The Girl in the Fireplace

"I'm the Doctor, and I've just snogged Madame de Pompadour!"

Writer: Steven Moffat 

Format: TV 

Broadcast: 6th May 2006

Series: 2.04

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose, Mickey

Synopsis 

Madame de Pompadour is being haunted by a stranger called the Doctor - can he save her from the clockwork killers?

Verdict 

The Girl in the Fireplace is such a poignant and emotional story! It really is a wonderful episode. There's no surprise at all that this episode won a Hugo award because it really is just magnificent! I really loved the plot, the history throughout and the characters of the story! I really am struggling to find any criticisms which is obviously an incredibly good thing! I liked how things started with Reinette at what would become the climax of the episode. We see her making the speech she five years younger overhears herself making as the Clockwork Droids plan their attack and bring it into action. We can see that things are historical somewhere in the not so distant past but then after the opening credits we jump 3000 years into the future! I was a bit skeptical of that on my first viewing I must admit. But things panned out astoundingly and what we got was a joyous episode. The TARDIS arriving on the ship was good and I liked how Rose, despite not being overjoyed about the fact in School Reunion, seemed quite pleased to be able to show Mickey the wonders of the universe. I loved the idea of time windows on a spaceship and it was intriguing how they all led to a different point in a woman's life. The moment the Doctor worked out who she was, after snogging her, was magnificent! I also thought the scene with Reinette as a 7-year-old girl was sublime where we see the Clockwork Droids for the first time. The Doctor noticed that the clock was broken but there was still something in her bedroom that was ticking. He chucked for a monster under Reinette's bed and the Doctor found one!  I thought David Tennant was staggeringly good as the Tenth Doctor in this episode. It really was one of his best performances. I loved how the Doctor tried to be fancy and make up a word for the link between the time corridor instead of just calling it a magic door. His reaction to the two companions running off despite being told not to do so was equally great. He said there could be anything on the ship but I bet he wasn't expecting to find a horse! With the Doctor engulfed in a little love story, I liked how Rose was somewhat on the back burner. I did absolutely love her hairstyle in this episode though! It really suited her. Back to the love story, and I think Tennant tackled the prospect of the Doctor falling in love very well. It's something that may really only have been touched upon in The Movie and hinted at with the Ninth Doctor but here it seems the Doctor genuinely fell in love. He engages in the snogging, he offers her to be companion and he accepts riding on the slow path for what would be 33 centuries just to save Madame de Pompadour and defeat the Clockwork Droids. I loved the climax with the time window being found where the Droids seemed to believe that Reinette was now complete. The Doctor explaining that whilst acting drunk was hilarious. The ship was 37 as was she, and they believed her head could kickstart the ship. It was a poignant ending though as the Doctor sacrificed everything to defeat them. Reinette was distraught that he wanted to go back so eagerly. The Doctor was then devastated to find that he'd arrived after her passing. He had a final farewell letter but she was now gone. Overall, an incredible episode! The scene where the Doctor sees into Reinette's mind and then she looks into his stands as one of my all time favourites! 

Rating: 10/10