Mar

14

Ten Little Doctors.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

March 14, 2008 |

“The thrill is in the chase, never the capture.”

After a surprising shortage of literary figures in the original Doctor Who (broadcast from 1963-1986), they’re in danger of becoming a cliché in the new Doctor Who, which began in 2005 and, in its third episode, gave The Doctor a chance to meet Charles Dickens. In 2006 there were no literary figures, but The Doctor did meet Queen Victoria and Madame du Pompadour. In 2007 The Doctor met William Shakespeare. So who’s Who meeting this time? None other than Agatha Christie in a story titled The Unicorn And The Wasp. Known for her books (she remains one of the most popular authors in the world) and her plays, including The Mousetrap, which is the longest-running play in history, Christie was an adventurer in life. Born September 15th, 1890, she worked at a hospital and pharmacy during World War I. Her first marriage was unhappy and ended in divorce. Although her second marriage, to the archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan (who was fourteen years younger) in 1928, wasn’t much better, she at lest had the opportunity to travel with him, which provided material for her books, including Murder On The Orient Express. She died January 12, 1976. In the Series 4 trailer we get a brief glimpse of her played by actress Fenella Woolgar, who also had a small role in BBC’s adapation of the Poirot mystery Lord Edgeware Dies. Christie’s grandson Matthew Prichard said in a news article, “What a brilliant idea that Agatha Christie and Doctor Who should meet!”

While it’s definitely brilliant, are famous writers going to become as standard in Doctor Who as Daleks, Cybermen, and attractive companions? Well, to be completely honest, I hope so. Here’s the Series 4 trailer:


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. maureen on March 16, 2008 5:44 pm

    I truly have been remiss and need to do a bit of catching up on the current Dr Who episodes…should be some interesting viewing. The trailer shows how far they have come from the original episodes so many moons..the special effects sure have come a long way

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