The Unicorn and the Wasp

Wow.

That was a really good episode of Doctor Who!

Before it was broadcast, it was trailed as being the first pure comedy since The Romans, a story which was broadcast in January and February 1965.

It was certainly very funny, making a real pastiche of the Whodunnit? genre in general, and Agatha Christie in particular. Whilst it could have descended into farce, it resisted that route, and instead came across as clever, witty, and self-mocking. It was good fun spotting all the Agatha Christie title references, too. I think the only one I didn't spot first time was "N or M?"

There has been some controversy as to whether revealing the Vicar to be the alien Vespiform is a part of the Producer's atheist bias. I must confess as I watched it I thought, "oh no, they're going to make the vicar the killer." I suppose if you had to pick the least likely person to be the Alien/killer in the best Christie tradition, it have to be either Christie herself, or the vicar.

Still, it was all very good fun, and now we have a whole fortnight to wait for the next episode, written by the excellent Steven Moffat, "The Silence in the Library".