It's such a a cozy setting. This is one I put on if I have a bad day and need help going to sleep.

• Like Midsomer Murders meets Doctor Who is perfectly dramatic and good fun
• Despite Tegan's insistent want to go home, it's truly great to see her relax and have a good time
• This story perfectly makes use of its time frame and doesn't drag, a story that works well with it's parameters.
• It's sweet to get a non-alien threat, it's refreshing but unfortunate the villain is someone with a representative visual psychical disability and they not only are murderous and insane but they also don't get the help they need
• I like the little added element of Nyssa's doppelganger, adds that little bit of spice to the story, they really need to do that in the modern era

Have always loved black orchid from the first time i watched it. only 2 parts but very entertaining. part 1 doesn't really do anything to build up the plot. it just sets the scene and its really cosy to watch the doctor playing cricket, meeting ann talbot and the cranleighs, learning about what happened to george cranleigh and having a fancy dress party. a lovely little 2 parter

A good idea executed badly.

Essentially the entire first episode is just exposition, which is fine for a 4+ parter, but not so much in a 2-parter! I think it's as a result of that that the mystery aspect of the story suffers so much. It's not even that the pace is wrong so much as it just... glides over or entirely skips plot beats that are important to a mystery or thriller. But thank god, we get several whole minutes of the Doctor playing cricket! /s

I also wish the atmosphere had been darker, literally as well as figuratively. This would have benefited from a more Gothicky treatment, rather than one taking place entirely in sunlight. Even the secret passages were well-lit! I do appreciate a show that's light enough for me to see what's going on, and loathe the current trend of making everything dark, but this is a bit much.

The culprit's identity, while not obvious until it's revealed, prompted me to inwardly groan, "Of course it is." It's taken directly from a Sherlock Holmes story. Lazy setup and/or not enough development of that aspect of the backstory in episode 1. And while Sarah Sutton is fine as Ann, her acting is weirdly flat as Nyssa. The other three aren't on top of their acting games either.

This is a fun murder mystery; a nice showcase for Sarah Sutton in her dual role as Nyssa and Anne Talbot. Cricket scenes go on for a bit too long, and could have done with tighter editing, but there's a decent mystery set up here with a solid guest cast.