Steven Moffat deserves a lot of credit for В‘The Girl in the FireplaceВ’ В– if the new Doctor Who has thus far erred on the side of simplicity (and it has), this story at least isnВ’t afraid to really challenge viewers, and like В‘The Mind Robber,В’ В‘Kinda,В’ В‘Ghost LightВ’ and other experimental stories from the classic series, it succeeds in bringing something fresh and strange to the rollicking sci-fi adventure format.

That said, I didnВ’t actually *like* this story a whole lot. ItВ’s possible that, like many of these 45-min. stories, it might have been improved and clarified by an expanded telling. (I say this in practically every review of the new series, but itВ’s so true.) Still, I actually doubt it would have helped here, since it seems this story is *intended* to have a puzzling, dreamlike quality about it. Although seen through the eyes of the Doctor and his companions, the story retains in its approach some of the mystery and elliptical quality of ReinetteВ’s impression of its events. In fact, it almost feels as if this story might have been conceived to be told from her point of view; the prologue certainly suggests this, but as the story unfolds we get more of an expected my-good-where-are-we-this-time Doctor Who approach.

And perhaps itВ’s that we never *do* really get inside ReinetteВ’s head that makes the story so unsatisfying to me В– rather than seeming fantastic and romantic, her falling instantly in love with a stranger from her childhood bedroom (!) simply seems absurd, because we are asked to accept it without being made (by the writer) to really *understand* it. Now, before people start shooting me hate e-mails, let me join the chorus of I-donВ’t-mind-if-the-Doctor-gets-laid-ers, but my point is it has to be done *believably*, and this Time-Casanova scenario (so to speak) never felt authentic in the least to me. For the all hysterical praise of Kate-Hudson lookalike Sophia MylesВ’s performance in the part, this Madame de Pompadour remains more or less a blank, someone whose actions only seem real if we donВ’t stop to think about them. (And while IВ’m mentioning the famous name, what is this ridiculous hard-on Russell T. Davies has for true historical figures? WeВ’ve already had Charles Dickens, Queen Victoria and Madame de Pompadour, and now Shakespeare himself is apparently waiting in the wings for next season. ItВ’s not nearly as fun as RTD seems to think it is, and the repetition is getting old fast.) Myles canВ’t quite pull off MoffatВ’s cod-Sheridan dialogue either, but at least sheВ’s better than Ben TurnerВ’s rather hopeless Louis in that regard. Both are undeniably soap-opera pretty В– but since when does that impress Doctor Who fans? Since now, I guess.

Well, on to the other actors. David Tennant is not very good here В– as IВ’ve noted before, his yammering goofus seems worlds away from Christopher EcclestonВ’s haunted survivor, and so all the stuff about his epic loneliness doesnВ’t quite ring true. IВ’m not at all sold on TennantВ’s Doctor В– perhaps this was inevitable as we moved into the double digits, but so many of the things he does seem like mere echoes of better Doctors past. He does flop-haired and boyish, but not so well as Davison; he does gabbling and irrepressible, but not so well as Tom Baker; he does clownish, but not so well as Troughton. I have yet to identify anything truly new heВ’s brought to the part. Rose and Mickey are largely sidelined here, of course, but Noel Clarke at least is given some funny lines (В“Even French!В”).

Worst of all, the strange plot, which, as I said, is notable for its originality, is at times surprisingly predictable В– the DoctorВ’s apparent forgetfulness about the time-window delay (and/or about ReinetteВ’s age at the time of her death) is a shameless contrivance to create an awww-factor, and it would take a lobotomy patient not to see it coming. (What other climax could there have been five minutes before the end of the episode?) And as for the big punchline, it doesnВ’t work nearly as well here as MoffatВ’s similar machine/organic gotcha at the end of В‘The Doctor DancesВ’; here itВ’s just a nonsensical gimmick, and doesnВ’t pay off in the least (as others have pointed out).

All in all, a step in the right direction in some ways, but not a real success.

Like many Doctor Who fans, I spent the years that the show was off the air
a) feeling confident that the show could return to the airwaves as early as next year
and
b) casting my fantasy Doctor.

