Doctor Who meets Agatha Christie Part Two Quiz

Answer: Crooked House

'Crooked House', with its title taken from an old English nursery rhyme, concerns the Leonides family and is one of the two books that Agatha Christie was best satisfied by (the other being 'Ordeal by Innocence'). The Doctor and Agatha went through all the characters, with Donna eating avidly (just as if she was at the cinema with popcorn!) and exclaiming at intervals "So he/she's the murderer?"

Answer: Taken at the Flood

'Taken at the Flood' was published in the US as 'There is a Tide'. Both titles come from a line in Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' - "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." (Brutus to Cassius, Act V, Scene III). All the others are made up. This is the first time we find out that the Wasp is actually Lady Eddison's love-child. As the Doctor points out in a massive understatement "This was not a normal pregnancy".

Answer: The Moving Finger

'The Moving Finger', an exciting story of poison-pen letters, was first published in 1943. 'The Fickle Finger of Fate' will be familiar to "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" fans, a 'Finger of Fudge' was an advert for a British sweet, and 'The Black Fingernail' was a character in the UK comedy film "Carry On: Don't Lose Your Head".

Answer: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

The title was clearly visible as the ideas of Agatha Christie were absorbed by Lady Eddison, and thus to her necklace (the firestone), which acted as a 'Vespiform Telepathic Recorder' (as it would) to her Wasp/son, the vicar, Reverend Golightly (an excellently creepy (sorry) performance by Tom Goodman-Hill). The wrong answers were Agatha Christie's eighth, ninth and tenth books.

Answer: Death Comes as the End

It was interesting that the Doctor remonstrated with Donna for killing the Wasp, saying that it couldn't help it. Donna retorted that neither could she. 'Death Comes as the End' is an unusual novel, set in Egypt in 2000 BC. Agatha also added that "Justice is served"'

Answer: Murder at the Vicar's Rage

The Doctor admits it needs a bit of work! He mangled 'Murder at the Vicarage' - I have mangled 'After the Funeral', 'Death on the Nile' and 'The Pale Horse'.

Answer: Miss Marple

'Murder at the Vicarage' was Miss Marple's first appearance in 1930. Agatha obviously knew about Hercule Poirot, and answered at the initial party that she had made him a Belgian because they made such marvellous buns (they do?) Sherlock Holmes and Lord Peter Wimsey are creations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy L Sayers respectively.

Answer: Harrogate

They dropped her at the wrong one though! Agatha Christie was seen in the episode going into 'The Harrogate Hotel'. The real Agatha Christie stayed at the 'Swan Hydro Hotel', where she checked in as Teresa Neele, interestingly given that her philandering husband's mistress was Nancy Neele. The wrong answers are North Yorkshire towns, but not spas.

Answer: True

The Doctor found her after C for Cybermen (looked like a hubcap) and C for Carrionites (from 'Dr Who' 2005 season). There was also some sort of bust (Caesar perhaps?).

Answer: Death in the Clouds

The illustration by Tom Adams is certainly memorable. In the episode, Donna is looking at a facsimile edition of 'The 1957 Earth edition (Sol3)', published in the year 5,000,000,000 (!) and that the original was published in Great Britain in 1935. The Doctor goes on to states Agatha Christie became the best-selling novelist of all time. We obviously don't know whether this claim comes true, but I do know this was a great 'Dr Who' episode and I really enjoyed writing these quizzes and I hope you enjoyed playing them. Let me know! (Especially if you've spotted titles I missed!)