The Girl in the Fireplace

"I'm the Lord of Time, and I'm here to fix the clock."

Writer: Steven Moffat

Format: TV

Broadcast: 6 May 2006

Series: 2.04

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose, Mickey

Synopsis

Madame de Pompadour finds the court at Versailles under attack from sinister clockwork killers. Her only hope of salvation lies with the man who has haunted her dreams since childhood – a mysterious stranger known only as the Doctor.

Verdict

The Girl in the Fireplace was a phenomenal episode to go alongside the #Clockdown tweet-along organised by the wonderful Emily Cook. I am delighted to have finally taken part in one and it was a great deal of fun reading the tweets of Steven Moffat and Russell T Davies (an unexpected surprise!) regarding the episode and some of the behind the scenes. It really was a great deal of fun seeing the pair interact and it was a very informative exchange. I had no idea that this episode, or rather the one written by Steven Moffat for Series 2, was due to open the series! I really do think that would have changed the whole dynamic of the episode if it was David Tennant's first series opener as the Tenth Doctor post regeneration. Instead, he's settled into the role here and is able to show off himself and also have quite the love story. The entire premise of the episode is phenomenal from start to finish and just so poignant. The pace is incredible and watching this one for the first time in five years was really strange because it didn't feel that long at all! I have of course watched the episode a stupendous amount of times during my childhood and it has always been a favourite of mine. One thing that is a little sad with my growing up is that I can see just how aged this episode is now and the Twitter discussion regarding the horse scene where the Doctor explodes through the mirror was extraordinary! It turned out to be the most expensive shot to date in Doctor Who and even involved getting rid of an entire other set! Steven Moffat wanted to keep it in that much, along with Russell T Davies which was terrific. It is a good scene, but you can't half see that it's all CGI! Just the idea of the Doctor riding a horse was excellent though. This was one of David Tennant's best performances as the Tenth Doctor in my opinion as he got to show a lot of different feelings. From being drunk to falling in love. He showcased everything. I found it interesting to find that Moffat initially resisted the idea of writing Mickey into his script, but then ended up loving writing for him! It's a terrific start to his brief stint as companion in the TARDIS and I really liked how annoyed Rose was that he was there. She wanted to show him the ropes though and make it clear that she was the pro at this. My girlfriend is absolutely obsessed with Rose Tyler, much to my lack of comprehension, and it didn't take her long at all (literally 3 seconds) to proclaim her love for the companion. Ugh. She doesn't have a lot to do in this episode though and is very much overshadowed by Madame de Pompadour. Sophia Myles is brilliant in the role and she's such an enthralling character. She plays the Doctor so well and doesn't seem too effected by the truth about the Doctor's world of the spaceship. Her fate at the end is devastating, but thanks to the brilliance of the lockdown watch-alongs, we have new Madame de Pompadour material! Check out tomorrow's blog. The Clockwork Droids are also fantastic in this one and their look is just sublime. I loved Moffat's tweet about how the monsters were defeated a full ten minutes before the episode's end. I really liked that. Overall, a sublime episode and so much fun for the tweet-along. 

Rating: 10/10