The Great Detective (TV story)

The Great Detective was a prequel, also referred to as a minisode by Matt Smith, for The Snowmen, the Doctor Who 2012 Christmas special.

It was first broadcast as part of Doctor Who's BBC's Children in Need charity appeal, and was followed by a trailer for the Christmas special. Both were introduced by Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman.

Plot
Madame Vastra, her assistant Jenny Flint, and their Sontaran henchman Strax meet with the Eleventh Doctor in regards to recent alien activity, only for him to inform them that he has since retired from investigating such matters.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Matt Smith
 * Strax - Dan Starkey
 * Vastra - Neve McIntosh
 * Jenny Flint - Catrin Stewart
 * Narrator - Mark Gatiss

Story notes

 * Unlike most minisodes, the episode has no opening credits, and as such writer Steven Moffat is uncredited. The episode also uses a unique typeface for presenting the episode title.
 * Jenny's last name, Flint, is revealed in this minisode. In her introduction episode, A Good Man Goes to War, she was known only as Jenny.

Ratings
to be added

Filming locations
Corn Street, Bristol, UK (filmed on 20 Aug 2012)

Production errors
to be added

Continuity

 * The Doctor is shown to be retired and living in the past. The Sixth Doctor had previously done this in PROSE: The Spindle of Necessity.
 * Despite Jenny's assertion that The Moon is uninhabited, the Doctor once implied that there are species native to it although he could have been joking. (TV: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)

DVD releases
to be added

Blu-ray releases
to be added