"I think I understood some of those words...Enough to know that you're completely potty."
I don't know about anyone else, but Gareth Roberts is fast becoming one of my favourite Who writers. He doesn't do a lot of angst (well, relative to the rest of the series), and he doesn't smack you upside the head with how deep he can be. What he does is write fun, funny, extremely entertaining episodes that have some very touching bits and great dialogue.
Now, I have to admit something - I love Dickens and Shakespeare, and I have at least a passing familiarity with Queen Victoria, but I have never read any Agatha Christie. Not a single bit. She's one of Mum's favourites, but Mum never made any attempt to share that love with me, and I just never thought to read anything of hers. But I am a big enough fan of Clue for "The Unicorn and the Wasp" to have worked for me just as well as the first three Great Britons episodes. I can't say it made me want to instantly run out and read a Christie novel, but mostly because I'm trying to finish up the book I'm reading at the moment. I'll undoubtedly be nicking one of Mum's books as soon as I'm done with this one.
This series as a whole has just been visually stunning. I mean, there's been some really lovely stuff in the past, don't get me wrong, but almost every episode this year has been just _full_ of beautiful sets and lovely costumes and gorgeous, _gorgeous_ matte paintings. And this one is of course absolutely no exception. I love the 20s styles, and The Doctor's reaction to Donna's "Flapper or slap her?" question made me love him _even more_, which I didn't think was possible. I never ever would have thought that they would get along as wonderfully as they do, but there you are. Yay for awesome Companions and close friends!
I seriously love practically everything about this episode. The kiss was a bit contrived, but that scene is easily one of my favourites from this series, if not ever, so I'm happy to let it slide. It's really quite twisted how easy it is to laugh and have your heart torn to shreds at the same time over some of the stuff they put The Doctor through on this show ("HARVEY WALLBANGER?!" See also "Only one heart working - how do you people cope?" and his fun little dance in "Smith and Jones"), but it's a testament to the writers, directors, and especially Tennant himself that they keep managing to pull off scenes like that.
There are times when I really miss the uber-old-school history serials where there was never any alien involvement at all, aside from The Doctor and Susan, and I think this one is perhaps one of the New Who episodes that would have worked just as well without the villain being extraterrestrial...but I wouldn't want to sacrifice Donna's "when I say, 'giant'..." line just in the interest of being a skosh less conventional.
So I'm gonna give this one a solid A. And thank you SO much, Mr. Davies, for placing this later in the series, to lighten up the space between the emotionally wrenching "The Doctor's Daughter" and the creepy Moffat offering before the no doubt epic dose of Davies we're going to end on. I really prefer that to stacking all of the fluffier episodes at the beginning of the series, so, again, thank you.
Five is an adorable pook, by the way, and I am completely and utterly in love with Peter Davison. But we already knew that.