sorry for this terrible question that probably wants to make you rip your eyes out with spoons or something, but after river song turned out to be Amy's daughter I stopped watching the doctor all together up until Day of the Doctor which leaves a huge gad which I wish I hadn't made, so I have no clue who the paternoster gang are, hell, I don't even know what paternoster means (or even if I spelt it right!!) but of course I did a little bit of reading up and here's what I know so far:

they are a trio of detectives who live in Victorian London, I don't know whether they originated in Victorian London, but I'm guessing the human (flint?) was from the time, and I do know about Strax being a Sontaran who 'died and was resurrected as their butler. flint and Vastra are married, which is like a little hard to believe that they are not only lesbians but like alien species, not that I have any sort of problem with that at all though.

they are friends of the doctor and have appeared four times? and are now getting sonic devices from the blue peter competition, and there is a possible spin off show related.

so that's all I know, please could you help me on anything I got wrong and/or a better insight into the characters, and say if the doctor found an alien without a home or misplaced in time, would he drop them off with the paternoster gang as almost like a family of misfits in time and space. only reason i asked that is because I thought Gibbis from S6E12 was going to end up part of it after being the last survivor of 'The God Complex' as i thought he would have no place to go, then it turned he did, and he was David Walliams so he wouldn't probably come back again anyway... but for that sort a situation would he send them there, i just think a misfit family set in Victorian London is awesome!!!

anyway thanks for answering this for me, i mean i have a bit of a memory problem so it actually going down on the page makes it so much easier to remember, thanks!

The Doctor's original meetings with all three took place off screen but this is what we know.


Vastra he met when she was planning to kill a bunch of Railway Workers. Her Silurian Colony was destroyed during work on the London Underground, she was seemingly the sole survivor and wanted revenge on the Workers but the Doctor stopped her. He presumably provided funds for her to live in Victorian London. Her house is on Paternoster Row which is where the name of the group comes from.


It's implied the Doctor met Jenny Flint at a later date where he saved her life. It's probable Vastra was also involved in this in some way.


Strax was first seen as a Battlefield Nurse (a Punishment) in the 41st Century when he was recruited by the Doctor to help him at Demon's Run. They had met previously but what exactly happened is unknown apart from the fact that Strax owed the Doctor a favour.


He supposedly died on Demon's Run but was revived and offered the chance to be Vastra's Butler in 1892 AD.

You got most of it:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madam...lint_and_Strax


Madame Vastra owed the doc a favour, she has her own page on wiki, check it out

I assume you didn't see Name of the Doctor, do you know Clara's story of how she jumped into the Doctor's timeline? (which btw probably never happened now after Day of the Doctor) versions of Clara appeared with gang in the Christmas special "the snowmen"

Strax was serving penance for the lost glory of his clone batch and also owed the doctor a debt. All debts were called in when the doc needed to find the real Amy who had been kidnapped by the Kovarian faction of the church of silenc and about to give birth to their psychopath aka River Song (Melody Pond)

Basically, as Madame Vastra adjusted to living "alongside" humans after years of hating them, she eventually fell in love with her maid and later helped restor strax to life, resulting in the paternoster gang. Strax is quite funny (he wants to blow everything up and confuses girls with boys), vastra ia strong willed and the leader, jenny seems meek but is quite a fighter under it all

Simples eh!

OP, if and when you watch the episode with the Paternoster Gang in it, you will completely understand how a human could fall in love with an alien lizard lady. Even if you are female.

I won't even mention the tongue thing. Oops....

Thanks for the reply, no I didn't watch any of series 7 or barely any of 6 so my knowledge is pretty slim which really annoys me, but it's my own fault for raging after the hole river thing, she just really annoys me...

So what about the other people joining thing, would there be any aliens without anywhere to go that end up taking refuge at the paternoster gang, or are they a safe trio still. If it's a possibility for other people to join, what already refuge seeking characters could hypothetically join? Only one I can think of is jenny, that would be awesome...

I think the gang are right as they are now, no more stragglers needed! They are very victorian so if you mean Jenny the Doctor coone, she wouldn't fit in at all.


