I understand why the Girl in the Fireplace is a well-liked episode. It's one chockful of entertaining Moffatisms, some nice and entertaining dialogue, an interesting time-bending concept, some body horror (that is much too underexplored), and a neat, tragic end. But I'd be lying to myself if I was to say that an interesting concept makes for a good episode. I'd rather characterise it as the worst Moffat-penned story of the entire show, and a horrid indictment of the failure of the show to fully come to grips with the reality of the hierarchies it depicts.

Central to my disdain towards Girl in the Fireplace is what it chooses to avoid discussion on. The setting of the majority of the episode, the place where the fireplace is located. It's .. never mentioned, it's never critiqued, nothing about the horrendous, crushing hierarchy of the ancien régime, the abject poverty that the tens of millions lived under so that these walls can be glossed and painted gold. It's just completely absent from the story. Madame de Pompadour is not shown in any moral terms. Her actions are not shown. We only see her with a few glimpses, none of which tell us anything about her character or her behaviour at all. She's just accepted by the story as self-evidently important, someone who we must fall for because the Doctor does too. We never see her take an action, we never see her prove herself to the audience. Her status as a person from history, and as a direct enabler of the brutal absolute monarchy of pre-revolutionary France, is wiped clean. What we get is akin to looking at a portrait of her. Adding insult to injury, the Doctor makes the decision to lock himself into pre-revolutionary France, so he can save Pompadour. He didn't know that he would get back, and didn't bother to give Rose and Mickey a way back to their time, potentially locking them on a lonely spaceship in the far future. It's stupid, it's callous, and it shows a vile disregard for the importance of their characters in favour of the glamour, spectacle, and prestige of the aristocracy. Even the suggestion that they have been waiting for five and a half hours for him (!) is played off as a joke. Rose and Mickey get very, very little to do in the story. Because the story thinks it self-evident that they are less important than Pompadour. Because the palace is fun, because the fantasy is nice to imagine.

And that's what it is. The palace is a set, a fantasy world in which the Doctor can snog important people and charge through to save them from the evil robots. The blood splattered on its walls is just out of frame.

Madame de Pompadour is a historical figure I think I may have heard of in passing but really knew next to nothing about before this story aired.  Sophia Myles plays her beautifully and we are given enough snippets of information about her real life to gain enough background without feeling like we’re in the middle of a historical documentary.  The slightly more salacious aspects of her life (she was the King’s mistress after all) are subtly alluded to but not dwelt upon.  Her relationship with the Doctor is one of almost equals, highlighted by the mindreading scene.  It is disappointing that her relationship with King Louis XV is rather cursory on screen (not aided by a slightly wooden performance from Ben Turner) and the viewer gets the impression that, at least from when Reinette is grown up, her only romantic attachment is to the Doctor regardless of the years spent with her husband or her King.  This seems a little conceited of the series.

Also, I find the Doctor to be a little too ‘much’ in this story.  I like David Tennant’s Doctor but Series 2 was when the 10th Doctor and Rose began to become too cliquey and annoying when in each other’s company – they gang up on Mickey, they laugh at their own in-jokes.  At the time there was speculation it was set up for the spectacular fall that was coming for them at the end of the series and, to an extent, it is, but taken stories in isolation as I am, it can be a bit grating.  Rose, in this story, isn’t too bad mainly because she has Mickey to interact with more than the Doctor but the Doctor himself is quite arrogant for much of the tale.   I love the scene where he bursts through the mirror astride Arthur the Horse but the wink to Reinette, whilst funny the first time, begins to grate on repeated viewings.  Now I know that ‘repeated viewings’ isn’t really what the production team have on their minds when making the stories and its probably unfair to criticise an aspect of production which only begins to annoy after a third or fourth watch but there are plenty of stories which are a pleasure to watch time and again and if the central character’s behaviour is something which, on repeated viewings, is annoying, then surely that is a bit of a problem.

The Doctor’s stupidity at the end of the story is also irritating as it is merely a device to ensure that his and Reinette’s love story has a tragic end.  The Doctor knows full well that time moves differently on the 18th Century side of the windows than the 51st century side and yet he whizzes through for no real apparent reason and then comes back and finds that times has passed and Reinette is dead.  I just find this part frustrating as it seems to rely on the Doctor being foolish to maintain an emotional ending (and to ensure ‘real history’ is not derailed by having Reinette travel with the Doctor to a parallel Earth to fight the Cybermen).