My opinions and ideas about Doctor Who as a series were shaped by my ideas about the title character. I felt that the character of The Doctor should be haughty, intelligent, funny, a little aloof and above all carefree. Rattling around the universe with The Doctor should be fun, above all else. I saw a season of 45 minute individual storylines because, letВ’s face it, no one does half hour drama. I saw the sort of rattling yarns that Doctor Who was built upon. Simple and uncomplicated.

ItВ’s odd that the one character trait that pleases me the most in current Doctor Who is one I never gave any thought to before.

Loneliness.

Christopher EcclestonВ’s brilliant portrayal of The Doctor had considerably more facets than any of his predecessors. ItВ’s not an attack against past Doctors, itВ’s just a fact of modern television characters. The sort of В‘same every weekВ’ surface portrayal that fueled television in the 60s and 70s (and, for the most part, the 80s) simply cannot connect with todayВ’s more sophisticated television viewer. Christopher EcclestonВ’s Doctor was just as moody and occasionally aloof as I expected, but the over-riding facet of his character was a profound loneliness.

ItВ’s built into the show.

With The Doctor becoming the last of his kind, his survivorВ’s guilt influenced every decision he made, be it actively avoiding contact with humans (his В‘stupid apesВ’ comments seem more like his way of imposing a distance between himself and humans and not a genuine opinion.) or a choice of clothing that says В‘DonВ’t notice me! DonВ’t touch me!В’.

I never realized how important this aspect of The Doctor had become until I saw the season two premiere В‘New EarthВ’. Despite occasionally roaring with righteous indignation, my overwhelming impression of the new Doctor revolved around his В‘I love traveling with you!В’ and В‘We had chipsВ’В’ comments. Laughing happy and carefree, the weight of the world (literally) seemed to have been lifted and The Doctor was allowed to enjoy himself.

I really didnВ’t like it.

The Doctor and Rose had become so happy/ flirty with each other (В‘SchmoopieВ’ for all you Seinfeld fans..) that all of the drama drained away. Something wasnВ’t right. Something fictional.

I wondered if, perhaps, the problem was Tennant. But itВ’s the same spirited performance I enjoyed in В‘The Christmas InvasionВ’. Could the problem be RoseВ’ ItВ’s possible. She seemed far too comfortable with this New Doctor (New New Doctor) and didnВ’t display any of the awe and (frankly) fear that she had around his predecessor.

But when I saw В‘The Girl In The FireplaceВ’, an episode where absolutely everything worked for me, it fell into place. The Doctor must be lonely. Period.

No matter how much fun and excitement we the viewer or any companion seem to be having, the character of The Doctor must always feel like he is an outsider.

Science fiction fans tend to be lonely little boys at heart.

IВ’m certainly (and uncomfortably) familiar with feeling alone and isolated by my fandom. ItВ’s what draws people to organized fandom or fanzines or conventions.

The idea that weВ’re all alone together.

I almost feel bad about how much I want Doctor Who to suffer for my entertainment, but (like it or not) itВ’s a part of the show now. And those moments of connection, those times В‘the lonely little boy learns to danceВ’ are all the sweeter because of it.

Everything about В‘The Girl In The FireplaceВ’ was magical. IВ’m a big enough girlВ’s blouse to admit that there was a lot of romance in this episode.

The sight of The Doctor coming to the rescue astride a white horse or defeating monsters hiding under the bed are huge and iconic images.

I wanted to review this episode without mentioning the authorВ’s contribution from last season, but I canВ’t. The grace and joy that marked the ending of В‘The Doctor DancesВ’ gives way to an intense and bittersweet sadness at the end of В‘FireplaceВ’.

Rose and Mikey take a back seat to guest artist Sophia Myles, who turns in a mannered and beautiful performance. In fact, everything was beautiful, from the sets to the costumes to the fabulous clockwork robots.

Once again, I eagerly await Steven MoffatВ’s contribution to next season. And once again, IВ’m wondering how heВ’ll top this one.

Just remember.

