In which Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax seek out the Doctor. Depressed after the departure of Amy and Rory he is living in Victorian London as a recluse, and they are concerned about him. They seek to remotivate him by informing him of a number of potential threats to the planet. Vastra tells him of a shower of strange meteorites, whilst Jenny informs him of an invisible man and a scientist's plans to drill into the core of the Earth. Strax informs him of a threat from creatures who live on the moon, and that he has declared war on the Earth's satellite. The Doctor is unmoved by these tales, determined to be left alone. As they drive away in their carriage, Vastra and Jenny are intrigued to see that it is snowing, despite there being not a single cloud in the sky...
The Great Detective was written by Steven Moffat, and was first shown as part of the annual BBC telethon Children in Need, on 16th November, 2012.
The events seen here lead directly into The Snowmen, though this prequel was shown first in order for it to be included in CiN.
It features only the Paternoster Gang, and Matt Smith as the Doctor, sporting the Victorian costume he will wear in the Christmas Special.
Things you might like to know:
- The title here refers to the Doctor, but was also the title used to describe Sherlock Holmes.
- All of the threats mentioned by the Paternoster Gang refer to the works of writers HG Wells or Conan Doyle:
- The meteorite fall is a reference to Wells' War of the Worlds, first published in 1897.
- The man who may be invisible refers to Wells' The Invisible Man, also published in 1897.
- The scientist drilling into the Earth is Professor Challenger, in Doyle's 1928 story When the World Screamed.
- Strax's "Moonites" are the Selenites, from Wells' First Men in the Moon, first serialised between 1900 and 1901 in The Strand Magazine.
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