Holistic Review: It feels like it should be a triumph on every level, yet it somehow doesn't quite click; even though it's a really cool episode with one of the scariest monsters yet, it fails to completely satisfy.

The Girl in the Fireplace is one of those episodes that probably should be an instant classic. It's got quite a lot going for it, which I shall discuss below, including some very unique features that help to make this episode feel special. But, disappointingly, it also falls down in a few key areas, making it a generally enjoyable episode but not a spectacular one. However, there's a whole lot to appreciate, so let's look on the bright side (which is considerable).

Probably the best part of this episode is the plot, which is simple yet elegant, and impressively original. I love the idea that these repair robots are so logical that they assume that since their ship is named the SS Madame de Pompadour, they must therefore need to use the brain of Mme de Pompadour; and because the ship is 32 years old, they need her 32-year-old brain. It's absolutely ludicrous, but it makes perfect sense in their warped little machine minds, so that's exactly what they're going to get. And it's beautifully foreshadowed throughout, such as their nonsensical-at-the-time line to Mme de Pompadour, "We are the same." Now, I'm not sure how exactly they were able to disguise themselves in French finery without the assistance of the crew, but that's not a big point. I also love the fact that this story is told simultaneously in the 51st century and the 18th; there's never been anything quite like it before in the history of Doctor Who, and although the idea of the time windows feels familiar somehow (perhaps it's the short story in which different incarnations of the Doctor visit a sick little girl throughout her life), it's really fun to watch them used to such good narrative effect.

Then we have the clockwork androids, which are hands-down some of the creepiest monsters ever in Doctor Who. I was terrified of them from the first glimpse I got in the Radio Times cover; in a way, I almost wish I hadn't seen them in advance, because man, they would've seriously creeped me out with no forewarning. Even knowing full well what they looked like, I still got a chill down my spine the first time we saw one's face onscreen. There's something about those big black eyes and the evil sneer they wear on their incredibly detailed masks, not to mention the creepy clockwork sound they make (à la Justin Richards' ninth-Doctor novel The Clockwise Man, albeit much much better) and the mechanical way they move (in particular, the way they tilt their heads). Freaky!!! And as if that weren't bad enough all by itself, guess what they want to do to you? Oh, they want to vivisect you with their blade attachments and pull out your organs to repair their ship! Good heavens... freaky, freaky, freaky. I actually would love to see the clockwork androids come back, even though I know there's no chance of it. But man, they're good monsters.

The Girl in the Fireplace also benefits from its emphasis on character and relationships, which gives it a very sweet air. Tennant and Myles, of course, get the bulk of it, and it's easy to see why the two of them became a couple in real life; they've got powerful chemistry. However, it all feels a bit rushed to me; I mean, I know Madame de Pompadour was basically raised to be a courtesan, but hello: you meet your childhood hero again (childhood hero, now!) and the first thing you think to do is get him in a makeout session?! Well, I mean, it is David Tennant, but still! And then she's all flirtatious and innuendo-laden with him... it makes her seem like quite the little harlot! Now, the really sad thing about Mme de Pompadour is that I don't really feel like I got to know her as a person. That was one thing that I thought was really cool about this episode; it features, front-and-center, a historical figure that I know nothing about. And I learned about her, yes, but mostly what the Doctor told me; I never saw it for myself, aside from witnessing how congenial and clever she was. All the facets that made Mme de Pompadour who she was were kind of shoved aside in order to tell this little love story. Which I'll get back to. So that was rather a shame. Nevertheless, those reservations aside, the two of them do a great job of selling it, and I adored Myles from her line "You do not appear to have aged a single day. That is tremendously impolite of you." I think it's really cool that Mme de Pompadour is so very competent, and so very unshocked by what she learns from the Doctor, that she's able to waltz right into his mind as easily as he does to hers. No wonder they bonded so quickly; she must know more about the Doctor than anyone. And she really understands the explanations that are given to her, despite her lack of futuristic savvy; she really would have made a great companion. (But why is it that she never actually gets to wear a pompadour?) Tennant, of course, is thoroughly enjoyable. I especially liked that even though the Doctor kisses Mme de Pompadour, he looks suitably awkward about it (amusingly, in this case, time travel really is like visiting Paris, and the Doctor certainly does end up kissing complete strangers!). Now, his little drunk act nearly derailed the whole show for me, but fortunately it was revealed to be just an act (phew!). I still find it kind of cringeworthy, but it's a lot more acceptable as a ruse to put the enemy off their guard (although, they are made of gears and cogs, would they really have known the difference between drunk and sober?).

