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Doctor Who 2x4 "The Girl in the Fireplace" | Full Episode Reaction (Patreon)

Published:
2023-12-06 16:00:02
Imported:
2023-12
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Immediately one of my favorites! The sheer amount of imagination, zaniness, and heart on display in this story amazes me. Not to mention Sophia Myles delivering a performance that left me devastated she isn’t the next companion. Still, I don’t think I’d change a thing about the ending.

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/gu4FBIa4dXs 

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Jessi

Omg. Ok. You get the return of “Jessi, the one who comments on a whole episode” for this one! I know this episode is often seen as “filler” or “disjointed” or even “badly planned” for those who are being entirely ungenerous. But I find this episode to be a masterpiece. Let me explain! First, and this is being written before I even watch your reaction…this episode can stand alone. Doctor Who has several “monster of the week” episodes, but this was the first episode of the season which could act as an introduction to the series. (I’d say the Empty Child would be the one to see in the first season if you missed the pilot). Please remember, at the time the new series began airing, steaming media was a brand-new concept. YouTube debuted in 2005, Netflix began streaming in 2007, and these were the popular pioneers (as in, there were streaming and video services before these, but they didn’t gain nearly the “household name” as those two.) and this was 2006! Most of the time, to get new fans, you had to wait for a marathon on tv to offer a foundation OR you could have stand-alone episodes like this one. You can get the lay of the land as a Doctor Who newbie but you also can see the subtle character development and continuation of the story as a habitual watcher. After the “scan for alien tech” moment in The Empty Child (where Rose was flirting with Jack, lest you forget LOL) David Tennant’s Doctor makes a point of “performing a scan” from that point forward. Which is hilarious and which he does here! Best I could find about “August 1727 in France” Was that the Bastille prison was attacked and overthrown which was considered the start of the French Revolution*shrug* I guess that’s what he’s talking about? clockwork monster is amazing! And it helps set up the Doctor as an “imaginary” figure in her life. It’s absolutely ridiculous. I don’t know if you’ve ever read/watched Matilda by Roald Dahl but it’s got an assertion in there that the reason why the principal is allowed to get away with basically abusing the children is simply because the stuff she does is so outlandish that nobody would ever believe it. I think this is the case here. So, the Doctor and the clockwork monster under her bed were just Reinette’s personal secret. Aside…omg, the actress has absolutely nailed the gorgeous, and brilliant, and talented Reinette! My favorite part of this episode (aside from maybe the beautiful tragically romantic ending) is the scene where the Doctor and Reinette share minds and she empathizes with the “lonely boy” she found in his head. Then she just…rolled with the rest. He was her imaginary friend…who always saves her…who’s to say he can’t be a “Time Lord”? It’s wonderful. She is just awesome…that scene with Rose where she says: “The monsters and the Doctor, seems you can’t have one without the other.” Fantastic line. And then, almost immediately, another zinger, “one may tolerate a world of demons for the sake of an angel.” I do need to contradict another comment here, in that the whole “we’re part of events now, we can’t use the Tardis” happens all the time. Otherwise, the Tardis would be an instant “I win” button. It gets discussed in the season one finale two-parter as to why they can’t just go back in time and stop the Daleks, and they use it many times after this. It’s inviting a paradox. The only reason why a certain event happens is because another event happens which doesn’t happen because the first thing doesn’t happen and so the second thing can’t happen on and on and on. So, if he’d found out she died and then went back to get her in the Tardis, then he’d have never had the conversation with the King if he went back to pick her up and she would have never written the letter so he wouldn’t know to come back too late and, yeah…it’s a paradox. The Doctor doesn’t erase things he’s seen to be true. It’s either impossible or just not his place. The ending of this episode just makes me so sad for the Doctor. Reinette doesn’t get to come along and died never having seen him again after he saved her life. But I’d say the Doctor got the worst of it. She got to have her dream, but he missed out on knowing her and spending more than just the crisis moment with her. The unspoken revelation that the ship believed her to be where their computer/brain must come from is because she’s the namesake of the ship is just beautifully absurd. All in all, it’s a romantic and wonderfully tragic episode, and I love it.

