REACTION | DOCTOR WHO | 2x4 | The Girl in the Fireplace
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- SPOILER NOTICE: As of the time this episode is being released on UA-cam, the most recent full reaction released on Patreon is episode 6x4; The Doctor's Wife. NO SPOILERS (or any hints or details) past that episode unless you see later episodes have been released.
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I do not own the rights to the Doctor Who footage. It is being used under the Fair Use Act and has been shortened significantly, is taking up only 25% of the screen, and has been altered (cut, blacked out, blurred, and/or silenced) in order to honor the Fair Use Guidelines. All rights go to BBC Studios.
Credit: BBC Studios
Original Network: BBC One
Viewed on: HBO Max
Website: www.bbc.co.uk/...
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Madame De Pompadour is definitely the best companion that never was. Sophia Myles gave an amazing performance!
One of the best in Tennant’s era.
“God speed my lonely angel” still gets the tears flowing for me.
I completely agree!
I couldn’t agree more. It’s still hard for me not to cry every time I watch this episode.
This is the beginning of a couple of Steven Moffat's ongoing themes when he eventually takes over as showrunner: the mystery of the Doctor's true name, and - something that had been oddly absent from a show about a time traveler - the actual use of time travel in the plot as opposed to just a way of getting from one setting to another.
The original series didn't actually use Time Travel inside each story... with the reason offered that the TARDIS was not terribly reliable - probably to avoid the question of - that's a time machine - we lost, but can't we just go back 5 minutes and save the day?! (IE a certain main character's death... although in that case the Doctor explained it as some rules cannot be broken...)
@@johnlarro6872 The TARDIS isn't reliable? She always took the Doctor where he needed to be! She even pointed this out, herself.
@@robertmartin9029 Well Moffat may have romanticised the TARDIS in such a way, but in the original era it was often stated that the TARDIS was unreliable. It was very much the running gag for 26 years - except when the story needed it.
@@johnlarro6872 There were a few, but not many. The Ark, City of Death, Mawdryn Undead
@@simongiles9749 Technically Delta & the Bannermen, but we can all just forget that one ;)
17:40 Hey Brittany, this is my favorite episode of the season. Although i wish the Doctor had a time machine, on the Space ship, so he could go back in time, before she died, to take her to see the Stars.
Oh well. 😸, most reactors don't see the irony, of that fact. LoL ✌️
I've watched Doctor Who since the late 70s, and this is one of my all time favourite episodes. Top 5 if not higher. It's beautifully crafted, acted, produced. Hearing a few years later that Moffat was taking over as showrunner, based on this (and his other stories to that point) made it feel as though WHO was in very safe hands...
Moffat has been my favorite Who writer since this second series, so I was excited to hear that he had a turn at being showrunner. I know a lot of people don't like his era, but I'm in series 6 and loving it so far. :)
@@BritanyBinges Oh! and - keep your feet fully on the bed indeed! I've always kept myself fully on my mattress - long before this episode, but it was a great example of how Doctor Who loves to take something "every day" and make it scary...
This episode was written by Steven Moffat who also wrote The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. His episodes are my favourites of the David Tennant era even though I usually hate jump scares!
I'm the same. I don't like to be scared, but Moffat is by far my favorite writer on the show. It makes zero sense. lol
@@BritanyBinges Moffat is both my favorite writer and showrunner. He’ll scare the life out of you, make you laugh, make you cry… the man just knows good storytelling and even his side characters are always well written. Hope you’re enjoying Series 6! It’s one of my favorites. The over-arching plots are genius.
@@Jim_The_Fish I completely agree! I'm four episodes into series four and loving it so far. It had the strongest opening story yet! :)
The monster under the bed was always my greatest fear at night as a kid and I love a good time travel story AND historicals so this episode is one of my favourites!
Moffat is great at self contained stories and absolutely garbage as a showrunner.
They answered "Why her?"
You must've just missed it. When the TARDIS vanished at the end, there was z plaque with the ship's name behind it.
Madam De Pompadore
I saw the name, I just don't feel like that was a good enough/full explanation.
