The Girl in the Fireplace

This was a very strange story В– in many ways not like Doctor Who at all. Of course, that has been true of practically every single story since Russell T Davies showed up and the show resurfaced, but here it manifests in a very different way. This, to an extent, is what Doctor Who has always been really В– but has never actually been before.

Major reasons for it not feeling like Doctor Who include; no actual plot, just some strange stuff that happened. No obvious reasons for much of the stuff that happened to have happened anyway. The DoctorВ’s characterisation, including his very own love story; very different from what has gone before. Rose and Mickey practically disappearing from the action. The more obviously magical feel.

To be honest, I liked it a lot. Although it felt so radically different, thematically В‘The Girl in the FireplaceВ’ was a strong and explicit continuation of the ideas explored in previous episodes, specifically В‘School ReunionВ’ and MoffatВ’s earlier В‘The Empty Child/Doctor DancesВ’. We have the return of the same metaphor from TEC/TDD about the Doctor В‘dancingВ’, the 51st century and implacable, mindless machine enemies wreaking havoc simply because their programming causes them to respond inappropriately to the setting in which they find themselves, and several hoary old chestnuts В– В“Doctor Who?В”, and the Doctor being the entity monsters have nightmares about, most obviously!! We have Russell U DaviesВ’ В“lonely GodВ” morphing into ReinetteВ’s В“lonely angelВ”, and an extensive exploration of the loneliness of the Doctor. In a very real sense, В‘The Girl in the FireplaceВ’ is nothing more than a speeded-up version of the same agonising process that caused the Doc so much grief last episode.

The problems with the tale В– although they neednВ’t be problems, it depends how you look at it В– lie in the lack of explicit explanations. Just what was the horse doing there? Why are 51st century robots clockwork? How come the fireplace works when according to the Doctor, it shouldnВ’t? Why Madame de Pompadour, exactly? I seem to recall that, just possibly, the DoctorВ’s scene watching Reinette from hiding (influenced by В‘The Also PeopleВ’?), took place once he followed the time window the horse might have come from to a place that might have been near a stable В– which hints at an explanation. The robots being clockwork is just silly and the fireplace a В‘deus ex machinaВ’, but the ship is called В‘Madame de PompadourВ’, which does, admittedly, seem like a half-explanation, although when you look at it more closely you find that itВ’s actually nothing of the kind. The characters themselves remark several times on how ridiculous it all is! Even that doesnВ’t excuse it, it just makes it more self-aware.

No matter why the horse is there, we all know heВ’s really there because Stephen Moffat wants the Doctor to crash through a sheet of glass on a beautiful white charger to rescue his fair damsel at the storyВ’s climax, which is fair enough. ItВ’s a cool thing for the Doctor to do, and it seems to be a feature of Moffat scripts to have the Doctor end the story in self-indulgently heroic ways В– the wonderful ending to В‘The Doctor DancesВ’ was evidence of the same thing. But it has less effect here because TEC/TDD was so intricately and brilliantly plotted В– you knew the reason for everything. Here you donВ’t and the story suffers slightly. Still, the production values В– and David Tennant, again (well, mostly) В– are great.

Now, on to that dancing. Several people seem to have raised the issue of В‘old schoolВ’ fans having embolisms over the DoctorВ’s romance. Personally, I think thatВ’s mostly all in their minds В– itВ’s quite trendy at the moment for the Doc to be a lovelorn romantic hero, and very easy to score points off people who prefer it how it was, and for the В“cool dudesВ” such as Russell V Davies that seems to aid in the creation of blind spots with respect to what the В‘old guardВ’ actually do think. Myself, I didnВ’t mind it; I donВ’t know anyone who did.

WhatВ’s interesting is that everybody seems to relate it, to a greater or lesser extent, to the sexuality of the people watching. Doctor-Rose/Sarah/Reinette shippers point out that many old-style fans donВ’t to get the girl in their own lives, and they therefore dislike it when that element of the DoctorВ’s character is showcased; Russell W Davies, by contrast, boasts frequently of his prowess and seems to pour scorn on those who think that the Doctor could be a non-sexual being (despite all the evidence of the actual TV show being on their side).

WeВ’ve seen the same thing in Billie and ChrisВ’ much-vaunted В“chemistryВ” В– really a euphemism for the fact that we were constantly expecting him to take her roughly on top of the console; and in Russell X DaviesВ’ celebrated В“social realismВ” В– most obviously nymphomaniac Jackie TylerВ’s breathless attempt to seduce the Doctor a few minutes into В‘RoseВ’. Then of course there were the various hints last week that Sarah Jane Smith was left for thirty years В“yearning hopelessly for Time Lord cockВ” (and thank you very much indeed Mr Paul Clarke for that wonderful way of putting it!), which was totally stupid, although mercifully it didnВ’t affect the quality of the story very much.

I enjoyed the romantic strand to this tragic tale simply because, unlike in Russell Y DaviesВ’ promiscuity-dripping tales, Moffat handled it well В– it was, after all, the whole point of the story! And the text wasnВ’t even explicit on the matter of the Doctor and ReinetteВ’s В‘dancingВ’; we can imagine their torrid all-night session if we want to, but the issue isnВ’t forced. There are opportunities in the script; but you can fill in the blanks yourself. We need that leeway.

With regard to the whole dancing issue, I would say just this: the Doctor works better when the sexual element is removed. He really does work better as an asexual alien being rather than a cosmic stud riding around the galaxy bonking furiously. That way the extra element of mystery and В‘other-nessВ’ which has made him so fascinating since Serial A is preserved. ThatВ’s just the way it is. So you can call me a whinging fanboy who canВ’t get any pussy if you like, Mr Russell Z Davies, but it wonВ’t change the fact that IВ’ll still be right and youВ’ll still be wrong.

(Readers who look back over my reviews may notice that my original vehement loathing for RussellВ’s crass and horny version of Dr Who has turned into a more contemptuously sarcastic mockery В– I prefer it this way).