Episode 4 of this season, sandwiched as it was between the return of the iconic Sarah Jane Smith and K9 in 3 and the equally-iconic Cybermen in 5 and 6, was clearly going to be a tough gig for any writer. Which is presumably why the boss gave it to his star striker! And did Steven Moffat, the Thierry Henry of the Doctor Who writersВ’ line-up, deliver for Russell T Davies (and the rest of us)? Never doubted him, never will . . .

MoffatВ’s critically-acclaimed Doctor Who writing debut with The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances last season was always going to be a difficult act to follow but, not only did he reach those high standards again, he cranked the bar up a notch.

And this is why Davies employs writers the quality of Moffat. He wants his show В– В“ourВ” show В– to be the very best it can be, in all aspects, but particularly the writing, because if thatВ’s no good, youВ’ll be gone before you can say K9 & Company. No need to worry (if you do worry В– you donВ’t give that impression!), Russell. It is the best.

It was a very different episode. Normally, you can say В“that was a little bit like . . .В” but The Girl In The Fireplace as a whole was like nothing else in Doctor Who history, although there were still plenty of elements within which could only belong in one show.

Another great pre-titles sequence drew us nicely into the story. I know thatВ’s what theyВ’re supposed to do, but a beautiful 18th-century Frenchwoman looking into a fireplace, summoning help from The Doctor? Classic Who in anyoneВ’s language. Even those who donВ’t seem to like anything about the show must concede that. Or perhaps thatВ’s asking too much?

The link between the spaceship and the 18th century worked superbly well. As did the clockwork droids. They have the kind of В“clownВ” vibe, which a lot of people find scary. And thereВ’s been plenty of (to utilise the oldest Who clichГ© of them all) В“behind the sofaВ” moments in this series. The werewolf. Children being devoured by bat-like creatures. And now these malevolent droids. The one under the bed of the little girl and then appearing behind her was quite chilling, and really well done. Hopefully, the nightmares will only last a few years, kids!

The great effects highlight, though, was The Doctor on a white horse bursting through a mirror from a spaceship into an 18th-century French court . . . as he does. WeВ’ll no doubt find out in time that this was a logistical nightmare, but it was worth the effort В– terrific stuff. However, virtually the only thing which irked me about the whole episode was David TennantВ’s wildly-exaggerated wink to Reinette В– a knowing smile or a flick of the eyebrows would have sufficed. But that shouldnВ’t distract from what was a memorable scene.

And then there was Sophia Myles as Reinette. DidnВ’t think Lis Sladen would have any competition for В“guest star of the yearВ”? Think again. Myles was given a generous amount of script time and had a superbly-written character, but she did justice to MoffatВ’s words with a performance of sumptuous quality.

SheВ’s a beautiful woman in a stunning array of period costumes with the central role in the script, which isnВ’t a bad starting point, but she really brought character to life. The viewer really cared about her, which is a great achievement in just one episode, and you shared The DoctorВ’s utter sadness when she had gone.

I liked her, in case that wasnВ’t clear . . .

. . . although not quite as much as The Doctor did!

HeВ’s doing OK for snogs this season, is Mr Tennant. Some serious mouth-to-mouth action with both Billie Piper and Sophia Myles in the space of just four episodes? And they call this work! Some of his predecessors in the title role must be more than a little peeved В– three years and a peck on the cheek was the previous average . . .

Winking aside, Tennant was excellent here В– The Doctor was put through the emotional wringer here, but Tennant answered every call. There was strong back-up from Billie Piper and Noel Clarke, but this was Tennant and MylesВ’ episode. Their В“mind-meldingВ” exchange was a great moment. I'd love to think Sophia Myles could come back one day.

Oh, and did The Doctor В“danceВ” with Reinette? Well, seeing as the euphemism was coined by the same writer in The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, I donВ’t think the dots are too difficult to join! Some fans donВ’t like the idea of The DoctorВ’s perceived asexuality being compromised and, while this probably wouldnВ’t have sat too well in the old series, it works beautifully here.