@@BritanyBinges The robots were so stupid, they destroyed the entire purpose of the ship in order to repair it. The logical leap that goes “We need a computer, only the ship’s namesake will do, and only then, when she’s the exact age of the ship...”
It’s the only explanation.
@@BritanyBinges They were looking for "compatible" parts, but were somewhat stupid. They thought the "part" for the ship's brain needed to have the same name and age. If the ship's brain were functioning it would have known better, but alas it was broken and it was left to the robots.
I liked how unimpressed Rose seemed by the 'magic door' remark. :D
Apparently RTD forgot to tell Moffat that Rose was supposed to be upset about Mickey joining the team and by the time everybody found out it was too late to do anything about it.
To be honest, I prefer it with her being excited for him. One of her defining characteristics is that she’s “wonderfully selfish”, as RTD himself put it, and you can definitley see her wanting to keep the Doctor all to herself - but at this point she’d already tried to convince both the Doctor and Mickey that he should join them. You can maybe see it as being her not wanting to share the Doctor and their adventures, but I think it makes more sense for her to want to be able to have both of them at her disposal and to have someone that she can be senior to in the same way she was with Adam.
RTD did many re-writes during his tenure. He certainly could have re-written a few lines to fix that. I thought the Doctor/Reinette romance was more problematic.
Ah, I wondered if that might have been the case! Rose seemed absolutely fine with him being there this episode.
@@sallyatticum not if they didn't have time
@@sallyatticum Moffat was one of the writers that RTD never re-wrote. Nobody who had previously been a showrunner on something got rewritten.
@@7rollface One director said on a commentary that Moffat occasionally had to be reined in.
10:59 i think he flipped all the switches as he was dancing and talking and acting like he was drunk so the droids would not be suspicious
David Tennant is in Casanova mode for a lot of this episode
He had some practice. He played Casanova in a mini series in 2005.
Amazing Stephen Moffat episode, genuinely wonderful, heroic and heartbreaking.
Completely agree! :)
One of New Who’s greatest moments. Tennant & Sophia Myles have great chemistry (obviously).
And the concepts are brilliant, the robots creepy and to use the life of a well-known historical figure was a genius move and then to link it to the spaceship. Fabulous 10/10
There’s an official 2.5 minute short that follows up on this episode. It’s called “Doctor Who Lockdown: Pompadour”. One of several shorts made by the cast and writers at home during the Covid lockdown.
I haven't seen it (just learned about after this reaction came out here on UA-cam), but it's definitely on my list to check out. Thanks! :)
This is why I really hope Moffat & RTD combine again on the new series. I literally can't think of another writer during the RTD era - including RTD - with a stronger body of work!
Paul Cornell wants a word
@@mrdr0161 I think a large part of his contribution to Dr Who was 'off-screen' but "Fathers Day" and "Family of Blood" are definitely two of the stronger RTD stories. Having said that, I think "Empty Child" and "Blink" are the hi-lights of those series.
This is one of the first episodes of this show I watched as a kid. I've had a fear of the sound of analogue clocks ever since. My brother used to have one that hung on the wall between our rooms and I remember sneaking into his room to take it down and remove the batteries whenever I could hear it while trying to sleep at night.
Oh, no! Isn't it wild how things like this from our childhood can have such an unintended and lasting impact? I have the same thing with the Chucky doll (and, subsequently all dolls).
(Britany Binges says she is on S6 on patreon so therefore this comment is not a spoiler for her, but if anyone is watching along with her here on YT then read this comment no further)
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Steven Moffat loves to make people scared of everyday objects - from ticking clocks, to statues, or even cracks in walls
So the reason it chose her is that the ship, of which those droids were a part, was her name sake: SS Madame De Pompadour. The ship breaks down for whatever reason, and needs new parts, thus it uses the crew as a substitute. In its own logic, it recognises the REAL Madame De Pompadour as the perfect replacement for the main computer, and so opens time windows in order to extract it. Because of the way it processes logic, the ship, which is 37 years old at the time when the TARDIS lands, believes that it needs a part of a similar age to be compatible (just like how when you need a replacement part for a machine, usually the newer ones have a different fitting or something that makes them incompatible), and thus they are waiting for her to turn 37. I loved this episode as a kid, cause Sophia Myles was in the Thunderbirds movie, which, despite being panned by a lot of people, was a favourite of mine, and I loved her role in it!
