There's a mummy coming and the victim only has 66 seconds to live! The brief of "do an Egyptian mummy on an Orient Express in space" might have been given to Mathieson by Moffat but it was ultimately Mathieson who made the episode shine. Every element works, from the train captain with a secret to the homicidal computer, Gus. The CGI for the mummy creature is also extremely effective, as is the CGI for the space train. When these story elements and effects are combined with great acting, good sets and nice costumes, the result is an absolute corker. From the opening tease of the mummy killing its victim to the final scene in which the Doctor scribbles in the sand of a beach whilst Clara sleeps, there is nothing to change, nothing to fix. Indeed, as with Listen, there are only things that disappoint because they weren't explored further in subsequent stories, like the nature of the Doctor's scribbles, and that is a sin committed by others, not Mathieson. What do you think of this ranking? Do you agree/disagree? As always, leave your rankings in the comments section below.
Mike has lived in the UK, Japan and the USA. Currently, he is based in Iowa with his wife and 2 young children. After working for many years as a writer and editor for a large corporation, he is now a freelancer. He has been fortunate enough to contribute to many books on Doctor Who over the last 20 years and is now concentrating on original sci-fi & fantasy short stories, with recent sales including Flame Tree, Uffda, and The Martian Wave. Also, look for his contribution on Blake's 7 to "You and Who Else", a charity anthology to be released later this year.
You can find him on Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/culttvmike