В“Perceived asexuality being compromisedВ” В– must use that in conversation more often!

The Doctor fell head over heels in love with Reinette (the grown-up version!) the moment he saw her. Beautiful, sexy, intelligent, funny В– and youВ’d think much more his В“typeВ” than Rose, who is all those things as well, but the sexual chemistry which existed between the ninth Doctor and Rose no longer exists. And never really has done since the regeneration. Would the previous Doctor have left Rose behind on a spaceship to go to the rescue of another woman?

Having had her confidence shaken by SarahВ’s appearance, and now seeing The Doctor obviously fall В– and fall quickly and totally - for another woman, Rose must feel her relationship with The Doctor has developed too far to be anything other platonic. Although at times this season, there has been almost a lack of warmth there (principally from The DoctorВ’s side). ItВ’s a fascinating change in dynamic В– but it can change again if Rose and The Doctor find something to bring them together again, and that canВ’t happen while Mickey is on board the TARDIS, which is why I suspect he wonВ’t be for much longer. Indeed, Mickey may be the element which brings them closer together again. In some way . . .

As long as Doctor Who continues to grace our screens, and that is going to be for many more than the three seasons which have been commissioned thus far, the В“Moffat episodeВ”, which will surely become a staple В– whether heВ’s too busy or not! - is going to be a big highlight of the series. Frankly, anyone who writes the line, "I'm The Doctor, and I've just snogged Madame de Pompadour" should be in line for beatification for that alone . . .

Fabulous stuff, and the series just keeps getting better episode by episode. So, whatВ’s in your locker, Mr MacRae? Something with a big, silver helmet, you say . . .

I don’t know about anyone else, but it seems to me that each episode this season is better than the last. New Earth was fantastic (flawed, but fantastic). Tooth and Claw just gave me chills that this was the best the series has ever been. Then School Reunion blew me away.

And then came The Girl In The Fireplace.

I have to say, I honestly believe that was the best 45 minutes of Doctor Who I have ever seen. Witty, charming and deeply moving, it was an elegant and beautiful idea executed with such skill and then so fantastically produced that we couldn't help but be completely swept away by it.

Of course, as it lingered in my mind the following day, the little plot holes started to open up, but I am just as sure that Steve Moffat was aware of these holes and knew that the central premise was too good not to bog it down in overcomplicated exposition that could have turned something elegant and simple into something complex and fraught just for the sake of the nitpickers. Yes the throw away line of the TARDIS being out of bounds for saving the day was obviously a plot convenience even greater than usual (I am sure there are plenty of instances in the shows history where the TARDIS has been used in EXACTLY the way the Doctor says it can't here) but it would have severely weakened the premise to allow the Doctor such an obvious and unimaginative way out.

Sophia Myles was a revelation - definitely the first contender for supporting cast member of the season - with a character that, despite her limited screen time, we - as did the Doctor - fell completely in love with her. It's no mean feat to script a relationship from first meeting to final goodbye with a depth and emothion across a timeline that takes less than a day and is fully told in 45 minutes but Stgeven Moffat did it. The Doctor may have only just met Madame De Pompadour, but by the end we feel her death as the departure of a lifelong friend.

The revival of Doctor Who has seen such an emotional awakening int he scripting of The Doctor, in ways that would nnever have been considered in the original run. The idea of The Doctor kissing was the big taboo when it first occurred in the tv moive yet so far he has snogged Rose twice, Captain Jack once and now the Madame, yet we accept it, it sems right and the emotional development of the Doctor has created such a great richness to him that his sense of otherwolrldliness is enhanced even more. Whether he is brooding over the time war or reading a last letter from Madame de Pompadour, these last two portrayals have given us a hero with such depth and range that this series is now capable of exploring all possible dramatic situations.