Thanks for this! I did eventually get there on why here specifically. I do think they should have included a quick line about it though.
@@BritanyBinges I think the shot at the end where it shows the name of the ship is meant to be the line you're looking for, but it's easily missed
@@kennethiain Yeah, I definitely get it now. But, I do think there should have been just a bit more of an actual explanation. Don't get me wrong. It's a great story and episode (it's still one of my favorites), but the overall explanation for everything is a little lacking/rushed.
@@BritanyBinges Yeah I get that! BLAME MOFFAT 😂
Seen this many times and still had tears at the end. More to come 😊
When I was editing this video, it was actually the 3rd time I had seen this episode, and it got me again as well. :(
Also a really great piece of music by Murray Gold at the end.
This episode is so great. Such an unexpected bit of heartbreak and creepy, and incredible monsters.
I completely agree! :)
A brilliant, brilliant, brilliant episode, and definitely in my top 3. So glad you enjoyed, and the tears are great.
I don't notice anyone saying, but Sophia Myles might look familiar from the show Moonlight if you have seen it. She stared in it. She also played Isolde in Tristan and Isolde and a background character in Underworld. There was another series she stared in if I recall, but I cannot remember the name.
I remember, during the lockdown in 2020 they did a minisode about this episode it was good.
The first episode of Doctor Who that transcends the show. I think even someone who has no interest in Doctor Who or sci-fi would admit this is a great episode
There's definitely going to be a recurring theme of Moffat episodes being creepy and stand-out great.
This is one of my favorites, and I kind of think it's a good episode to show people who haven't seen the show before. It's one I do rewatch, and the guest actress does an amazing job. And that last shot with the reveal of the name of the ship... just floating out there... oof! So good. That's why it was her.
5:26 Girl in the Fireplace is my most favourite episode of Doctor Who of all time and as far as I am concerned, it's David Tennant's best as The Doctor. Good acting. Beautiful soundtrack. David Tennant and his real-life girlfriend at the time Sophia Myles had good chemistry. I was really moved by the ending. One of the saddest and most heart-breaking scenes from Doctor Who. The Girl in the Fireplace is a timeless classic and British drama at its finest and it's best.
So glad you love this episode as well. It's definitely one of my favorites so far. :)
Ths is a brilliant episode. Brave choice of you to watch a Moffat episode not expecting horror and emotions lmao, but yeah I reckon you've likely long been told this on the Patreon but the reveal of the ship sharing her name is supposed to explain why she was being targeted as the robots were clearly malfunctioning and so the reason they were targeting her at age 37 was because the ship shared her name and was 37 years old, so by their logic they thought she must have the compatible "parts"
One of my favourite episodes of this series. It certainly gets the emotion flowing. Look forward to your next episode! :)
One of the very best doctor who episodes
Hands down the best episode of Doctor Who. Outstanding writing and acting, and the best score so far from Murray Gold. Was looking forward to you reviewing this one!
I have it in second place to Heaven Sent (and ironically feel like that has the best Murray Gold score), but they're both nearly in a tier of their own. Those two plus Blink, Human Nature/Family of Blood, Silence/Forest, Midnight and The Eleventh Hour are the top for me.
This is one of everyone's favorites!
You know by know, but re-watch the last 5 seconds of the show to see why they wanted HER.
Lovely reaction, thank you :)
Early on, Rose mentions 'going out for a fag' - 'fag' is a slang term among smokers for a cigarette - if you ever watch old British shows, you'll sometimes hear someone talk of a 'packet of fags'.
(I noticed you looked a little puzzled when she said this) 🙂
So glad you enjoyed the reaction! I do know that it's slang for cigarette. The confusion was just for the general situation of them being on a ship that seemed deserted.
I recall someone saying that the actress that played Mme de Pompadour was at the time dating David... Which makes the scenes so much sweeter 🥺🌹
I heard that as well. It certainly explains the chemistry they had. :)
They actually met (well, RE-met, as they'd briefly met on another show a few years before, but she'd given him the cold shoulder) while making this episode and starting dating soon after. You can definitely see the immediate chemistry and, in the behind the scenes bits, you can really tell they're totally into one another. Such a cute couple!
