Black Orchid [TV/1982.3.1 ~ 3.2]

★★★★☆

  Yes, I am deeply in love with Black Orchid. Dr. Who should do more out-of-the-norm BBC costume mysteries, period dramas without any alien interference, basically a 'slice of life' drama and pure historical all in one; I know this was never going to be everyone's cup of tea (I personally know a few friends who absolutely loathe it), but I'm a firm believer that John Nathan-Turner was right to trust his gut instinct (he supposedly loved it a lot) and make this. Season 19 -- to be honest, the JNT tenure as a whole -- is so focused on the science in science fiction that it's good to have a serial without all the blazing guns for once. It's true that most of the cast have pretty dire opinions about it, but... let's be honest, the script was only really a win for Sarah Sutton because she gets to play two characters, and Sutton herself has been pretty positive about it. Go figure.

  Oddly enough, this might be a good one to show people outside the Dr. Who fandom as a small glimpse into what the show is like. Will it give them the wrong impression, that the show's more about solving manor-house murder mysteries like a Poirot in space? Quite possibly, and then maybe people would get a nasty shock going into Earthshock. Then again, solving mysteries, getting into trouble because they're at the wrong place at the wrong time, piecing out the clues and saving the day... they're all exactly what the Doctor does. Black Orchid is a warm, breezy little ray of sunshine, something incredibly relaxing and quaint that you can't help but find charm in it. It's all about the extended cricket match sequence in Episode 1, it's about the dance, the Charlestons and cute costumes, the cold collation Adric stuffs his face with, the murders and the titular black orchids... the devil is in the details, so to speak, and Black Orchid is teeming with such details, it's like a great big gift bag full of the most creamy and delicious sweets. If it's not your cup of tea, let me have your cup instead... I absolutely adore it.