Agatha Christie Meets the Doctor (NO SPOILERS)

Well, its Saturday here in the UK and that means Doctor Who is on!

In tonight’s episode the Doctor meets detective writer Agatha Christie.  The Unicorn and the Wasp suggests a sci-fi explanation for what happened when the great lady went missing in 1926.

In December of 1926 Ms Christie’s disappeared from her home in Berkshire, her car was subsequently found abandoned in a Surrey chalk pit.

After being missing for ten days, she was found alive and well (physically at least) at a hotel in Harrogate (it looks lovely I quite fancy a few nights there myself).

Oddly, the alias she used was that of a woman with whom her husband was said to be having an affair.

Ms Christie claimed that she had suffered some form of nervous breakdown and entered into a fugue state (brought about by the stress of her husband’s affair and the death of her mother). But some people were unconvinced, accusing the writer of staging an elaborate publicity stunt (that ultimately cost the authorities a great deal of money).

Staged disappearance or sudden mental illness? I think I’m going with whatever the Doctor Who writers go for – it seems to involve a giant alien wasp.

Ten Doctor Who Adventures with a Fortean Flavour

Over the years Doctor Who has encountered a smorgasbord of Forteana.

1. An Unearthly Child

The very first episode introduces the Doctor and Susan (his “granddaughter”). Why is it particularly Fortean (apart, obviously, from from featuring time travel and alien visitation)?

Well, today a child like Susan could be labelled an Indigo Child. Indigo Children are, according to some New Age thinkers children with extraordinary abilities who represent the next stage of human evolution.

How does Susan do on a quick “Is Your Child an Indigo?” Survey? She may well be (but apparently I might have been one too!)

2. Terror of the Zygons

The Loch Ness Monster is an alien cyborg! Someone should tell the Loch Ness and Morar Project.

3. The Unquiet Dead

The Unquiet Dead touches on the Victorian craze for Spiritualism and seances. Psychic servant girl Gwyneth gets in touch with some “spirits”. But they are not quite what they seem…

4. The Satan Pit

Given that writer and producer Russell T. Davies is an atheist. (He’s even made this celebrity atheist list – so I don’t think it’s just a phase). So it’s quite a surprise for Satan himself to make and appearance in this episode.

This episode reminds me of the “MINERS FIND HELL” story: now sadly debunked.

5. Army of Ghosts

Lots of “ghosts” in this episode but as in The Unquiet Dead they are not what they seem. Remember: “A footprint doesn’t look like a boot.”

6. The Abominable Snowmen

Giant hairy beasts are attacking and anthropologist and explorer, Professor Travers is blaming the yeti! But as the Doctor points out this is very unlikely, real yetis are timid, shy creatures. The truth? Blame an extradimensional being: The Great Intelligence.

7. Horror of Fang Rock

It seems that there’s a sea monster around Fang Rock lighthouse. Are they safe from it in the lighthouse? Or is it really an alien entity with a sinister agenda? (HINT: People aren’t what they seem)

The episode may have been inspired by the real life disappearance of several lighthousemen in the Flannan Isles.The Doctor even quotes from a poem inspired by the case.

8. Pyramids of Mars

Mummies are killing people in a suitably creepy mansion. But they aren’t just reanimated Egyptian corpses they’re under alien control: like the yetis…and the Loch Ness Monster….and the ghosts.

9. The Daemons

Turns out that demons and horned gods throughout history have actually been aliens.  Daemons from the planet Daemos who arrived a million years ago.  Ever since they have been influencing Earth’s history.

This also features a rather nice Pagan lady called Olive Hawthorne, who is what I always think Dion Fortune might have been like.

10. Planet of the Spiders

Psychically charged stones. Incantations. The power of meditation. Giant Spiders. A stage psychic who only pretends to be a fake (do you think that’s what Derren Brown does?).

NOTE: Much of this information was gleaned from the internet to fill in my scant memories from Target books from my local library and UK Gold reruns. Basically, the first episode of Dr Who I remember is the one where Romana leaves and even that’s hazy.