With the Doctor and Mme de Pompadour hogging the spotlight, Rose and Mickey don't get a whole lot to do. On one hand, I love their cute, warm banter and the whole scene in which they immediately run to do exactly what the Doctor tells them not to ("Now you're getting it!"); but on the other hand, their relationship is oddly amiable after the way Rose was rolling her eyes hither and thither at the end of School Reunion. Apparently Moffat didn't realize exactly how the previous story ended when he wrote his, but I'm surprised somebody didn't catch it in editing, because it makes for a rather jarring switch, when you think they're going to come out catfighting and they come out cuddling instead. (That's certainly not a bad thing, in terms of enjoyability to watch; I like to think of this episode as showing a glimpse of how well they will get along, in the future.) But, again, both actors are enjoyable. Billie does an excellent job of looking really jumpy as Rose gingerly tries to open the hatch inside the ship, and I love watching her face as Rose puts two and two together and realizes what the eye and the heart aboard the ship meant. Also, for once, Rose actually shows a bit of humility and decorum when conversing with an important historical figure. And I found myself particularly warming to Mickey in this episode, from his very in-character description of space as "so realistic!", to his startled little "eep!" as the eye-camera lunges at him, to the very sensitive way he says "Come on, Rose. It's time you showed me around the rest of this place." to give the Doctor a bit of alone-time at the end. Every week, these days, I marvel at how much I'm liking him.

Now, as I've mentioned, I had some minor quibbles with the way some of the characters were portrayed, but that wouldn't have put a serious damper on my enjoyment of the story. What does put a damper on it is the ending! All this time we've been building up to a very sweet story between the Doctor and Mme de Pompadour, and we never... quite... get there. Until the end, when he offers her a ride in the TARDIS, and she rushes to the window looking all excited. The next thing we know, it's years later, the Doctor never came for her... she must have been so forlorn, and I wonder just how long she stood at that window, desperately waiting for him to reappear. It's absolutely heartbreaking, especially as I would have loved to see her get to take a trip in the TARDIS. So then, the Doctor gets her letter, which says that she's dying and hopes so much to see him one last time. Now, this is where the episode could have really put me through the wringer: had the Doctor gone back to see her, and said his final goodbyes, I would've been torn up. Had he perhaps taken her off for one trip in the TARDIS, to show her the wonders of the universe before she died, I probably would have been in tears. But what does he do? He deactivates the last link, and then mopes around in the console room looking all lonely and sad. And... that's it!!! OH my goodness, how utterly frustrating! He could very easily have slipped back to some point in between her writing of the letter and her death, as long as she never mentioned it to Louis. I mean, at least let her know what happened, so she doesn't think she's just been abandoned. Maybe his reason for not doing so hearkens back to the last episode, but I still find it utterly infuriating, and his lack of action really kind of spoils the episode for me. Isn't that sad? But I'm really disappointed.

So, those are all of my big thoughts out of the way: some really cool elements, but a couple of little things that really sunk it for me. Some less-big thoughts follow.

As the other actors go, I was really fond of Jessica Atkins as the young Reinette. For whatever reason, I loved her diction, and she just oozed cute, in a mature kind of way. It was like, when you looked at her, you thought: here is a young girl who knows who she is, and what she wants, and is very self-assured while still being sweet and innocent. Great performance. I adored the fact that the Doctor thought she would be scared of the clockwork androids, but she confronted them voluntarily without batting an eyelid (which is certainly better than I would have done in her place!). And of course Arthur the horse is just lovely.

Dear Murray Gold deserves his own paragraph this time. His music in this episode was really just spectacular, all the way through. It's not a score that jumps out at you, but it feels so right, and accents the story perfectly. So many good moments throughout, it's hard to single any out, but I loved the carnival-style music that plays as the Doctor confronts the clockwork androids on their ship.

Euros Lyn does another great directing job here. I've already mentioned the first shot of the clockwork android standing behind Reinette (shudder, shudder), but I also love the subtle earlier shot of Reinette reflected in the mirror as the Doctor stands silhouetted in the window. The reveal of Mme de Pompadour's portrait behind the TARDIS is also a nice touch (reminiscent of Paradise Towers).

The ship has a really interesting design, with its rotating square ends - a nice touch for an episode that's doing everything else differently too! The androids' teleportation effect is also quite nice. And, man, how about that horse-jumping-through-a-mirror effect? It looks absolutely seamless, although I don't quite get why they chose to replay the beginning of it. Maybe they were just so chuffed with how well it turned out, they couldn't resist. And who could blame them? Whomever was responsible for the design and costuming of the androids, too, deserves all praise for making them so very creepy (and lovingly detailed; I love the cracked-paint-looking masks)! Not to mention the tons of decadent vintage-style French costumes.

Minor points:

• The TARDISODE for this episode was the best yet, showing the ship being crippled by the ion storm, and the androids beginning to harvest the crew... shudder. Very nicely done.

