Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax (informally known as the Paternoster Gang, together with the Doctor) are a trio of recurring fictional characters in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, created by Steven Moffat and portrayed, respectively, by Neve McIntosh, Catrin Stewart, and Dan Starkey. The three characters first appear in the sixth series episode "A Good Man Goes to War." Madame Vastra (a Silurian) and Jenny Flint (a human) are a married couple. In later stories, they are depicted living on Paternoster Row in London during the Victorian era. Strax, a Sontaran, is seen in his first appearance to be acting as a nurse, caring for wounded soldiers on another planet as penance for a failure. They are all recruited by the Eleventh Doctor to help him rescue Amy Pond. Despite the success of the effort, Strax apparently dies in the battle. He is, however, shown to be awakened by Vastra and Flint a couple of days later in the webisode "The Battle of Demons Run: Two Days Later"; he then becomes their butler in the 19th century. Since their first appearance, the trio have appeared various times to help the Doctor; they have a central role in the first half of "The Crimson Horror" (2013). Their last episode was 2014's "Deep Breath", the first episode starring the Twelfth Doctor. They also have their own spin-off novella, Devil in the Smoke (2012), and spin-off novel, Silhouette (2014), and the trio have appeared in several online "minisodes", with Strax additionally appearing in a series of "Field Report" videos posted to the Doctor Who website. In 2014, they appeared without the Doctor in the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip in the storyline The Crystal Throne (DWM #475–476). Since 2015, an ongoing series of short stories and a comic strip titled Strax and the Time Shark, featuring the three characters, has been a regular feature in Doctor Who Adventures magazine. The three characters became popular with audiences, with the presence of an inter-species same-sex couple also leading to some attention.
Biography
Background
Vastra Vastra is a female Silurian warrior from Mesozoic Earth who was awakened from hibernation in the Victorian era when her lair was disturbed during the construction of the London Underground. Initially enraged, she attempted to avenge her sisters on perfectly innocent tunnel diggers before being pacified by the Doctor. She eventually overcomes her race's general prejudice of humans and joins London society. She becomes a private detective, consulting for Scotland Yard, and likely inspires the Sherlock Holmes stories. Amongst her unseen adventures is her capture of Jack the Ripper, whom she eats (A Good Man Goes to War). She hires a maid, Jenny Flint, who assists her in her investigations; the pair later marry.
Jenny Flint Jenny's backstory in "The Battle of Demons Run: Two Days Later" (2013) shows she was turned away from her family because of her "preferences in companionship", and saved from attackers by Vastra, who took her on as an employee. The Doctor was present at their initial meeting, during which, Vastra recounts in "The Name of the Doctor" (2013), he saved Jenny's life. She shows herself to have acquired extremely formidable skills as a hand-to-hand combatant and swordswoman. She is shown in all of her appearances to be entirely comfortable with post-19th century technologies, time travel, and the TARDIS; she is repeatedly seen using technology devices and, in the episode "Deep Breath", wearing and using the Sonic Gauntlet designed for that episode.
Strax Commander Strax is a member of an alien warrior race, the Sontarans. Strax was forced to serve as a nurse, healing the injured as punishment for being defeated by the Doctor during the Sontaran invasion of Earth, and is later appointed butler. This is contrary to the Sontaran's warrior instincts and mentality, and as such, he occasionally slips back into his Sontaran ways and mannerisms. In "A Good Man Goes to War", Strax states that he is nearly 12, suggesting that this is quite old for a Sontaran. Running jokes include Strax's inability to tell the difference between genders and his obsession with using violent tactics.
Appearances
Television "A Good Man Goes to War" (2011) "The Snowmen" (2012) "The Crimson Horror" (2013) "The Name of the Doctor" (2013) "Deep Breath" (2014)
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