I just found it insulting and cringeworthy, and I don't think I'm a precious fan by any means. I don't think the stuff you've said about class and gender helps at all, it's just that I can't stand watching farce. And I certainly didn't see any emotional development - we've had some of that with the Doctor and even some of the soap opera characters that I dislike, but this ep seemed to be purely played for laughs without actually being funny.