There are many parts of this episode that I love. The aesthetics are fantastic - the clockwork droids, the mixing of 18th century France and a 51st century spaceship, the visual of a human heart wired into the ship. And I love the concept of robots who become 'evil' but within the framework of their programming, which is something Doctor Who has explored several times (I was reminded in particular of Smile).

However, the one thing I don't like about this episode is the romance between the Doctor and Madame de Pompadour, and unfortunately that is the main focus of the episode. Because of this, I can't rate this episode any higher than I have, even though I loved the rest of it.

Originally a bit more split on this episode, this is definitely the best of the first four episodes of this series. While I still don’t really jive with Ten’s casanova characterization, there were a lot of aspects of the episode I found myself appreciating. Let it be said that the Clockwork Droids are some of the best monster designs in show as a whole. As with many Moffat episodes, the plot is quite compelling. And while I don’t like the romantic aspect of Ten and Reinette’s relationship, I like the guardian angel dynamic that gets played with (which we’d later see again with Eleven). Additionally, the absolute gut punch of her death as an ending is strong if slightly predictable. It’s a pleasant blend of sci-fi and historical that really fuels into the fairy tale vibe Moffat does so well.

New Who Review #18

The Girl In The Fireplace

This story was beautiful it was slow paced which helped it a lot. The casting was phenomenonal the actress that played Madame De Pompadour was amazing in that role I thought they brought the real woman on the show. Mickey and Rose were actually enjoyable to watch for once. David Tennant was good in this one. The ending had me crying because it was sad to see such a beautiful talented phenomenal character die. The monsters were a bit ehh but it wasn't about them This time it was mainly focused on MDP. This story is a solid 9/10

This episode does start a little slow, but the emotional impact at the end is one of the highest the show has to offer

2025 REWATCH

• I do like this episode, I genuinely do, but I have found myself not wanting to watch it as much. It was a high-ranking story last time, but I found myself enjoying this rewatch less
• I often find the Doctor + new character romances annoying, some stories can handle it well and this one, just makes you assume there was a strong romantic attachment between them, despite spending very little time together, I think it's how I understand SM's writing it's romantically dark, and these elements are evident in a lot of his stories, especially the ones pre-his era
• Love the clockwork droids. They are beautifully designed inside and out
• It's a shame that this is Mickey's first trip in the TARDIS, and I can't help but feel he was a little sidelined. I think he deserved more of a focus
• I think the more I watch this story, the more I come to believe that Sophia Myles is not that good an actress, but that's just my personal judgment. The child actress did a better job