h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"Most of the 'deductions' at the end seemed to me to be just firmly asserted guesses with no supporting evidence. The identity of the Unicorn was especially silly: all she had to do was continue to deny it, and nobody could have said anything more."

I'm sure theyt would've gone deeper if they had time. And it was a fun take on the Marple/Poirot endings when they sit in the room and point fingers. In real life no one would confess so quickly anyway, but it makes the story and shows they've got it.

I also liked Donna's "At least we know the butler didn't do it" comment.

Yeah. Did anyone else see the Confidential afterwards? David Tennant's dad was in it!

Ah I spotted the bow & arrow thing - but when we saw them they were running through the town in Blink. But yes, it does connect the dots nicely.

Yeah, I'd wondered if it was the same Blink bow and arrow story. But location was just a tad different.

Did anyone suspect the vicar??

That was... not too bad. It started off extremely strongly with good writing and a huge sense of fun (even if murder was involved) but it started to unravel once the writer decided to try for a bona-fide Christie-esque mystery. And, like I'm sure a few people did, I suspected the vicar early purely because he was the vicar. I also thought the stuff with Christie and the jewel at the end came across as little more than the writer making it up as they went along.

Did any other fans of Radio Four's excellent Who-spoofing "Nebulous" detect a possible nod to the episode "The Buzzing" when the Vicar started to change in the church?

"Yeah, I'd wondered if it was the same Blink bow and arrow story. But location was just a tad different."

I loved that bit, marvellous. There was a huge sense in the first half of the episode of silliness and fun and it's a shame it lost its focus a bit.

think it was one of those ones where you could laugh at it, with all the novel titles thrown in and the Cluedo references. Don't think it was meant to be entirely serious.

By the way, my friend spotted an error: the book Felicity Kendal was reading in bed in the flashback (when the vicar first changed into the wasp) was one that hadn't been published at that point. Apparently, it was actually the one immediately after Christie disappeared, which he knew because some people dismiss the 'disappearance' as a publicity stunt to help sell it.
Having said that, I suspect it was some kind of deliberate mistake, given the number of times they made a point of what had and hadn't been published at that point.

Really enjoyed that ep, thought it was really good. Loads better than last week, liked the Poirot style questioning (anyone also notice the music?) the cluedo refs but did think they could have thought of a better way of combining the alien presence with the murders (I think I must've missed something in how they got from the vicar being wotsername's son to the wasp).

<>
No surprises there then... Of course it was, I remember, it happened when I was a child. It was the first time I realised that the Israelis can get away with *anything* they choose to do!
<>

Yeah, that's typical. "Calls for action" constitute "force" to them...

I quite enjoyed that - good that they focused on just the story and left out the arc for an episode.

I figured out who was the Unicorn right away, but the wasp kept me guessing for most of the episode. Liked Donna a lot, she is a step up from Rose and Martha in terms of ability - being able to fight the wasp for example.

And wasn't Agatha Christie excellent? After the abomination of last week's guest they got someone who can act.

Oh, I had the Unicorns number the moment she said 'toilet'!!
So non-U!

"No surprises there then... Of course it was, I remember, it happened when I was a child. It was the first time I realised that the Israelis can get away with *anything* they choose to do!"

Context, context. I pointed out that Israel was responding to considerable provocation from Egypt including the call for unified "action" by the arab states against Israel. I specifically said it wasn't Israel suddenly deciding to attack for no reason which is how you've painted it.

"Oh, I had the Unicorns number the moment she said 'toilet'!!
So non-U!"

I have to admit I didn't guess the Unicorn, partly because I'd largely stopped caring by the time they came round to it and was more interested in the giant killer wasp.

To be honest, I think incorporating the Unicorn was a mistake. It was a 45-minute episode and didn't need elaborate plotting or a twin mystery thread. This is a problem with New Who - it's moved onto 45-minute stories (for little reason other than it's what the Americans do... *sigh*) but many of the stories are written with plotlines more suited to Old Who meaning that episodes can feel crammed or rushed.

I now really want a giant magnifiying glass! I hate waspses!!!

Firstly ... very enjoyable episode so I ask / make the following points quibblingly ...

- I don't see any motive for the killing of Professor Peach. At the moment he is killed, he has only just discovered the truth, not time enough for the Wasp to be transformed through anger or feeling threatened.

- Likewise why did it go attack Donna?

- How did the Doctor's drink get poisoned?

Nobody spotted the reference to the anime series Evangellion then.

I'm thinking that's a 'no'.

would probably help if people had heard of Evangelion...