This and Steven Moffats previous story (Empty child/Doctor dances) are completely different but (and this is not a criticism as I love both) they are basically both the same idea. Machines doing what they were programmed to do, but not necessarily what their programmers intended.
Yeah, I would say a lot of Doctor Who episodes could fit that general mold. For example, I just released The Curse of the Black Spot from series 6 over on Patreon last Friday, and I feel like that's a similar theme.
Video idea: Compilation of all the time you have cried watching Doctor Who
I'm pretty sure that would be like an 8-hour video. lol
Doctor Who Lockdown Pompadour (on UA-cam) is a direct continuation of the Girl in the Fireplace episode with Sophia Myles who played Madame de Pompadour in the episode highly recommend you watch it and yes you will need tissues.
keep up the fantastic work 🍻
Oooh, I haven't heard about this one! I'll definitely have to check it out. Thanks! :)
@@BritanyBinges The Doctor Who lockdown channel released a bunch of cool shorts during covid.
@@dupersuper1938 Thanks for the reminder about that
Tennant was dating Sophia Myles (Reinette) when they made this episode.
I didn't know that at the time (obviously), but it definitely explains the chemistry between these two characters.
Only to later marry his own daughter instead...
@@BritanyBinges No, they started dating after this. They talk about it on the commentary track.
The ship is called the SS Madame du Pampudore, which is why the robots targeted Renette because their faulty logic convinced them that only the brain of the woman the ship was named after could be used to fly it again.
I just found your videos and I am loving them. I am am a huge fan of doctor who and i love your honest reactions. The suprise and joy and fear on your face and tears in the touching moments, are so beautiful to watch because it is such hinest emotion. It reminds me of how i reacted when i first saw the episodes. Oh and near the beginning of this episode when Rose said," well we're in outerspace so they didn't just nip out for a quick fag" that means a cigarette. That is what they call them in England.
Thank you for this! 💙 I'm so glad you're loving the reactions and that you appreciate the honest emotions that go into them. Now that I'm current with the show on Patreon and waiting for new episodes just like everyone else, I can promise you there will be plenty more shocked faces, jump scares, and tears to come. lol
Whatever jealousy Rose had with Mickey now on board, it faded once she realized she could be Mickey's mentor in time travel.
How many other shows can have you go from yelping in terror to needing a tissue from crying in under an hour?
With laughing in between:
"...even French!?"
"...always wait 5 1/2 hours"
"... what do monsters have nightmares about?" "Me!"
I realize I'm well and truly late to the party with these but I'm enjoying your reactions a great deal and had an extra blast with this episode both because it is so good but also with you jumping every time the masks showed up I kept laughing at the thought that your afraid of "The French". 🤣🤣
Doctor isn't stranded there for hundreds of years - the first doctor will arrive with his Tardis in the serial 'Reign of Terror'. Ten could've set a timer on the younger Tardis to send his back to him.
Among the best episodes of the season. She is so good.
This is an episode I love more as I get older. I liked it as a kid but I appreciate the plot more as an adult.
This episode was also Written by Steven Moffat who wrote the Empty Child and would later go on to be showrunner starting with Matt Smith. Everyone of his epiosdes before he was showrunner are smash hits and usually seen by fans as fantastic.
Moffat is my favorite writer on this show. I'm four episodes into series 6, but I'm loving his time as showrunner so far. :)
@@BritanyBinges I agree and disagree. Russel T. Davies (Sereis 1 - 4 showrunner) is my favourite as that is my favoure era of the show but that is largely nostalgia and nothing will ever top my 6 - 11 year old excitement for the show. But I love Moffat's writing. I didn't mean to say he was a bad showrunner at all, just that his four stories he did before being show runner were all 10/10 as he could spend more time on one story. But he definitly has some excellent episodes you have yet to see that I wouldn't dream of spoiling.
Ah yes, the episode with Schrodinger's farewell note. Where Reinette had both gone on many adventures with the doctor after this episode, yet also never met him again. The moment the doctor read the note cemented the fact that they never met again...