I did not have high hopes for this story. Whilst I loved Matt JonesВ’ Bad Therapy, a very sweet character piece in the final third of the New Adventures but I couldnВ’t stand Beyond the Sun, his Bernice Summerfield novel and I regularly found his column in DWM the most annoying thing about the magazine. Add to that the fact that this episode has the least В‘WOWВ’ factor in this series to date (One had Zoe Wanamaker, Two had Queen Victoria and warewolves, Three had Sarah Jane, Giles and K.9, Four had Sophia Myles and Mickey as a companion, Five and Six had Cybermen and Seven had Maureen Limpman) and that last weeks teaser was hardly an appetite whetter and the best thing you could say is that В‘that bloke from Casualty is in itВ’. HmmВ…

Oh what a stupid, stupid fool I am. Hype is one thing (come on I think we were all a little disappointed by New Earth) but a show firing on all cylinders and proving what it can do in every department is another and that is exactly what The Impossible Planet does. Technically this episode is flawless and I genuinely feel it has the strongest cast yet assembled for the new series. This is an episode that might restore faith in the series of some of those who preferred series one (so SimonВ’s mother then) and remind the rest of us why we should be so proud of supporting this show.

It is a funny old business, I do like it when there is a third companion mostly because John Barrowman and Noel Clarke are such good performers and bring much to the show but when the TARDIS is enjoying threesome we see the weaker aspects of the Doctor and RoseВ’s relationship, namely their ignorance of how much they are hurting the third member and involved in themselves. Take away that selfishness of their intimacy and their relationship is adorably sweet, as proven last week in The IdiotВ’s Lantern and here. David Tennant and Billie Piper have enjoyed a strong chemistry this season but their carefree existence lacks the unity of Piper and EcclestonВ’s relationship. This where things shift up a gear and they share some wonderful moments in this episode, which exposes the richness in their partnership, both the characters and the actors. The DoctorВ’s quiet despair at being trapped is rectified slightly by the sweet moment where he and Rose talk about settling down, both of them shy to admit they would choose to live together. RoseВ’s admission that В‘everybody has to leave homeВ’ and that being trapped in this situation is not so bad because she is with him are possibly the most mature scenes the character has ever had and all the better because they are understated and impeccably performed. Bravo. Also RoseВ’s gentle kiss of the DoctorВ’s helmet (behave yourselves!) suggests an intimacy between them that surpasses anything we have seen before without stripping them of their dignity and getting all sweaty.

Matt Jones has written a damn good script, on a par with the best of either year. The story is packed with great ideas and they are dramatized beautifully. This is a textbook case in how to effectively build up tension, spend the first fifteen minutes setting the scene and introducing the mystery, then mid episode introduce some major problems for the characters to react to before your big reveal in the last third which gets everybody on the edge of their seat screaming В“Oh shit!В” (or was it just me?). Jones had also written an extremely strong cast of characters, so successfully thought through that the death of somebody we have only known for twenty minutes has a major impact. Whilst the cast are responsible for bringing these people to life, they really donВ’t have anything to work with if the script is naff.

Imagination soars as with all the best Doctor Who stories. The Ood are a marvellous idea, a slave race that only reaps pleasure from serving others but with such a stomach churning appearance. Loads of scope to be damn creepy and yet sympathetic at the same time, slaves of the humans or the Beast. The big reveal that the base is affixed to a lump of rock orbiting a Black Hole is well presented to make the viewer gasp and gawp, helped no end that it is visually spectacular as well (but bonus points for holding this off for ten minutes, had this been a regular one off episode this would have been tossed in the air before the opening theme). It is a terrifying thought being sucked into a black hole and the episode wastes no time in demonstrating the power of this phenomenon, Murray GoldВ’s effective strings accompanying an entire star system being consumed by the Black Hole. Where the episode lacks in originality is its horror undertones, something nasty under the ground waiting to be unleashed but come onВ…name two instances where that clichГ© hasnВ’t worked out? ItВ’s a fabulous conceit, which is why it has been used over and over and implanted into a story which is already as gritty as this one turns a dark episode into a terrorizing one.

