"Doctor Who"
The Girl in the Fireplace (2006)

Director:

Euros Lyn

Writer:

Steven Moffat (written by)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (2005)

Original Air Date:

6 May 2006 (Season 2, Episode 4)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The Doctor, Mickey and Rose land on a spaceship in the 51st century only to find 18th century Versailles on board, the time of Madame De Pompadour! To find out what's going on the Doctor must enter Versailles and save Madame De Popmpadour but it turns into an emotional roller coaster for the Doctor.

Plot Keywords:

Fantasy | Automata | Tardis | Dark Past | Man With No Name

Cast

David Tennant	...	The Doctor
Billie Piper	...	Rose Tyler
Sophia Myles	...	Reinette
Noel Clarke	...	Mickey Smith
Benjamin Turner	...	King Louis (as Ben Turner)
Jessica Atkins	...	Young Reinette
Angel Coulby	...	Katherine
Gareth Griffiths	...	Manservant (as Gareth Wyn Griffiths)
Paul Kasey	...	Clockwork Man
Ellen Thomas	...	Clockwork Woman
Jonathan Hart	...	Alien (voice)
Emily Joyce	...	Alien (voice)

Runtime:

45 min | 45 min (50 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-PG | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Tredegar House, Newport, Wales, UK

Trivia:

The robots driven by intricate clockwork and mechanical gears are based on self-operating machines called "automatons" which were present in 17th century Europe at the time.

Quotes:

King Louis: What the hell is going on?
Reinette Poisson: Oh. This is my lover, the king of France.
The Doctor: Yeah? Well I'm the Lord of Time.

Movie Connections:

References Taxi Driver (1976)

Best Dr Who episode so far

I think this was the best episode of this season so far, and it was even better than The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances of the previous season (which, incidentally, are by the same writer: Steven Moffat, also responsible for the brilliant sitcom Coupling).

The plot of The Girl in the Fireplace is brilliant, complex and intricate, and surprisingly free from the gaping holes that complex plots usually have. It can be a bit confusing, but it'll all make sense in the end. The acting was good: David Tennant was a bit too hyper as usual, but tense when he needed to be, and Sophia Myles was absolutely brilliant as a very convincing Madame de Pompadour. Downsides? The end may be a bit too easy, but this is Doctor Who, after all. I think this will be my favourite episode for a long time. Or at least until next week.