an elusive jewel thief known as the Unicorn, a few murders, and a giant wasp. And it has a twist that is genuinely "oh my god" brilliant - though, I'm sure some will find it weak and irritating.

    Catherine Tate puts on a fantastic show, dropping subtle Agatha Christie novel references during her conversations with the lady herself. David Tennant has some of the funniest moments of the series. And yet again, there is no Rose reference (which is the only real problem I have with an otherwise perfect tale).

    The best scene comes in the form of a Poirot-like interrogation scene that shows what the suspects were really doing, while they lie to the Doctor, saying they were doing something else. It's all brilliant. The comedy is fantastic. And that's what makes this episode even better than the average Who-tale.

    It has the scares, too. The giant wasp will either make you laugh or crap yourself every time you see it. And the actress playing Christie gives a showstealing performance.

    Unfortunately, though, there's no episode next week. Instead, we have to wait two weeks - bloody Eurovision!!

    Overall, a fine example of Doctor Who, and a surprise gem.

    10/10moreless

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    1 1

  • To put it simply, a brilliant episode. Agatha Christie herself would be proud.

    9.8
    "Superb"
    By Oforfsake, Jun 16, 2010 Report Abuse
    The plot for this involved Agatha Christie and a murder mystery. I will admit i was slightly dubious upon seeing the trailer however i will happily say after watching the episode i was completely wrong. While you would be worried about a cliche it was brilliantly written and very original.

    The murder mystery keeps you guessing right up until the end of the episode whereby everything up to that point fits brilliantly into place leaving no questions (at least none that i can think of) left unanswered. I will admit that while the monster was not the scariest of villains we have seen on the show, it was still an excellent choice. The special effects were done brilliantly and the wasp looked absolutely excellent. The humour in the episode was very tastefully done and my family and I found ourselves laughing at certain parts in the episode. The references to previous episodes were also integrated smoothly as well. On the whole i thought that the episode was an excellent one to watch and while it did not directly advance the Season 4 Story Arc in my opinion that did not impact on the how great this episode was in the slightest.moreless

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    3 1

  • This is one of my fave episodes with Donna!

    8.5
    "Great"
    By sophdoph13, Jun 04, 2009 Report Abuse
    In this episode the Doctor and Donna travel to the 1920's and meet Agatha Christie. Before they know it a man is found dead in the libary and the Doctor suspects they may have an alien on thier hands. I love the way the whole plot unfold in the scene with all the people in the room at night. They also manage to tie it in with fact. How Agatha disappeared and how she came to be found again. I don't think it has much to do with carrying the story forward but it is great none the less and I think it is one of my fave episodes for this season!moreless

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    0 0
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • During the flashback of the Can-Can dancing, the Agatha Christie detective, Hercule Poirot, can be seen painted on the wall behind the dancers. Edit
    • When talking to Agatha about her husband, Donna mentions being engaged to a bloke who was 'lying through his teeth' and who went off with 'a giant spider'. This refers to The Runaway Bride when her fiancée Lance was discovered to be in league with the Racnoss Empress. Edit
    • While searching the sealed room, Donna says 'in 1926, they've still got bees', referring to comments she made in Partners In Crime about bees disappearing. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Overnight UK viewing figures for this episode were 7.7 million, with the final viewing figure at 8.41 million. Edit
    • International Air Dates:

      United States: 13 June 2008 Australia: 17 August 2008 New Zealand: 24 August 2008 Edit

    • Although similar to the Doctor Who theme the music playing on the gramophone at the garden party is actually Twentieth Century Blues, a song from Noel Coward's 1931 play Cavalcade, which premièred five years after the date of this episode. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • The Doctor: She is the best selling novelist of all time. Donna: But she never knew. The Doctor: Well, no-one knows how they're going to be remembered. All you can do is hope for the best. Maybe that's what kept her writing. The same thing keeps me travelling. Onwards? Donna: Onwards. Edit
    • (At the lake, Donna throws the Firestone into the water; the Vespiform goes in after it and drowns) Donna: How do you kill a wasp? Drown it. Just like his father. The Doctor: Donna, that thing couldn't help itself. Donna: Neither could I! Agatha Christie: Death comes as the end and justice is served. Edit
    • Agatha Christie: The Firestone has quite a history. Lady Eddison… Lady Eddison: I've done nothing. Agatha Christie: You brought it back from India, did you not? Before you met the Colonel. You came home with malaria and confined yourself to this house for six months in a room that has been kept locked ever since, which I rather think means… Lady Eddison: Stop. Please. Agatha Christie: I'm so sorry, but you had fallen pregnant in India. Unmarried and ashamed, you hurried back to England with your confidante, a young maid later to become housekeeper, Miss Chandrakala. Colonel Hugh: Clemency, is this true? Lady Eddison: My poor baby… I had to give him away. The shame of it. Colonel Hugh: But you never said a word. Lady Eddison: I had no choice. Imagine the scandal. The family name. I'm British. I carry on. The Doctor: And it was no ordinary pregnancy. Lady Eddison: How can you know that? The Doctor: Excuse me, Agatha, but this is my territory, but when you heard that buzzing sound in the dining room, you said 'it can't be'. Why did you say that? Lady Eddison: You'd never believe it. Agatha Christie: The Doctor has opened my mind to believe many things. Lady Eddison: It was forty years ago, in the heat of Delhi late one night. I was alone, and that's when I saw it. A dazzling light in the sky. The next day, he came to the house. Christopher. The most handsome man I'd ever seen. Our love blazed like a wild fire. I held nothing back. And in return, he showed me the incredible truth about himself. He'd made himself human to learn about us. This was his true shape. I loved him so much it didn't matter, but he was stolen from me. 1885. The year of the great monsoon. The river Jumna rose up and broke its banks. He was taken at the flood, but Christopher left me a parting gift. A jewel like no other. I wore it always; part of me never forgot. I kept it close. Always. Robina Redmond: Just like a man. Flashes his family jewels and you end up with a bun in the oven. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • The title is an allusion to "The English and the Wasp". The Unicorn, along with The Lion, is a classic symbol for the UK (although The Unicorn usually represents Scotland). Considering that this is a part of scriptwriter's Gareth Roberts' intention (per various sources) to observe classic British attitudes and manners, it is appropriate. Edit
    • Donna: (guessing what the Doctor is trying to say with his charade) All right then, Towering Inferno?
      The Towering Inferno was a 1974 American disaster film about a fire in a (fictional) high-rise in San Francisco called the Glass Tower, starring Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. Edit
    • The Doctor: Agatha Christie! I was just talking about you the other day, I said, "I bet she's brilliant". This is a reference to the end of Last Of The Time Lords where he suggests to Martha that Agatha Christie would be 'brilliant'. At the time that Last Of The Time Lords was being recorded, the production team knew that a story where the Doctor would meet Agatha Christie was due for the fourth season so a foreshadowing reference was put in. Edit

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