The Crimson Horror

237 – "The Crimson Horror"
Doctor Who episode
Promotional poster
Cast
Doctor Matt Smith – Eleventh Doctor
Companion Jenna-Louise Coleman – Clara Oswald
Others Dame Diana Rigg – Mrs Gillyflower Rachael Stirling – Ada Catrin Stewart – Jenny Flint Neve McIntosh – Madame Vastra Dan Starkey – Strax Eve de Leon Allen – Angie Kassius Carey Johnson – Artie Brendan Patricks – Edmund & Mr Thursday Graham Turner – Amos Scott Stevenson – Dipped Man Olivia Vinall – Effie Michelle Tate – Abigail Jack Oliver Hudson – Thomas Thomas
Production
Directed by	Saul Metzstein
Written by	Mark Gatiss
Produced by	Marcus Wilson[1]
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat Caroline Skinner
Music by	Murray Gold
Series	Series 7
Running time	45 minutes
First broadcast	4 May 2013 (2013-05-04)
Chronology
← Preceded by "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" Followed by → "Nightmare in Silver"
List of episodes (2005–present)

"The Crimson Horror" is the eleventh episode of the seventh series of the British science-fiction drama Doctor Who. It was written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Saul Metzstein,^[2] and was first broadcast on BBC One on 4 May 2013. It marks the 100th episode, including specials, since the return of Doctor Who on 26 March 2005.^[3]

Set in 1893 Yorkshire, the episode features the Victorian-era detectives Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart), and their alien butler Strax (Dan Starkey). The first half of the episode focuses on the detectives' search for their missing friend, the alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith). In the second half, they team up with the Doctor and his companion Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman) to prevent a plot by the chemist and engineer Mrs Gillyflower (Diana Rigg), who wishes to start a new world by wiping out all of humanity, apart from a community she deems as being "perfect".

The episode was the third appearance of Vastra, Jenny, and Strax – informally referred to as the "Paternoster Gang" – and was conceived as a pseudo-spinoff for the characters. The episode also included numerous homages in tone to Rigg's work in the British TV show The Avengers, specifically referencing Rigg's character in the show, Emma Peel. The episode was watched by 6.47 million viewers in the United Kingdom and received generally positive reviews from critics.