This frustration was also felt when the whole adventure seemed to be avoiding explaining itself.  I have vivid memories of watching this on first airing and spending the last ten minutes or so becoming increasingly worried that we weren’t actually going to get a reason for why the Clockwork Robots were after Madame de Pompadour.  The final tiny reveal was one of the most satisfying endings Doctor Who has given me for a long while and something which I didn’t see coming.

Another satisfying aspect are the Clockwork Robots.  Whilst the 18th Century costuming is rather quickly brushed aside as some sort of ‘blending in’ protocol, it doesn’t detract from the fact they are a very creepy creation.  The clockwork inside is beautifully realised and contrasts nicely with the horrific masks covering it.

Rose and Mickey don’t get an awful lot to do but it’s quite a nice relationship on display between them (particularly as at the close of School Reunion, Rose seemed less than impressed that Mickey was stepping on board.  It’s a shame, in a way, that this is clearly scripted as Mickey’s first trip in the TARDIS as it would have made more sense for Rose’s sudden change in attitude to have happened during a couple of off-screen adventures).  I particularly like Rose’s ‘now you’re getting it’ comment when Mickey realises that a companion’s job is to ignore the Doctor’s instructions and her disdain for the apparently drunk Doctor (a scene which I’m not sure really works for Tennant, but does for Noel Clarke and Billie Piper).  In fact, bearing in mind she is sidelined in favour of Reinette, I think this is one of the better stories for Rose as a character, at least in the way she is presented and the dialogue she is given.

The rest of the guest cast is limited with only Ben Turner’s aforementioned lacklustre performance as King Louis and Angel Coulby (pre-Merlin) in a brief cameo as Reinette’s friend.  Oh, and Arthur the Horse of course (which does give Rose’s another good line about not keeping the horse).

Aside from the irritating Doctor aspect (which is probably more of RTD’s influence than Moffat), Moffat’s script it a good one and much better, I think, than The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances which, whilst everyone raved about during Series 1, I was a little underwhelmed by.  The Girl in the Fireplace, and latterly Blink, were the two scripts that meant I was excited when it became clear Moffat was in line to take over from RTD.

The Girl in the Fireplace is a fun story with good monsters, a good guest character and a good central conceit.  It’s only marred by an increasingly irritating and arrogant Doctor but is still a sumptuously realised production with well-chosen locations and excellent costumes.

Steven Moffat knows how to write fairy tales, romance, sci-fi and comedy. He is such an all rounder. So when Russell's fully developed, living, breathing characters walk into Moffat's scripts they are an uncontainable force to be reckoned with. The star of this particular episode though is Madame de Pompadour who is written and acted with such passion and flare that she's guaranteed to have audiences crying at her untimely fate.

Moffat's regular exercise of making an ordinary relatable item scary in this episode turns to ticking clocks and monsters hiding under the bed. The imaginative results of clockwork droids are delightful and a huge step forward for Tennant's time as The Doctor.

The fairy tale-esque spin on time travel that passing through fireplaces and secret passageways on a spaceship into regency France is spectacular and allows for the rare visual combination of both spaceships and palaces, robots and frocks!

With his second script in a row Moffat has already cemented himself as one of the series all time best writers and given Rose and The Doctor their first much needed classic in what had up until that point been an uneven series.

9️⃣🔼 = REMARKABLE!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

“HE’S NOT THE DOCTOR, HE’S CASANOVA!”

Returning after his success with The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (2005), Steven Moffat crafts an inventive timey-wimey adventure, combining a character-driven period drama with pure and fun science fiction. The script fascinatingly shifts between the deserted spaceship and the Doctor visiting different points in Reinette's life, building up a mystery and a connection between the two. It's an early example of Moffat challenging the expectations of the viewers.

This is also a fascinatingly deep episode about the Doctor as a person.

David Tennant is lovely in this story, in one of his better performances. This episode is the one that cemented him as a great pick for the Doctor for me. Sophia Myles proves to be one of the most memorable and solid guest performers in the revived series. She puts in a soft but very engaging performance.

