Doctor Who: The Girl in the Fireplace   Rewatch 
October 29, 2014 1:36 PM - Season 2, Episode 4 - Subscribe

First off, TARDISODE 4! Right, and we're off! And it's a good one! Girl in the Fireplace. Mickey and Rose find themselves on an abandoned spaceship in the Dagmar Cluster, two and a half galaxies away from earth. Inside the spaceship is a French fireplace and some very very nice robots.

The Doctor finds a bunch of time windows through the life of Madame de Pompadour, turns out the lovely clockwork robots are quite keen to harvest her brain! Robots!
The rest is all pretty much your standard Derelict spaceship, Pre-revolutionary France love story across time, with a horse!
    THINGS!
  • The Doctor wants to close the time windows with Zeus plugs, last seen in the fourth doctor episode the Hand of Fear
  • Sophia Myles' dress in the ballroom scene was originally worn by Helen Mirren in The Madness of King George.
  • There isn't a Torchwood reference in this episode, possibly because it takes place before Victoria's reign but more probably because no one told Steven Moffatt to put on in..
  • Incidentally, in case you were wondering, nothing that interesting happened in August 1727, it was fine
posted by Just this guy, y'know (4 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I enjoyed the fuck out of this episode and every rewatch.

"this is Versailles. This is the royal court, and we are French. "

The horse through the mirror, watching Reinette grow up, the clockwork androids, the human parts replacing machinery, the Doctor returning much too late, the letter. So well-written, so much fun, such pathos. (Compare this to the shite that is Moon, Forest, and Robin Hood. The horror.)

My enjoyment is not in the least bit tarnished by the knowledge that people used to crap in the halls.
posted by Ik ben afgesneden at 6:54 PM on October 29, 2014 [1 favorite]


My favorite line from this episode:

Madame de Pompadour: This is my lover, the King of France.
The Doctor: Oh yeah? Well, I'm the Lord of Time.

Plus, we get to see David Tennant charging in to the rescue on a horse.
posted by Telpethoron at 7:16 PM on October 29, 2014


It's pretty notable comparing this to the recent forest one how generally well composed it seems. Not just the writing, but that they seem to have spent time on polishing the script, and directing the action and the pacing.

The silly drunk doctor "Have you met,.. The French?!" scene plays so well where it is cutting the tension without going to far. It's all just good. I think also this is Tennant's fourth episode (Was going to be second originally, but moved back because Russell T Davis thought it was a bit "experimental")and he utterly inhabits the character.

Also re: chemistry between leads, Sophia Myles and David Tennant started dating after this episode. It was rumoured she carried an action figure of Tennant/ the doctor in her handbag.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 2:50 AM on October 30, 2014


I didn't like the drunk Doctor. Too loosey-goosey. Then I realized it was basically the eleventh Doctor. Thanks, Moffat.
posted by rikschell at 4:44 PM on October 30, 2014


« Older Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: A Frac...   |  Sons of Anarchy: The Separatio... Newer »

You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments

poster