SeeJay

I truly love this episode. Sophia Myles is the MVP for me in this one, her characterization of Madame Du Pompadour is just wonderful. She's strong and commanding, loveable and generous. Moffat based this storyline on the Time Travelers Wife (a Novel which he would later partially adapt into a TV mini-series). This episode is also one of the few times that we as the viewer find out what's happened, but the Doctor doesn't. The zoom out at the end revealing the ship is called the Madame Du Pompadour, the ship is 33 years old, so they think they need her 33 year brain to replace the hard drive. Genius.

casualnerdreactions
>>123903207

Yes!! Definitely time travelers wife vibes, that makes so much sense. Definitely interesting to have knowledge the doctor doesn't 😅

casualnerdreactions
>>123901921

Thanks for sharing all your thoughts. I'm glad you love the episode as much as I do! That conversation with Rose and reinette was just brilliant.

Paul Hess

Hello from a new (returning/regenerated) Patron. What a fabulous episode. Peak Who. I am appalled to read here that many fans not only don't consider this a top episode, but feel just the opposite. It's not only great for the creativity as you said, and for how they combined so many wonderful elements. It's also exquisitely crafted. The wonderfully gentle music weaves the entire episode together into a single piece, twisting and surging in when needed to provide for action or tension or drama, and fading out to provide a gentle cushion to maintain the pacing of the story. The acting is top notch through and through for all parts. The plot is minimalist, revolving around a few key characters. Mickey's participation is perfectly woven in, and his growth is used as part of the pacing of the story. The set design is beautiful and elegant as is the sound design. Notice how the pitch, tone, and pacing of the voices work with the music and with the action. I could go on but I know @Jessie and others here have provided great tribute. For me this episode and School Reunion before it are when I began to accept David Tennant as the Doctor, after mourning the loss of Chris Eccleston who was an amazingly intense and powerful actor. Until now I kept being disappointed because Tennant didn't do what Eccleston could do, but in these two episodes Tennant instead just completely inhabited the part of the Doctor and made it his own. He didn't need to compete with Eccleston he was different and awesome. (specifically, I think Eccleston is an amazing individual actor who brings his A game to every scene, and whenever anyone shares a scene with him you can tell that they up their own game to bring their best to that scene. In contrast Tennant is a wonderful ensemble actor. Watch him during complicated scenes with multiple actors and see how he makes it all melt into a single chorus. I no longer need to measure him on an Eccleston scale because Tennant simply *is* the doctor and as you'll see he continues to provide iconic performances during his stint.)

casualnerdreactions
>>126181201

You summed up what I hope to take with me into each reincarnation of the doctor. The hope that they inhabit the character and make it their own, without comparing it to the previous iteration. As difficult as I'm sure that will be.

Thomas Midena

I'm also surprised to see others say this episode isn't generally liked by fans. I've always thought it's peak Who and everyone loved it. Top 30 episodes for me for sure (and that's saying something!).

Jimmi

This "isn't liked by fans" thing surprises me... It's either a misunderstanding or some extreme later revisionism that I'm not privy to. 🙂 So, just to check my own memory from 2006, I dug up Moffat's own reaction to fan response shortly after the episode was first broadcast - posted on the largest fan forum at that time ("Outpost Gallifrey"), back when he was an active participant there. In usual tongue-in-cheek fashion: "Still quite surprised how well it's gone down as an episode. I thought I'd get lynched, but this is good too." "Gone down well" probably took the award for best understatement that year - and this on a forum that was famously described as detrimental to self-esteem by Russell T. Davies and Murray Gold, among others. Sure, some disliked or even hated the episode. Someone always does. But also, find any later poll-based list of best episodes of New Who (no, obviously don't - spoilers 😉) and it'll be there - often even in the top 3. Sure, some of that may be rose-tinted glasses, but Girl in the Fireplace *is* an imaginative, fun, different, slightly clever, and yet also heartfelt story. Yeah, I still love it. 😁 Maybe not in *my* top 3 - but probably top 10 and definitely top 20. Gold's music, as usual, reflects how the episode stands out: For "special" stories like this one, he tends to deliver a more "personal" (for lack of a better word), more intimate score with instrumentation or a concept that's relatively detached from the style he's otherwise established for the rest of the series. Unfortunately, since most of the music for this one wasn't recorded with orchestra, most of it also never saw an official soundtrack release. And, of course, Sophia Myles absolutely nails her part. 😁