Nah, the doctor could not go back and save her, even without the note, crossing into established events is strictly forbidden
@@harish123az But the events weren't established until the note confirmed them.
@@DurgisFlak Events were established by the doctor being there in all those moments (however i understand where you are coming from, you are saying in between those moments they could have had secret travels, fair enough)
@@harish123az I'm refering to the 4 - 5 years inbetween Reinette watching the Doctor pass through the fireplace again, and her death. He could have gone back to see her in that time with his regular time machine, but doesn't because he knows her doesn't. And he knows he doesn't because she basically tells him he doesn't in her note.
@@DurgisFlak Yes, I got that later, thanks, cool theory
"Even French?" LOL!!!! Safe guess before/as I watch that your tissues came out on *this* one!!! LOL!!! THANKS!!!! Yeah, *Tennant* really liked her too, as I'm sure you know by now... :)
Absolutely top-tier episode. One of the best.
One of my absolutes favourites
Mine as well. :)
i always liked the SS MADAME DE POMPADOUR reveal, the story wouldve been perfectly fine if the automatons just picked her out of the blue but their fixation on her being the brain to lead them in the absence of a crew was directly because of the vessel's name. i always found that neat
Great reaction, another great story by Steven moffatt
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it! And, I completely agree about this being another great Moffatt story! :)
This is my best friend's 1st favorite episode
11:28 The long way round.
This and Doomsday are easily the most emotional episodes of series 2.
What a fantastic episode and great reaction
Thanks, Clara!! :)
I don't have a lot to say about this one as it's not one of my favourites by any means but I always thought it was odd the psuedo-romance the doctor had was oddly placed during the heart of the Rose era.
Yes, that instantaneous romance and his seeming callousness in abandoning Rose and Mickey when he had no idea he could return to the ship were my only real problems with this episode. It really bothered me.
@Laura Kay my first instinct was that it would have been a better fit in series 3 but we already get the family of blood romance for the doctor, kind of.
This episode was originally written for Eccleston. It presumably would've been before the romantic connection between the Doctor and Rose would've been established, so it would've made more sense there.
@@bookswithike3256 I knew they were filmed and aired out of order, but I never heard it was written for Eccleston's Doctor. That's surprising.
While I'm honestly not at all a fan of the Rose/Ten romance, I do REALLY like this story's place in this season/series in that regard, especially because the Ten/Reinette romance serves as basically a microcosm of the Doctor/Rose romance.
If you think about it, even though the Doctor knows Rose for only about 2-3 years, compared to the very long life that he's lived by this point (thousands of years...seriously, not sure why the modern series went with him being 900 when the Seventh Doctor was canonically in his mid-900s, at least), that few years with Rose is ultimately much like only one day in his life. Very fleeting.
So this story is almost like seeing the Doctor's relationships with companions from HIS perspective, where it's just sadly super-short to him, but can also be very intense, as he can get attached very deeply quite quickly, but how ultimately he loses those people too quickly in the end.
It was a mirror that was being held up as a warning for Rose in a way (and a reminder for the Doctor), a warning about the tragic reality of having a relationship with the Doctor, but she didn't see that yet.
So, in that way, I find it perfectly placed in the Doctor/Rose story arc. 😃
This episode are very good (and I m not say that because I m French 😅)
And it s great reaction 😊😊
Merci! So glad you enjoyed it! :)
Never known anybody be this scared by this episode. Personally, I found The Impossible Planet to be the scariest of Series 2, when it came out.
I have a thing with dolls, mannequins, or anything similar to that. So, these especially got to me before it showed what they actually were.
A beautiful if scary tale, destined to stir all your emotions
fun and tears in the early days
This episode made me scared of ticking clocks for my entire childhood
I don't blame you!! 😳
Inspired by the Time Traveler's Wife.
I love this one.
It's hard to pick a favourite episode. This is not it but it's definitely up there.
My favourite is a coin toss between the doctors wife and silence in the library 2 parter.
I just released the full reaction for The Doctor's Wife over on Patreon yesterday. :) I did enjoy it, but it's not up there as one of my favorites. Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, however, is definitely one of my favorite stories so far.
