N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!

Black Orchid, by dint of it being set in Earth’s past (11th June 1925 to be precise) and containing no science fiction element — other than the Doctor, his companions and the TARDIS of course — may well be classed by many as Doctor Who‘s first pure historical since The Highlanders, but it’s a journey to a past that, as in the stories of P. G. Wodehouse, probably never really existed (or, if it did, only for a very few).

I’m a big Wodehouse fan, hence the way in which I’ve crowbarred in a mention of him here. Whilst Black Orchid doesn’t really aim to evoke old Plum (being more of a Agatha Christie homage than anything), I couldn’t help but wonder if “Smutty” Thomas was speaking to Lord Cranleigh from the Drones Club, perhaps even after a game of best-of-six Darts?

The Doctor’s (or the TARDIS’s) impeccable timing — arriving on the railway platform as the train is pulling away, making it seem as if he and his companions had just alighted — is all it takes for Lord Cranleigh’s driver to mistake the Doctor for Smutty’s substitute batsman and set in motion the chain of events that lead him to be suspected of murder (albeit briefly).

“Perfectly ripping performance!”

Charles, Black Orchid: Part One

Along the way, there’s some lovely stuff where the Doctor gets trapped in the secret passageways of Cranleigh Hall as the fancy dress ball goes on without him.

Elsewhere we learn that Tegan knows a bit about botany and can do the Charleston, Adric likes his food but cannot dance, and Nyssa — who doesn’t know the Charleston but can dance and is considered “quite good” — is, despite her being his fiancée’s doppelgänger, considered by Charles to be a child (he won’t allow her and Adric to have a screwdriver). It’s odd because, unlike Adric, Nyssa never once acts childishly and of course looks exactly the same age as Ann Talbot!

And, of course, as well as his acting chops, Peter Davison gets to show us he is a damn fine cricketer to boot.

It’s a shame Davison, Janet Fielding and Matthew Waterhouse don’t regard Black Orchid all that highly — from what’s seen on screen they appeared to be enjoying it — as I rather like it.

In fact, quite topping.