River did get annoying at times "spoilers". Mels was beautiful though i think Rivers' best episode was her first one (the first one we see when Tennant doesn't know her).

I personally cannot stand them and gutted they're going to be with PC's Doc.

Same here. I don't mind Vastra but the other two are tedious.

The young girl seems a poor actress to me, and apart from love interest seems to have little to offer.

Don't get me started on that Strax, having some namby-pamby Sontoran idiot is quite silly and not consistent with the Sontiran force.

Which is exactly the point... sigh...

Exactly, it's been implied that his mental abilities suffered after his resurrection, but he still has the Sontaran fighting spirit.

Also Strax is unusually old for a Sontaran (he is at least 12)

Strax is amazing. Some of his lines are classic. This is something I haven't thought of before, but what does Paternoster actually mean? Is it a proper word? I've never heard of it before.

I honestly don't get the dislike for them. They're fun characters and don't pop up a lot either.

I think they're some of Moffat's best creations.

Which is EXACTLY the point. It's inconsistent, and not amusing.

What next, a dalek with an inferiority complex joining their gang ??? I'm sure you'd also find that amusing

I love them.

Agents of W.H.O.

Which is EXACTLY the point! For every sontaran to b portrayed as a mindless villain makes the show 2 dimensional. Characters like strax show that the sontarans are a species not monsters, and that each one, whilst looking the same and having the same basic instincts, has an individual character. That's how the universe works.

One of Moffats best creations. Long may they continue.

"Paternoster" comes from opening words of the Latin version of the Lord's Prayer (Pater noster = Our Father). Paternoster Row was near St Paul's Cathedral, and (supposedly) in pre-Reformation times the canons of the cathedral went in procession on the feast of Corpus Christi (the second Thursday after Whitsun) down Paternoster Row, chanting the Lord's Prayer. They reached the end of the prayer at Amen Corner, and then started on the "Hail Mary" as they turned down Ave Maria Lane (Ave Maria = Hail, Mary).

Up until the Second World War, Paternoster Row was a centre of the publishing trade in London (the Oxford University Press had its London office at Amen Corner), but it was largely destroyed in the Blitz, and has been replaced by the modern Paternoster Square.

I don't know any particular reason why Moffat should have pitched on the name, expect that he seems to have a fondness for the trappings of Popery.

Ah yes that reminds me 'The Church of The Papal Mainframe'! It would certainly fit! I wonder if Moffat is Catholic?

Strax has had one or two funny lines but the other two are completely pointless IMO, they bring nothing of value to the table.

Don't bring god into this, else we will all get dizzy on a grand scale

"Vastra was a female Silurian warrior who shared a house at 13 Paternoster Row with Jenny Flint, her maid and eventual wife, in Victorian London. Alongside Jenny and the Sontaran nurse Strax, Vastra investigated paranormal activities."

http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Vastra

I like them

"She was by his side as he battled the Great Intelligence in 1892 and the following year she helped him defeat Mrs Gillyflower and Mr Sweet. By that point it was obvious that the Paternoster Gang had already been involved in a number of scrapes. She talked about the need to ‘run towards any form of danger that presents itself’ calling such an action. ‘Business as usual!’"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r.../madame-vastra

You mean they work for these guys:

http://bit.ly/K77m0j

??

I do so hate the return of the 'Gang' I cant see why the Doctor just cant get along solving situations with just Clara. It just lessens his impact as a man who protects and saves worlds and people. How on gods earth a Sontaran and a Lizard have comfortable lives in Victorian London without a pitch fork and flaming brands in sight is beyond me.

Yes, I would. Grab yourself a sense of humour, it can be fun!

Its science fiction for goodness sake! Not social realism.

I don't see how it in any way lessens the doctors actions and deeds. If anything it seems more ludicrous that he would only ever travel with one attractive female of a certain age. Where is the sense in that? Oh yeah. Because that's what he's done in the past and heaven forbid they dare mess with the formula! Anyway its not without precedent. The Doctor has often called on his allies since Day 1 so the idea of him just being with one companion is a bit false anyway. And when it is like that its always less interesting.