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Series 1 Boxset:
Series 2 Part 2:

Director:

Euros Lyn (Cutting It, Casualty)

Screenplay:

Steven Moffatt (Coupling, Joking Apart)

Cast:

The Doctor: David Tennant
Rose Tyler: Billie Piper
Mickey Smith: Noel Clarke
Reinette, Madame de Pompadour: Sophia Myles
King Louis XIV: Ben Turner
Young Reinette: Jessica Atkins
Katherine: Angel Coulby
Manservant: Gareth Wyn Gtiffiths
Clockwork Man: Paul Casey
Clockwork Woman: Ellen Thomas

Synopsis: The Doctor arrives in 18th-Century France to find Madame de Pompadour being stalked by clockwork automatons from the 51st-Century...

The Girl In The Fireplace is a quite wonderful love story, courtesy of writer Steven Moffatt, who knows exactly how to mix science-fiction with powerful emotion. The story finds The Doctor, Rose and Mickey aboard a spaceship in the 51st-Century that has various "time windows" -- all entrances to various moments in the life of Reinette, the Madame de Pompadour, in 18th-Century France. But for what purpose were these windows constructed, and why are a gang of clockwork robots travelling back in time this way?

I've often complained about the lack of imagination in recent Doctor Who. Too often the episodes are quite hokey adventures that just so happen to be set in the future, or the recent past, with little credible sci-fi to back it all up. Moffatt is a writer with the type of imagination best suited to Who, with some very original ideas used to layer an imaginative plot packed with big emotions. It's rare that an episode can genuinely chill (an early sequence with a robot "monster" under the bed is a highlight), make you laugh ("I didn't want to say magic door..."), and also produce deep emotion (the final moments are knockout stuff.)

David Tennant is finally given a half-decent plot to chew on, and rises to the occassion magnificently. Finally his wild streak is tempered with a romantic foil, played to perfection by Sophia Myles as the glamorous Reinette. Billie Piper takes a backseat for once, but has a few interesting things to play -- particularly because this episode marks the second time she's been usurped by another woman interested in The Doctor. Noel Clarke has little to do, but his glee at being involved in an adventure hits the right mark, and it's a pleasure to see his character taking another step away from annoying sidekick.

The production design is excellent throughout, particularly the 18th-Century setting, but even the futuristic designs of the spaceship are more believable than recent examples. The CGI is generally good (I particularly liked an "eye-ball camera"), although a sequence with The Doctor bursting through a mirror on horseback is a little ropey.

But The Girl In The Fireplace isn't really about the visuals, it's about an engaging story sold magnificently by the cast. In many ways this is the perfect Doctor Who episode, managing to bring multiple facets of the show together into a delicious whole. A heatbreaking story that brings laughter, adventure, epic themes, a few chills, and great character interplay.

NEXT WEEK: An alternate Earth... with the Cybermen...

OVERALL

Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2006.

The following is a list of all the Doctor Who content reviewed to date :

2008			Series 30, Episode 13 - "Journey's End", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 12 - "The Stolen Earth", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 11 - "Turn Left", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 10 - "Midnight", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 8 - "Silence in the Library" (part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 7 - "The Unicorn and The Wasp", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 6 - "The Doctor's Daughter", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 5 - "The Poison Sky" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 4 - "The Sontaran Stratagem" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 3 - "Planet of the Ood", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 2 - "The Fires of Pompeii", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 1 - "Partners In Crime", by Dan Owen

2006			Series 28, Episode 1 - "New Earth", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 2 - "Tooth & Claw", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 3 - "School Reunion", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 4 - "The Girl in the Fireplace", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 5 - "Rise of the Cyberman", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 6 - "The Age of Steel", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 7 - "The Idiot's Lantern", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 8 - "The Impossible Planet", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 9 - "The Satan Pit", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 10 - "Love and Monsters", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 11 - "Fear Her", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 12 - "Army of Ghosts" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 13 - "Doomsday" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen

2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 2 - "The End of the World", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 3 - "The Unquiet Dead", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 4 - "Aliens of London", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 5 - "World War Three", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 6 - "Dalek", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 7 - "The Long Game", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 8 - "Father's Day", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 9 - "The Empty Child", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 10 - "The Doctor Dances", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 11 - "Boom Town", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 12 - "Bad Wolf", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 13 - "The Parting of The Ways", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Dom Robinson
2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Paul Manners

And the Audio CDs :

2000			04: The Land of the Dead
2000			06: The Marian Conspiracy
2000			10: Winter for the Adept
2000			12: The Fires of Vulcan
2000			14: The Holy Terror
2000			15: The Mutant Phase
2001			16: Storm Warning
2001			18: The Stones of Venice
2002			28: The Chimes of Midnight
2002			30: Seasons of Fear
2002			31: Embrace the Darkness
2002			35: ...Ish
2002			39: ...Bang-Bang-A-Boom!

2003			Doctor Who Audio CDs: An introduction

DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.

PC games reviewed by the editor are on: