A long time ago, way back at the end of Steven Moffat's first series, an idea was created. Amy and Rory had just got married, the Doctor had returned from the depths of their memories, danced the Drunken Giraffe at the reception and it was time to say goodbye... The episode (Big Bang ended wit the Doctor receiving a phone call in the TARDIS from an unknown caller that causes concern... There is an Egyptian Goddess on the Orient Express, in space! The Doctor is confused because, as he put it "I was there when she was sealed into the seventh obelisk. I was at the prayer meeting... Don't worry about a thing your Majesty, we're on our way"... It was assumed, by me at least, that this was a tease into the Christmas episode, much like the Titanic crashing through the TARDIS a few years earlier, but no. The Christmas episode took place during Amy and Rory's honeymoon and the Doctor was on his own dealing with flying sharks in A Christmas Carol and then time passed before the start of the next series and the Egyptian Goddess was forgotten about.
But not by Moffat. He gave the title to writer Jamie Mathieson and let him do the rest. Not surprisingly, the details of the Doctor's telephone conversation were a little overlooked after four years and a change of both companion and Doctor so the resulting episode doesn't mention it specifically. What is important to remember is that the last episode ended with Clara angry at the Doctor telling him she has had enough...
The episode opens with a rolling digital counter on screen and the Doctor is heard to say "Start the clock". It counts down from 66 seconds to zero. We see an old 1920s train with passengers to match, one of whom is an old lady who suddenly sees a scary mummy-like monster slowly walking towards her. She thinks it's someone in fancy dress, but despite her protests, nobody else can see it and her granddaughter is worried about her mental health until we see the mummy reaches her with it's arms out stretched the counter reaches zero. Mummy's hands to grandmother's face results in the old woman's death and the mummy disappears. The camera pulls out to reveal that, as if this wasn't all strange enough, the train itself is rolling along invisible tracks in outer space! Roll title!
The TARDIS arrives nice and discreetly in the baggage car and the Doctor and Clara step out in full 1920s garb as he explains that many train have had the name "Orient Express" but this one is a faithful replica, only a bit bigger and in space. Ho notices Clara's sad smile and tells her to stop it because it's unsettling that she can somehow convey two emotions at once, like it's some kind of malfunction. She is sad that this is their last trip, but happy that it will be a good one to end on with a nice meal and wondrous sights of which the Doctor is already taking great delight in describing from first hand experiences. In the background we see and hear a young jazz singer performing a poignant and soft rendition of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" which, interestingly enough, was high in the charts as Doctor Who's Key To Time series (which introduced Time Lord companion Romana) came to an end, but here it echoes both Clara's reluctant departure and the impending end of anyone who sees the mummy throughout the story!
Some time is spent with the Doctor and Clara discussion their situation, their last hoorah and why Clara just can't keep doing it. They meet he chief guard who points out that he has "Doctors and Professors coming out of his ears on this trip. What are you a doctor of?" to which the doctor wittily replies "Ah, now there a question that's never asked often enough. Let's say 'Intestinal Parasites'." As they find themselves a sleeping compartment each, the conversation makes Clara realise that leaving the Doctor may actually mean losing him completely and once on her own, ready for bed, she phones Danny to weigh things up in her mind again. Meanwhile the Doctor is literally talking to himself and sounding very much like Tom Baker's fourth Doctor for half the conversation! He realises that something is wrong (there has been another death since their arrival) and the adventure is on!
From this point, the story really shouldn't be retold. The Doctor teams up with a professor they met earlier and talks about the Foretold whose legend seems to fit the goings on, while Clara bumps into Maisie, the old woman's granddaughter and they have a heart to heart about their various woes - Clara's dilemma about leaving the Doctor and Maisie's guilt regarding her family and in particular wishing her grandmother dead many times. There is a surprise outcome from psychic paper, a great sidekick in the form of chief engineer Perkins (played by comedian and Doctor Who fan Frank Skinner), a polite but frustrated computer interface that insists on keeping doors shut when Clara and Maisie want to pass through and even some sort of suppression field that stops the sonic screwdriver working on them. However, when it is Maisie's turn to fall victim, it, presumably, lets them through but blocks access to the TARDIS.
Ultimately, the Doctor is forced to admit that while he didn't know for certain that something would happen on this trip, he did hope and that Gus (the computer, voiced by John Sessions and sounding rather like the late Richard Griffiths) had tried to tempt him there before with free tickets etc (and the unmentioned phone call of course). Clara also realises that he not only lied and withheld information but also made her do the same to Maisie, so although she was starting to sway back towards staying, she was now back to hating him. But, as the Doctor said before his first regeneration, it's far from being all over...
Of course, the mummy isn't any kind of supernatural being and the Doctor eventually works it out when faced with it himself - with the brilliant line "Hello, I'm the Doctor. I'll be your victim this evening. Are you my mummy?" There are clever twists and revelations along the way and the mummy itself looks really creepy and will have kids thrilled and scared in just the right measures, as long as they stay to the end and get the reassurance from the explanation... A very strong episode, even if a large portion of it is tempered by Clara's personal conflict. I was very wary from the title and the train-in-space aspect didn't sit well either initially, but really, once the episode started that was all forgotten. Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman contributed to Clara's uncertain future in early interviews before the series began, Capaldi in particular stating that he wasn't sure she'd even make it to the end of the series... and now I know why. It's a little tease throughout both Kill The Moon and Mummy On The Orient Express and it isn't certain whether she is going or not until the very end when she again phones Danny. The Doctor has explained that "Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones but you still have to choose" and when Clara asks if his travelling and adventuring is like an addiction "You don't know it's an addiction until you try to give it up... let me know how that goes."
Finishing her phone call with Danny, Clara comes bounding back down the stairs full of excitement... and lies to the Doctor! She says that it was Danny's idea for her to stop travelling with the Doctor but he's fine with it now!
Another nice touch is that the Doctor offers Perkins a place on the TARDIS after he points out that his 'drive stacks' need replacing but he declines stating that such a job would take forever and could change a man...
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