Of course I have to mention the clockwork robots - such a fantastic idea and so beautifully realised that it is a shame they probably won't return. The set design, the camera work and the costume design is all amongst the best the series has ever produced. The CGI was flawless and all in all I can't think of a single moment that alerted me to a manufactured effect or moment of disbelief.

Finally I have to commend Murray Gold on what is possibly his best score for the series yet. The piano theme he created for fathers Day seemed a little saccharine for me but here he deals with equally emotive scenes with such a melancholic tone that allowed the shots to linger and the audience to hang on the emotion until our hearts broke.

Bravo. I can't say it enough. Bravo.

By the way and as a final aside - did anyone else wonder whether Madame de Pompadour's invitation to the Doctor to dance (considering Moffat's previous useage of dancing as a metaphor for a certain other physical act) could actually have implied the Doctor did more than just get a snog in this episode?

"Doctor. My lonely Doctor. Dance with me."

"I can't"

"Dance with me. There comes a time, my Lord, when every lonely little boy must learn how to dance."

What an odd episode! Stephen Moffat has obviously been worried about doing something as good as The Empty Child. His solution has been to write a story that breaks all the rules. The doc gets pissed (that's as in drunk for our American readers) and snogs the face off Sophia Myles, he jumps through a mirror riding a white horse to save the day and even finds time to create a cocktail. The new Doctor Who however has all been about breaking the rules. One can only guess at what the episode starring Peter Kay will be like!

This episode also played to the BBC strengths in the costume drama department. Get the big frocks out of the wardrobe! As the doc said himself the clockwork robots were beautiful and the eye on the stalk reminded me of something out of the Fifth Element. The whole thing had the feel of The Mind Robber or The Celstial Toymaker about it in its' use of fantasy. The script was light and witty, "France, it's a different planet," etc. OK Mickey and Rose didn't have a lot to do but the 45 minute format simply doesn't allow you to fit in everything. The writers are all exploring the new Doctor's character and with an actor like David Tennant there's a lot of character to explore.

Rose does seem a lot more superfluous in this series but 'twas ever thus. In the original series Ian and Barbara were the Doctor's equals in the first few series. It was only later on in the show were the companions became mere plot devices. Still I hope that Rose is given more to do when the Cybermen appear.

It's a shame we never saw this Doctor dancing but he certainly looked like he could party. His appearance with a tie round his head was brilliant. His advice about always having a banana with you bears listening to. Personally I always go to parties with a remote control Dalek but that's just me. The clockwork robots are a triumph. Why shouldn't writers and designers just go for it. Take risks and be damned. Meeting the horse in the spaceship, and calling it Albert, must have seemed absurd on paper but it worked gloriously!

I Just got interrupted by a 'phone call from my niece saying how much she enjoyed the latest episode. It's great the way the new series can engage adults and children. Anyway the end of the episode was so sad. The Doctor being told by the King that Reinette had 'left for Paris' and then seeing her hearse and reading out her letter begging the Doctor to appear brought a tear to the eye. The last shot showing why the 'thick' robots were after Madame De Pompadour made me smile. Now roll on the Cybermen!

I'VE developed a brand new affliction.

It's not Doctor Who. That's a condition I've had since my mum was painting the living room door (flat on the floor, to avoid any drips) in the spring of '81. Five feet away a four-year old boy was transfixed by the TARDIS shrinking to an nth of its usual size with Tom Baker trapped inside. No, my condition is something I suspect others are experiencing every Saturday night right now. It's called 'Worrying too much about people around me liking Doctor Who to kick back on the sofa and enjoy it for what it is'. I won't bore you with the Latin name.

It's been creeping up on me throughout series two and last night it developed into the full-blown fidgets during 'The Girl in the Fireplace'.

Why I'm worrying, I don't know. I could sit through 'TGI The Fireplace' (Did Billie get that in the divorce?) right now with an inane grin across my face while a certain minister's son from Paisley rightfully took centre stage and his understanding co-star slid into the shadows for the second consecutive episode.