@@BritanyBinges I'm a big old time sci gi nerd and reader and that just hits all the right points. Miss Evangalista is Elon Musks ex wife. He actually married her twice!
fun fact: sophia myles was david tennant’s girlfriend at the time of filming this
Not until after this... He talks about being nervous about working with her as they had met previously on Foyles War and she was not nice to him.
@@sallyatticum interesting, i had read that it was afterwards but thought it was just speculation. to me their chemistry seems just a bit TOO good for nothing to have happened beforehand
@@lydiarodgers I think David Tennant just has great chemistry with everyone...
I think it was good to have Mickey there so it wasn’t just rose and Renette.
Yeah, it would've been hard to have Rose in this episode as much as she was if she were on her own.
This is Moffatt first ever time ripping off the time traveler's wife, something he would do several times with Amy, river and Clara
If she didn't like the clockwork droids here, she'll hate Deep Breath.
I did find them creepy as well, but not quite as creepy as these.
This is my nieces favorite episode
I still don't know, why Doctor didn't visit madame Pompadour just with the tardis...just using time travel....
Sophia Myles and David Tennant were dating at the time.
As a man when we say im always allright its code for i need to be alone
Great reaction. This is probably a fan favourite episode, Rose would've been so intolerable if Reinette came along so, in a way, I'm glad she didn't.
So glad you enjoyed the reaction! Yeah, I'm not sure what Rose would've done if another female would've become an actual companion. She definitely wouldn't have been unbearable with Reinette. But, I think she could've made it work with someone like Donna.
Contender for my favourite episode.
The chemistry was real. Pretty sure they dated before he met his wife.
Best episode of Series 2. Creepy, emotional and very enjoyable.
Might be worth mentioning that 'fag' is British slang for 'cigarette'.
I know. I wouldn't have left that part in otherwise.
Why did The Doctor abandon Rose & Mickey on a spaceship?
Yeah, it is a bit odd for him to just leave them there without thoroughly checking the place out first. But, the plot needed it to happen. Lol
Moffat has said that he assumed people would remember that there was the Emergency Return Program that would get them back home in the TARDIS (which we saw in S1). So, the Doctor knew they were ultimately safe and that it was more important to fix all the mess with time that the Clockwork Droids were making. I doubt sincerely he ever meant for the Doctor to have abandoned them there without escape. 🤷
There's a list of things who fans are wary/jumpy around in life:
Statues
Animatronic
Dummies
Well, animatronics and dummies have always terrfied me sooo... lol
I totally forgot when I was talking smack about needing tissues during Girl in the Fireplace last week that this was the very next ep!
My favorite Rose era episode by quite a bit, and one of the best with Tennent. If only it had had one of those classic "Doctor Speeches" it would have ticked every box.
HAHA! Yeah, the streak didn't last very long. lol
I actually didn't like this one at all on first viewing. I've grown to like it a little more since but I still find it to be overrated, which is odd for me because I generally prefer Moffat to Davies. Everyone's tastes are different though!
Ngl given Rose and Mickey barely did anything, I hate the placement of this one and wish it was moved later or pre school reunion. Episode 11 scrapped and replaced with a other episode episode for the placement here
Great actors and a good premise but not one of my favourites as i'm not into the romantic aspects and i don't like seeing the Doctor fall in love i also hated the kissing scene because it's out of his character in my opinion i did like the clock robots and when The Doctor rides the horse through the mirror it was a cheesy but fun moment that was my favourite and most memorable part of the episode.
A very clever story, and one of the highlights in tennant’s first and weakest series imo. Im glad rose wasn’t grumpy about mickey tagging along in this one, that would have been so annoying. And it starts…every1 kissing the doctor 🙄🙄
I'd enjoy Moffat's episodes so much more if it weren't for the way he writes women... once you notice the pattern of gross misogyny it's so hard to look past... the concepts are cool and the dialogue is quick and witty but the characterization is always so... weird. Everything gets reduced down to "everybody wants to lick the Doctor's shoes, especially the ladies"... it's the biggest reason why I despise Moffat's era as showrunner and have personally shut everything to do with those Doctors and companions out of my brain...
If you enjoy it, good for you! There's always a lot to love about Doctor Who. This is just my own opinion.