Cryptic crosswords are a great challenge for the brain, but they needn’t be scary. They’re not as deadly as the puzzles in the Exxilon City! Below are some hints and tips on how to complete them – Code Nine Anagrams: If a clue contains a word meaning “change”, such as “upset”, or “disturbed”, that means there is an anagram to solve. The words which require your attention are usually right next to the indicator word. Read more…
Cryptic Who started life on another platform many moons ago. Back then, you had to print out your crosswords and do them by hand. How times change. However, I have no intention of there being missing episodes by dumping them in a skip – the link to the old site is here – Cryptic Who which will remain online as an archive, where you’ll find dozens of past grids! In the meantime, Allons-y! Code Nine Read more…
Find the murder suspects and their victims in this word search!
Tax those little grey cells with this fiendish quiz! Can you fathom the Doctor Who clues from these Agatha Christie story titles?
As well as being a big Doctor Who fan, I am also an avid fan of Agatha Christie novels, and of the TV adaptations. For me, the Joan Hickson Miss Marple series cannot be improved upon. They are perfectly cast and wonderfully directed, so when The Unicorn and the Wasp was broadcast, I was over the moon that there was a crossover of sorts into Agatha Christie’s territory. This week, like Miss Jane Marple herself, Read more…
It’s no accident that Doctor Who has paid homage to Agatha Christie murder mysteries over the years in Black Orchid, Terror of the Vervoids, and the Horror of Fang Rock (amongst others), as both genres benefit from the same plot devices. A handful of characters with motives isolated in a remote spot or on board a ship, and a series of murders makes for a good Doctor Who adventure as well as one for Poirot Read more…
There have been a fair few people of the cloth in Doctor Who over the years. Who can forget Reverend Wainwright and his crisis of faith in The Curse of Fenric? Or Reverend Golightly in The Unicorn and the Wasp who started buzzing ominously when discovered? Buddhism, too, has been rather prominent, from the monks of the Det-Sen monastery in the Himalayas to K’anpo Rimpoche in Planet of the Spiders. It’s time for confession – Read more…
Like all good science fiction, Doctor Who reflects our present day world. From the very beginning, this ethos has involved religion, but not just the predominant Christianity of 1960s England. Going back in time to meet The Aztecs was a masterstroke, for example, because it created the tension needed for drama – Barbara trying to impose her will on another culture, and moreover, on history. Since then, the Doctor and his friends have encountered many Read more…