The Doctor is both funny and touching here, ready to help a woman he barely knows, even if it means he gets separated from his companions. The way he’s excited about space-age clockwork, snogging Madame de Pompadour, or befriending Arthur the Horse and getting drunk (and "dancing") at a party are things only Ten could pull off.

Mickey is now officially a part of the TARDIS team, but still a bit of a comic relief character. He's cowardly and not very useful, but luckily he has Rose by his side, as she is pretty good at getting out of trouble by now. The two companions are mostly abandoned by the Doctor throughout this, but they fare very well on their own, and Billie Piper isn't too annoying for a change. Granted, they don't have much of a role to play in the episode, but still.

The Clockwork Droids are a great concept, used pretty well but perhaps not as much as could have been possible. Their design and function are creepy, and they work effectively despite being so simple. What makes them scarier is the fact that they harvest human body parts to run their spaceship.

This is one of the better-produced stories in the early revived series. 18th-century France looks incredible, the droids look realistic, and the old, abandoned spaceship is also pretty nice. The CGI isn’t always up to par (I’m thinking of the “horse through the mirror” scene), but it’s not too bad. The sad music stands out the most.

This is a slower episode, but it's well-paced nonetheless, allowing the Doctor and Reinette to connect properly, which makes the ending feel properly satisfying. At the same time, the air sort of runs out of it after the clockwork stuff is sorted, because the sudden romance between Ten and Reinette feels very forced.

Once again, Moffat manages to craft an atmosphere that effectively combines authentic period drama with dark and creepy scenes, romance, heartbreak, and plenty of sharp humour. There are also slower moments and touching scenes in this story, particularly in the strange way the Doctor and Reinette connect. Granted, I could have done without the romance aspects of the episode, but they don’t drag it down noticeably.

This story strengthened Moffat's position as one of Nu Who's strongest and most inventive writers.

This is still one of the best stories of the revived era and one of the best Moffat has ever written. Watch it, and watch it again many times!

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

The Doctor has fought clockwork androids before, in The Android Invasion (1976) and The Androids of Tara (1979), for instance, and will do so again in Deep Breath (2014) and Robot of Sherwood (2014).

Combining history with sci-fi isn't a new idea for the show. It has been done previously in Carnival of Monsters (1973) and Enlightenment (1984).

We all have to make sacrifices sometimes. Ten allows Rose to keep Mickey, so she has to allow him to keep Arthur (he should’ve been a companion).

The drunken Doctor is one of the better Tenth Doctor moments, filled with quotable dialogue.

A brilliant episode that really was yet another early script where Stephen Moffat showed a great deal of promise. It's a great story and I really like the core aspect of the Doctor being this presence throughout Madame De Popmpadour's life. I've often said Doctor Who really embodies that old definition of Romances and this episode is a great example of that. The only thing that really holds this episode back is Mickey, who feels a bit unnecessary and is kind of just there to stand beside Rose (who already has a light role here) and complain a bunch.

Also, the clockwork robots looked so cool. The whole story behind the ship cannibalizing its crew for parts was pretty creative and added a lot to the story, even with a clear effect on budget on the sets, this story does a lot with a little, which I consider quite impressive.

I don’t like it.
I can see why people enjoy it, but for me, it was always pretty overrated. Sure some dialogue is pretty nice, the performances are quite solid, sure the clockwork droids are utterly amazing designed and a concept I really like… but in an episode where romance is such a key point? Yeah. No. I don’t really hate this Episode, I can see the good in it, and I am glad for anybody who enjoyed it, but for me? The Episode does nothing for me, considering series 2 is very much low for me, I feel like this would place around the middle ground.

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

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.

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

Now this is more like it. I’ve always considered Series 2 to be something of a rocky season. But I’ve always loved this episode. It’s always been my favourite from this season.

I feel like for a lot of people, how much they enjoy this episode can depend on how much they enjoy the ‘love story’ between the Doctor and Madame de Pompadour. It generally works for me, although I freely admit that it requires some head canon to do so. Seeing as the episode never explicitly tells us what the Doctor’s feeling I think you almost have to interpret things for yourself and create your own head canon here.