One reason Doctor Who is so successful this time round is that it's only interested in telling stories. That four-year-old boy mentioned earlier was transfixed by a shrinking TARDIS, not block computation thingummies. And this was a beautifully told, beautifully shot fairytale.

The other time the Doc stepped into Once Upon a Time territory was 'The Mind Robber', and there are some similarities between the Clockwork Soldiers who tick-tocked their way through the Land of Fiction and the Harlequin androids which went on a cogtastic rampage through Versailles - and a lot more could have been made of them holding that posh party to siege. They were introduced brilliantly, though. How many youngsters have checked beneath their beds for a Marshman or Melkur in their formative years?

This was the slowest paced episode I have seen for some time, relying on the relationship between Madame De Pompadour and the Doctor to carry the story rather than tense cliffhangers popping up every six minutes or so. This may have been the reason my new affliction hung round my head so easily this time around.

Shame on me. The whole thing was super fun. Even the Doctor getting a bit sloshed wasn't as toe-curling as it could have been, and Mickey is gradually getting more likeable. After Rose's prickliness towards Dame Sladen last week, it's a relief this wasn't cut-and-pasted to her feelings about the other other-half joining her in blue box life.

It's a nice twist that the viewers got to know the significance of Madame De P to the androids' (now we know how Kiss would have looked if a member of the French aristocracy had dreamed them up) plane, but not team TARDIS. I just hope the SS Madame De Pompadour has a twin vessel out there called the Good Ship Parker Bowles. Bet loads of blokes have sailed in that one.

But - where the creme de menthe did that horse come from?

And, I know it wasn't in this episode, but I have to get it off my chest. What's the difference between Torchwood and UNIT? I digress.

At the end of the episode, my fellow viewer turned to me and said: "That was *really* good!" I had to agree, and was thus flummoxed as to why I'd spent the first four-fifths of the episode with a sinking feeling sloshing down my innards.

I've had a lie down. I've taken my pills. By golly, I do believe this new affliction of mine has finally run its course.

The Girl in the Fireplace was given a disappointing preview in The Guardian, billed as 'not one of the better episodes, but pleasingly bonkers all the same'. Bonkers yes, but I'll argue that this was one of the best of the new Doctor Who adventures. Some great performances, another excellent script from Steven Moffat and impressive design and effects throughout.

In my opinion the current series has so far consisted of too much running up and down whilst being chased by monsters of one kind or another. I know that as Reinette in this episode so rightly points out, "where there is the Doctor there will be monsters", but at last David Tennant has been given something to get his teeth into.

This episode sees the flowering of Tennant's Who, with the 'lonely Time Lord' theme being carried on from the Ecclestone season. I was beginning to fear too much gurning, posing with specs and the running around but he's settling in very well. Nice touches, too, such as the lighting of the girl Reinette's candle with the sonic screwdriver.

This episode also sees the addition of Mickey Smith as a regular companion. I'd been worried about this as he's not a favourite of mine, but his inclusion worked very well in this story. Mickey allows Rose to be separated from the Doctor for his (semi) romantic pursuits. As well as giving her someone to talk to, he also continues the "wow!" factor that needs to run through the series. With Rose already seeing it all (last week you may recall she was matching Sarah Jane Smith monster for monster) someone is needed to stay excited by what’s ‘out there’.

As for the clockwork robots, they worked a treat. If Steven Moffat was looking for a new catchphrase to match "are you my mummy?" he may not have found it in "we needed the parts", but the masks hiding the glass heads were as original as the WW2 gasmasks last year, as were the jerky movements and slow, deliberate speech. The episode looked expensively staged throughout, with the period settings as convincing as the future, and the most memorable was the scene shift as Madame de Pompadour stepped between the two. I even found the revolving fireplace convincing.

And what was the deal with the horse? Well, it gave Tennant a chance to do his dashing act, but I also noticed that when the Doctor first meets Reinette as a young girl, a sound of an invisible horse is heard in the distance. As he later watches her coffin being drawn away the same sound repeats to mark her departure. More nice touches.