I am not easily scared. I think Doctor Who has managed to give me the shivers maybe three or four times in its entire run but there was one scene in this episode which terrified me more than any other that I have seen in TV or film for years. It is beautifully filmed to get under your skin. Toby stands outside the base in the airless vacuum without a spacesuit before the black hole and turns on his friend staring at him through the window. His eyes are blood red, his face is stained with alien scrawl and he is grinning at her. A beautiful smile of pure evil, beckoning him towards her. Oh my God I was hiding behind a pillowВ…and as the glass cracked and she was sucked out towards his grinning faceВ…there must have been loads of kids shitting themselves tonight! Also scary but not as much was the climax, featuring the Beast speaking through Toby and telling the security office that his wife never forgave him.

Two performances stood out although there was not a single one that didnВ’t impress me. I want to apologise to Will Thorp who I had written off as a soap actor (or dancer) who delivered a spot on piece of acting of a man fighting against a terrible infection. His early scenes suggest a shy, dedicated but likable man and his transformation into a pawn of the Beast is truly shocking, his stunning smile is put to great, scary effect. I have to say a word for David TennantВ’s old sparring partner Shaun Parkes who made such a sparkling partnership in Russell T DaviesВ’ Casanova. Standing in as acting Captain, Parkes delivers a great, tired performance of a man doing a job who was not built for but still pulling it off well. As expected his scenes with Tennant shine, the scene where the Doctor hugs him should be vomit inducing and yet (thanks to the actors) they make it work.

Lovely to see some grit in the new series, I remember Russell T Davies saying how much he channel hops and stops on the show with the prettiest picture regardless of how good the show is. Doctor Who this year has perhaps been a bit too pretty, New Earth, Tooth and Claw, The Girl in the Fireplace and The IdiotВ’s Latern all feature gorgeous, sumptuous productions but it all looks a bit NICE. Here weВ’ve got all the style but jumping down below decks with the В‘workersВ’. The sets are divine, dirty, unsteady, filled with dirty smokeВ…it really helps to put across the sense of clinging on to this rock for dear life. I like the contrast of the futuristic setting with the modern-ish costumes, nothing to flashy but casual and comfortable just how you would want to be in that environment. Lighting is exceptional throughout, especially during TobyВ’s murder scene and the Doctor and RoseВ’s settling down conversation.

Real edge of the seat drama and an attempt to be scary that succeeds on every level, here is a great example of Doctor Who doing its best to give you nightmares before you go to sleep. ItВ’s almost a shame it is broadcast in the daylight. Do yourself a favour and tape it and watch it later in the dark on your own.

Ten out of ten chaps.

Forget the fact it's on an actual alien world. Forget the Cthulhoid monsters in the Ood. No, what makes this episode all the more amazing is that it was written by Matt Jones, and it didn't make me want to claw my eyes out with a garden tool.

Yeah, I said it. Matt Jones' New Adventures (Bad Therapy and Beyond the Sun for those playing at home)? Overly snarky garbage with way too many fanfic agendas put into print. His TV work? Well, there I claim ignorance. But this? THIS was more like it. And of course I mean that in respect to the reason of Season 2 thus far -- only 3 episodes actually made me have a reaction one way or another. The rest so far have been, well, mediocre at best. Add a 4th now, because I enjoyed "The Impossible Planet" quite a bit, even if it did move a bit slower than I would have liked.

And yes, there were CORRIDORS, lots and lots of CORRIDORS, but it added to the claustrophobic, Alien/Outland/DOOM feel of the episode. And yes, finding Satan out in space is always going to bring comparisons to Event Horizon as well. But fuggit. Here it worked.

I LOVE THE OOD! Not just for their Cthulhu looks and matching Zoidberg demeanor. They were just...different. I liked the voice used for their translators. But what I found the most interesting about the Ood? Was the fact that the so-called "ethics" officer was the most denigrating, prejudicial, and xenophobic about the Ood.

And I also noticed how the majority of the crew on the planet were young hotties in the primes of their lives. How just like a slasher flick.

The Doctor and Rose pondering mortgages?! THE HELL?! It was a good moment tho, especially in the awkwardness of it all. I'm sure the shippers will be swooning over that bit. But I will note that the Doctor nailed it when he lost the TARDIS -- it really IS all he has left. Without it he's...what? No really, what?

