Episode #174 : The Girl in the Fireplace

The Doctor: Don't worry Reinette, it's just a nightmare. Everyone has nightmares; even big scary monsters from under the bed have nightmares, don't you, monster?

Reinette: What do monsters have nightmares about?

The Doctor: Me! Ha!

Episode 174:   The Girl in the Fireplace.
Companions:   10th Doctor and Rose Tyler.
Air Date:         6th May 2006.

For their first trip with Mickey, the Tenth Doctor and Rose end up on a space ship in the future that contains several portals to pre-Revolutionary France. When he steps through one of these portals, shaped like a fireplace, the Doctor discovers the even greater mystery of actual, romantic love.

The Girl in the Fireplace is a story that I find a little surreal. It features clockwork robots wearing 18th century clothing, a space ship repaired with human body parts and an underlying sense of just oddness. It doesn't feel quite right for some reason. However, it is an entertaining story.

One thing that doesn't quite work is the Doctor. We are supposed to believe that he has strong feelings for Rose and yet falls in love with Madame de Pompadour to the point of being willing to be stuck in the 18th century with her. Feels out of character. Then there is the question of when did he develop this level of telepathy that he can put his hands on a person's head and read their minds?

The overall concepts of the story work and I can forgive the few oddities because it is Steven Moffet. It looks good, there is just the right sort of interaction between the time travellers and the angst of having to explain things to someone who probably can't quite grasp the concept of time travel. Otherwise there isn't much to this adventure and it is simply typical of the direction for the new show.