I also admit that at the end, the romance aspect is laid on very thick, so I understand why for some people it feels like this great love that the episode hasn’t fully earned. But this isn’t my interpretation. For example the episode ends with the Doctor looking all sad and despondent at the death of MdP (as I will likely continue to call her in this review. Madame de Pompadour is just a lot to type). But honestly, we’ve seen the Doctor react in a similar way for deaths of other guest stars. Yes it’s maybe a little more so here, but this episode does a lot more to justify why the Doctor would care about MdP than we get about say, Astrid in ‘Voyage of the Damned’.

So no I don’t think the episode is saying that this is some great love that was never allowed to be. There is absolutely a romantic element here and they clearly care a great deal about each other. But I totally buy both of those aspects to the relationship. I even really like the kiss. I think it’s fun that whilst she’s kissing him, the Doctor is clearly very uncomfortable, squirming at the act. He then learns who she is, lists her accomplishments and his discomfort changes to a boastful pride. The implication here(for me at least) is that the Doctor finds being accomplished, as well as possibly being historically significant to be very sexy. An idea that is also consistent with his possible relationship with ‘Cleo’. This feels very in character for the Doctor, certainly this Doctor.

This explains his attraction, but arguably little else. But that’s where the telepathic memory link comes in. MdP is able to access his memories and feel his loneliness. A defining aspect of the Doctor since the shows return has been his loneliness. He is the last of his race, completely alone in the entire universe. There aren’t many people who can come close to equalling him in terms of intellect or experiences. For all the affection he feels for Rose, she cannot truly understand the Doctor in the same way that MdP is able to after being in his mind. So not only is she beautiful, charming, intelligent and historically significant, but being with MdP makes this lonely angel feel less alone.

It also helps that David Tennant and Sophia Myles have an immediate and easy chemistry that really helps to sell this relationship. Sophia Myles is great in this episode by the way. She has a tricky balancing act to achieve here, where she has to both believably feel like an 18th century, French aristocrat, whilst also being able to immediately understand and explain the futuristic conceits at play in the episode. She never feels anachronistic, whilst also feeling completely at home in this sci-fi space. She’s also very believable as the accomplished MdP and selling the threat of the villains, whilst also appearing resolute despite her fear.

I can also see that some people might have an issue with the fact that the story doesn’t make a huge amount of sense. As the Doctor even points out, if the clockwork robots are able to punch holes in the universe to open time portals in their search for parts to repair their ship. Then why don’t they just open up a time window to a repair yard. It’s a valid criticism, but when the episode is such a rollicking good time, I don’t really think about it, and when I do I simply don’t care. It asks the audience to suspend their disbelief and just accept that it’s all just down to the robots taking some vague programming too literally. But, if you do you are rewarded with an incredibly fun and inventive episode of television. When it comes to suspending my disbelief for Doctor Who, I’ve personally done more and in return received less. So I don’t think this is much of an issue.

This episode is one of the most purely enjoyable episodes in the history of the show. It moves at a fantastic pace, but never feels rushed or confusing. The script is witty and endlessly quotable and the villains are genuinely scary. Steven Moffatt has always had a knack for mining the mundane for scares. Be it gas masks, statues, the dark, or in this instance the sound of ticking clockwork. The scene at the start with robot under a 7 year old Renette’s bed is one of the scarier moments I can recall from the show.

The design of them is incredible as well. The immovable faces, with their cracked porcelain, dead eyes and sinister smiles are wonderfully creepy. The way the performers move also sells them as being creatures of clockwork machinery. I even love how they look without their masks. Retro-futuristic in a way that feels sleek and simple, yet also suitably complex. In truth the design for the entire episode is incredible. This is one of the best looking episodes from this era of the show. The location shooting does a lot to sell you on Versailles as a location. But the production and costume designs are also top notch.

Not just content with being an incredibly enjoyable 45 minutes of television. If you can find yourself getting on board with the central relationship between the Doctor and MdP, the ending of this episode also delivers an emotional wallop.

For me a resounding success in pretty much every way, and a ringing endorsement of what this show is capable of.

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.

Such a clever concept, and delivered beautifully

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