And of course, cue the fanboy squees about the voice of Sutekh, Gabriel Woolf, being cast as the Beast. Sorry, but for some influence, I don't think there's any real link between this and "Pyramids of Mars." Woolf is merely performing a job of Voice Acting. There may have been fannish reasons to cast Woolf, but saying on that evidence that the Beast is Sutekh is likening Starscream to Cobra Commander just because they too shared voice actors.

Of course, "The Satan Pit" could prove me all sorts of wrong...

Wow.

I didn't even bother to submit a review last week, so underwhelmed I was by The Idiot's Lantern (not bad as such, just blah). The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit two-parter has had me intrigued since I first heard the premise, however, so I tuned in hoping to have my faith reaffirmed.

And how.

This is how you do the first part of a double-episode story. Where Aliens of London, Rise of the Cybermen and even, to some extent, Bad Wolf plodded a little around the story while clearly saving all the real meat for later, The Impossible Planet was chock-full of interesting stuff. The mysterious planet stuck beneath a black hole, the loss of the TARDIS, the mysterious Ood and their menacing messages, bizarre possession of a crew member, a touching death, a frank discussion of the possibility of the Doctor and Rose starting a life together ... there was more here than in many single-parters, all of it excellent. In many ways, it had a real New Adventures feel to it (Lucifer Rising, anyone?)

The story is the first since The Parting of the Ways to truly have an epic feel to it (as much as enjoyed The Christmas Invasion, it never felt to me like it really left a corner of London). The archeological station had a genuinely lonely, run-down feel to it, like we really were on the frontier of the universe. My only real criticism is that, like much of this season, everything was just a bit too bright and studio-looking. The effects were excellent, however, from the brooding, voracious black hole to the first truly successful use of matte backgrounds (my personal pet-peeve) in the vast core the Doctor explores towards the end of the episode.

With the right balance of suspense, character work (a welcome move forward for the Doctor/Rose dynamic which has felt a little static recently) and, wonder of wonders, genuine mystery, this was great entertainment. I really have no idea how next week's episode will pan out (I could see the events of The Age of Steel coming a mile away after the first part) and I'm desperate to find out.

Above all, though, the feeling I took away from this episode was that I couldn't believe they put this out in the timeslot. Monsters quoting verse about the DEVIL?! At 7 o'clock on a Saturday night?

A massively welcome dark change of tone for the season which will hopefully give the Tenth Doctor some much needed gravitas to play with. Tennant is wonderful, but nothing since School Reunion has given him much of a chance to play genuinely unsettled (I am still trying to blank out the ANGRY SHOUTING IN SEVERAL SCENES of The Idiot's Lantern - Mark, David, why?!!?)

After a slight downturn in quality, I'm delighted to see things back on track. If next week's conclusion is of the same quality as this episode, I could find myself with a new favourite story since the relaunch (Father's Day and Dalek are battling it out at the moment). Tennant could well have his Caves of Androzani here.

Let's see what comes out of that pit.

The Doctor and Rose step from the TARDIS, apparently drunk and giggly, for the new seriesВ’ first proper deep space adventure.

ItВ’s a big budget blockbustery cross betweenВ… well, everything really. The Alien series, Robots Of Death, Event Horizon, The Sphere, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Serenity... But why not? After last weekВ’s rather forgettable little snack, The Idiot Box, itВ’s nice to have a bit of blood-and-thunder portentous high jinx, and great to see some serious black hole action.

The effects are marvellous В– this really does feel like a mid-range Hollywood movie. Can it be the same series that brought us The Web Planet, The Arc In Space, Underworld or Delta And The Bannermen? Some might say that the Hollywood feel has no place in this quaint, parochial British TV show (like giving The Beatles state of the art synthesisers), and they might have a point. It doesnВ’t really feel like Doctor Who. But itВ’s bold, brash, and lovely to see Satan evoked on BBC1 on a Saturday teatime.

The supporting cast donВ’t have much room to breathe amongst the chaos В– and feel less clearly defined than their Robots Of Death or Alien counterparts В– but the Ood are rather sweet, and IВ’m sure will work well as marauding Satanists next week. The first twenty minutes seemed maybe a little aimless, with nothing much for anyone to do but wait for bad stuff to happen, but IВ’m looking forward to next weekВ’s handily spoilt (by the trailer) installment.