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The Great Detective was a minisode broadcast as a prequel for The Snowmen, the Doctor Who 2012 Christmas special. It revealed how badly the Eleventh Doctor was hurt by the losses of Amy Pond and Rory Williams, resorting to absolute retirement from his travels in the TARDIS as a jaded inhabitant of the Victorian Era. It reintroduced the characters of Vastra, Jenny Flint and Strax, last seen in TV: A Good Man Goes to War, now identified as the Paternoster Gang and as such they become recurring characters in the franchise hereafter.

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[]

Having learned of strange happenings, Madame Vastra, her maid Jenny Flint, and their Sontaran servant Strax meet with the Eleventh Doctor. However, he shows no interest in the cases they mention, informing them that he has since retired from investigating such matters.

Cast[]

Worldbuilding[]

Story notes[]

  • Unlike most minisodes, the episode has no opening credits, and as such writer Steven Moffat[1] is uncredited. The episode also uses a unique typeface for presenting the episode title. It is the first televised Doctor Who story not to begin with a rendition of the theme music.
  • 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.
  • It was followed by a second prequel, Vastra Investigates, which was released online in mid-December 2012.
  • This is the first Children in Need special since Children in Need 2011, 1 year earlier.
  • This is the last televised story (not clearly branded as a prequel) in which the Doctor appears but Clara Oswald is not seen nor referenced in dialogue until TV: The Husbands of River Song in December 2015.
  • Strax thinks there's life on the moon, such as "Moonites". However, it's later revealed that the moon is actually an egg that would hatch in 2049.

Ratings[]

to be added

Filming locations[]

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

Production errors[]

to be added

Continuity[]

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.

Home video releases[]

Doctor Who Complete Seventh Series UK DVD Cover

Complete Seventh Series DVD Cover

This mini-episode was released as part of The Complete Seventh Series on DVD and Blu Ray on September 24, 2013.

Blu-ray releases[]

to be added

Footnotes[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Doctor Who Team (14 November 2012). The Doctor Returns for Children in Need. BBC - Blogs - Doctor Who. Retrieved on 18 November 2012.

External links[]

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