The Girl in the Fireplace

Well right from the very beginning of the introduction I was drawn in. After Tooth and Claw I couldnВ’t imagine that you could have a better intro, but this was beautiful - both visually and emotionally. I just loved the way the titles ran straight after this girl was shouting for help from the doctor В– this Girl In The Fireplace.

Also in the intro, you get an immediate understanding of what the theme of the story is going to be about В– that В‘curiosity factorВ’ just set in straight away. And what a theme В– the intensity of the developing relationship between this girl and her В‘imaginary friendВ’ was beautiful. I think that the doctor didnВ’t even notice that it had engulfed her until the moment where he looks into her mindВ… and she looks back В– that moment of pure terror in the DoctorВ’s eyes when she calls him by his В‘nameВ’ and seems to know В‘his secretsВ’. I feel from repeated viewings that this is not the sort of romance that other reviewers have seen. The Doctor seems just more interested in her general welfare up until a point, while Reinette has obviously grown up developing an obsessive love for her В‘imaginary friendВ’ В– the Doctor is oblivious at the beginning to her growing love thinking of himself as just a stranger (how in character)В… but В‘How can you be a stranger when IВ’ve known you all my lifeВ’.

But by the end, you can see that the Doctor has unwittingly fallen into a romance В– he does things without thinking. If heВ’d sat down and thought about it for a moment, heВ’d have realised that riding the horse through the mirror could cause massive problems for him В– being stuck in one place and time (we all know how much he hated that before) and leaving Rose stranded on a spaceship with a group of cannibalistic robots (this would have meant certain death for her and for Mickey). This is the only part of the story that grates on me and it just seems out of character for the Doctor to do such a rash thing, love or no love. And what about Rose?

The Doctor seems to have moved on here and taken Rose for granted to an extent В– a bit like most men do after a few years of marriage. In a manner typical to many women (sorry to all those ladies out there!) Rose doesnВ’t notice that something has developed between them, reserving jealousy for more obvious things such as В‘the exВ’ (SJS). To me this was very believable as sheВ’s not involved at all and the whole thing happens in an hour or so for her - the only clue she gets is quite late in the day В– В‘We both know the DoctorВ’s worth itВ’.

The ending was perfect and I am so grateful that the fast pacedness was reserved for the beginning of the story and enough time was left for this beautiful ending. When Louis proclaims that В‘You just missed her В– she just left for ParisВ’, I remember speaking aloud В‘Oh my God, itВ’s a hearseВ’ just before he proclaimed that she died too young. Very very sad as it just wasnВ’t expected.

Oh no, I forgot about the plot! In common with The Empty Child, this was very cleverly written. This wasnВ’t some megalomaniac alien or monster trying to take over the universe for once (those storylines start to grate on me) В– it was all just a mistake. One day long before the story began the programmer of these humble and stupid repair druids forgot to tell them that the crew were out of bounds in their eternal quest for more parts. The fact that these robots were so simplistic and stupid was a breath of fresh air in Doctor Who. They were programmed just to salvage parts to keep the ship working and had used all the resources that were available to them В– making them very dangerous В– even to the extent of crossing 3000 years to fetch the В‘control circuitВ’. Classic logic В– no more parts; therefore salvage parts including from the crew; the crew have proven a very valuable source of parts; control circuit of SS Madame de Pompadour gone; therefore need to find similar replacement; human brain would do but only compatible one В– brain of 37 year old Mdme de Pompadour! The revelation at the end was just perfect В– I found myself screaming (as did Rose) В‘WHY, WHY, WHYВ’, only to have it explained perfectly without a word said.

I am just amazed that Stephen Moffat managed to tell such a complex and beautiful story in just 45 minutes. I am finding more and more with this season that the 45 minute limit is a bit of a disappointment as it just goes too quickly and doesnВ’t given much time for development of the story or characters. Having said this though, the writers have worked amazingly well within this constraint.

One of my first choice episodes to show if I wanted to introduce a friend to DW.