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dbskylerContinuing on with the third entry in my list of my 10 favorite Tenth Doctor episodes (going in broadcast order), it's "Girl in the Fireplace"!
While "School Reunion" gets the credit for getting me into New Who (strictly speaking, it was the first New Who episode I saw that I actually enjoyed watching), it was "Girl in the Fireplace" that turned me into an obsessed fan. While the episode has a lot of my favorite Classic Who strengths (mix of history and sci-fi, humor and adventure and a strong "what the hell is going on?" plot), it also did things that would never, ever have happened in Classic Who, and did them so well, I was completely sold. Finally, the episode turned me into a huge Tenth Doctor fan, although it still took me awhile to figure out that the Tenth Doctor wasn't the Doctor I'd seen back in "Rose."
My favorite parts:
While there are tons of things that I love about this episode -- the whole juxtaposition of 18th century France and a 51st century spaceship, the incredibly clever plot, the wonderfully written and portrayed Reinette -- it's the sad ending that absolutely, completely blew me away. I don't think I'd been that shocked by a Doctor Who ending since "Earthshock," and this was a lot more poignant, at least for me. ("Earthshock" seemed to be more about the shock, IMO, than the emotional reaction.) After watching the character of the Doctor since childhood, I felt like I was suddenly given a completely different view into him, and a really interesting, amazing view at that, one that I was eager to see more of.
It's hard for me to list my favorite moments since I basically love it all, but here's what particularly stands out:
-- finding an 18th century French girl in a fireplace on a 51st century spaceship
-- the time windows, and jumping through Reinette's life, and, well, pretty much the whole plot -- with the final reveal about the ship's name being one of the cleverest things I've ever seen in a TV show, ever
-- the telepathy scene with Reinette, where she turns the tables on the Doctor -- so well played. "There comes a time, Time Lord, when every lonely little boy must learn how to dance" -- I love that line, and I love what it says about the Doctor.
-- the "slow path" conversation between the Doctor and Reinette
-- when the Doctor goes back for Reinette, but he's too late -- oh, that whole scene with the king, and then when he tells Rose he's "all right," and then reads the letter -- it was all just heartbreaking, and the type of thing that, truthfully, I hadn't realized was even possible to do with Doctor Who, let alone do as well as it was done here. Gorgeous writing, gorgeous acting, just gorgeous all the way around.
Next up: Army of Ghosts / Doomsday (yes, I'm counting them as one episode)
While "School Reunion" gets the credit for getting me into New Who (strictly speaking, it was the first New Who episode I saw that I actually enjoyed watching), it was "Girl in the Fireplace" that turned me into an obsessed fan. While the episode has a lot of my favorite Classic Who strengths (mix of history and sci-fi, humor and adventure and a strong "what the hell is going on?" plot), it also did things that would never, ever have happened in Classic Who, and did them so well, I was completely sold. Finally, the episode turned me into a huge Tenth Doctor fan, although it still took me awhile to figure out that the Tenth Doctor wasn't the Doctor I'd seen back in "Rose."
My favorite parts:
While there are tons of things that I love about this episode -- the whole juxtaposition of 18th century France and a 51st century spaceship, the incredibly clever plot, the wonderfully written and portrayed Reinette -- it's the sad ending that absolutely, completely blew me away. I don't think I'd been that shocked by a Doctor Who ending since "Earthshock," and this was a lot more poignant, at least for me. ("Earthshock" seemed to be more about the shock, IMO, than the emotional reaction.) After watching the character of the Doctor since childhood, I felt like I was suddenly given a completely different view into him, and a really interesting, amazing view at that, one that I was eager to see more of.
It's hard for me to list my favorite moments since I basically love it all, but here's what particularly stands out:
-- finding an 18th century French girl in a fireplace on a 51st century spaceship
-- the time windows, and jumping through Reinette's life, and, well, pretty much the whole plot -- with the final reveal about the ship's name being one of the cleverest things I've ever seen in a TV show, ever
-- the telepathy scene with Reinette, where she turns the tables on the Doctor -- so well played. "There comes a time, Time Lord, when every lonely little boy must learn how to dance" -- I love that line, and I love what it says about the Doctor.
-- the "slow path" conversation between the Doctor and Reinette
-- when the Doctor goes back for Reinette, but he's too late -- oh, that whole scene with the king, and then when he tells Rose he's "all right," and then reads the letter -- it was all just heartbreaking, and the type of thing that, truthfully, I hadn't realized was even possible to do with Doctor Who, let alone do as well as it was done here. Gorgeous writing, gorgeous acting, just gorgeous all the way around.
Next up: Army of Ghosts / Doomsday (yes, I'm counting them as one episode)