Well, I sit and wait for the Cybermen next week. Let's just hope they take the baton and run with it.

This episode was simply a masterpiece. I am trying very hard to think of any other show (besides classic "Who") that can so seamlessly incorporate so many genres in one episode. Horror, Sci-Fi, Romance (and done in a way that even I, as a guy, thought was very touching), and adventure all rolled into one. As for the romance part, there is no reason whatsoever that the Doctor has to be asexual. He is infinately smarter than any human but any time the Doctor has ever run into someone like Rinette, who is above and beyond your standard human, he is fascinated and it definately doesn't hurt that she's gorgeous! Also, it's good to get his and Rose's relationship more plutonic. Though I don't mind the Doctor at all falling for a woman for once, it should not be his companion no matter how great she may be.

This was an episode that I felt really worked in the 45 minute format. Of course, I would love to have seen more background on the clockwork robots, the ship and France in general but it really wasn't necessary. This was a stunning performance by David Tennant who is truly one of the best Doctors ever. He gives a vibrance to the part that hasn't been here since almost as far back as Troughton. Of course Pertwee, both Bakers, Davidson...all of the previous Doctors had things they brought to the character and were all excellent. Tennant really seems to incorporate traits from all of them into a brand new model.

I read the previous reviews before I wrote this so I have a bit of an unfair advantage--HOWEVER--I don't know what people mean when they say this series is not as good as the last and Tennant is not a very good Doctor! Eccelston was awesome no doubt about it. He showed an anger not seen in the Doctor except on occasional episodes. He was hurt by the Time War mentally and physically. The arc with the Daleks was perfect for him because he was able to resolve that part of his existence and show Rose how much he really cared for her. But when the Daleks were wiped out, it was time to throw a little more range into the character of the Doctor. This isn't to say that Eccelston as an actor was incapable of range, but as he played the Doctor it was mostly somberness and anger (as a character who lost his entire civilization required) and the humor seemed a little forced. In this episode in particular thanks to Rinette seeing inside the Doctor's mind we see that he still feels alone but he hides it much better. He's moved on and as he said in The Christmas Invasion he is a new man. The suit with sneakers is such a perfect look that fits in any situation, his great intellect and compassion hidden behind a facade of goofyness, his amazement at the sight of werewolves, clockwork robots and the like. Tennant is an amazing actor and he brings reality to this character. Pop references and goofy scarf and shades wearing is even ok because he is expressing his love of humans and is ready to pounce on the enemy at the drop of a hat.

Poor Eccelston never once saved the day in series one. Sure he took the energy from Rose at the very end but seriously, in almost every case he stood back and let things happen around him and several times people on the side were the real heroes. When I wrote reviews for series one I said that was ok because perhaps it was a "humans need to do things on their own" attitude and I am definately ok with that. However now the Doctor is back to his roots, solving problems and helping people like no one else on planet Earth could do.

The magic of Doctor Who is sort of like the cop show Law and Order in the US. I really can't think of another show that has changed entire casts so many times and yet stays relevant and vibrant. You can have an entirely new main character from costume to attitude to enemies to friends and at its' core it is still Doctor Who. It feels like Doctor Who, and this character (as talked about quite a bit in School Reunion) has lived a long time and has years of experiences to learn from. Is this show perfect? Of course not. 45 minutes has been too short many times. Mickey is finding his way into finally becoming a somewhat likeable character but it's taken a very long time. It would also be nice for the Doctor to use something other than his sonic screwdriver. It scans things, can create fire, can scare of robots of all kinds, open doors, lock doors.... I mean, I understand wanting to keep things simple but one other device would be nice. Still, the pluses outweigh the minuses of this show about a billion times. Besides Battlestar Galactica, no one has reinvented a show so brilliantly and RTD deserves everlasting praise for his job. The Girl in the Fireplace has the future, the past and most importantly the feel of Doctor Who and each episode of Series Two is better than the last. Will the Cybermen beat this one? No matter what I'll be there!