• Okay... they make such a big deal out of this in the story, but I really don't get it. Why exactly does the broken clock at the start of the story mean that the Doctor is coming? Yes, I get that the androids break the clocks in the room when they're trying to carry out covert surveillance; but in this case, they were coming en masse to fetch her, so there wasn't any need for that kind of advance clock-smashing. Also, I got the impression that this was the same clock that was broken at the very beginning; so is that clock just attuned to the androids and always breaks now when it's in the presence of one? I kept expecting us to at least get a line in which the Doctor says "The clockface will break again when the androids teleport to Versailles" or something to give us a hint of an explanation, but nothing ever came! So how does a broken clock face automatically equal trouble? And if it wasn't broken before the androids came, what caused it to break?

• What's up with that Wichita Falls T-shirt? Have the Doctor and Rose been to Texas lately?

• The moment Rose uttered the line "Someone's cooking" (how very apt), I knew we were in for badness. But I definitely didn't expect them to wait and spring the badness on us half an episode later - nice pacing.

• Love this line of Mickey's... yeah, like that's the hardest thing ever. Reticulans have nothing on Parisians!

  Rose: "That's the TARDIS, translates for ya."
  Mickey: "Even French?!"

• Now, here's a little mystery. Between the first glimpse the Doctor gets of Reinette and the time he enters her bedroom via the fireplace (there's a phrase I've never written before), months pass on Reinette's side but the Doctor et al. are standing in front of the magic door the entire time. So... how does the android get into Reinette's room? It must have got in via the fireplace portal, too, which means that it's just been hiding under her bed patiently scanning her brain for the past few weeks until the Doctor thought to look under the duvet?

• However, a really scary line, well delivered (poor kiddies):

  Doctor: "Stay on the bed, right in the middle. Don't put your hands or feet over the edge."

• And a lovely exchange, one of those classic lines that really deserved to be used in the TV show:

  Reinette: "What do monsters have nightmares about?"
  Doctor: "Me! Ha!"

• Giggle, giggle, funny line and great Tennant delivery:

  Rose: "No, you're not keeping the horse."
  Doctor: "I let you keep Mickey! Now go, go, go!"

• And Noel Clarke gives an absolutely fantastic delivery of this line:

  Rose: "Oh, Cleopatra, he mentioned her once."
  Mickey: "Yeah, but he called her Cleo."

• Knowing Moffatt's intended metaphor, this exchange suddenly struck fear into my very heart:

  Mme de Pompadour: "Dance with me."
  Doctor: "I can't!"
  Mme de Pompadour: "Dance with me!"
  Doctor: "This is the night you dance with the King."

  And then she persuades him that even lonely little boys have to learn to dance sometime, and leads him off by the hand... yipes! What are we supposed to assume they got up to, anyway?! (even if the ninth Doctor's claims that, in 900 years, he had danced once or twice, are true, I still find this a bit alarming.)

• What's up with all the quotables suddenly? (And the Doctor's right, she does.)

  Rose: "Oh, look at what the cat dragged in. The Oncoming Storm."
  Doctor: "Oh, you sound just like your mother."

• And this week's Line I Just Don't Get:

  Doctor: (dumping multi-grade anti-oil over android's head) "If it moves, it doesn't."

• Here Madame de Pompadour echoes Sarah Jane Smith a little too strongly for my liking:

  Mme de Pompadour: "You and I both know, don't we, Rose, the Doctor is worth the monsters."

• Awesome creepy line:

  Mme de Pompadour: "I have seen your world, and I have no desire to set foot there again."
  Clockwork Man: "We do not require your feet."

• I don't quite get, though, why these ultra-logical robots, who have done everything so far just because they believed it was the only necessary way, then hesitate when the time comes to finally harvest Mme de Pompadour's brain. She seems to believe that they're sadistic creatures who like to try to frighten her, but that's clearly ridiculous. (Isn't it?)

• "How many ticks left in that clockwork heart, huh?" asks the Doctor. "A day? An hour?" Weeeeeeell, try more like 15 seconds. (And I love his multi-layered line, "I'm not winding you up.")

• It's really noble and all of the Doctor to go leaping through the mirror to save Mme de Pompadour's life, and he's very humble about having trapped himself in the past just for her, but what he doesn't seem to realize is that he's also basically doomed Rose and Mickey by stranding them on a derelict spaceship with no way of getting back home. Nice one! Jackie would be proud.

• Madame de Pompadour here begins to show flashes of unnatural brilliance, in which she has apparently read the next few pages of the script and knows that the Doctor will be perfectly able to leave her. (Which begs the question, if she knew he had a way back, why did she wait so long to tell him that?) And the whole bit of conversation leading up to this moment feels awkwardly-scripted to me... another of those "it sounds good, but what on earth does any of it mean?" bits.

• As Madame de Pompadour shows the Doctor her rebuilt fireplace, it looks as though you can see the spaceship set on the other side. Which makes me wonder: is the time portal always open? What happens when she puts the fire out? Could she just crawl through onto the spaceship? Or can she only see through the portal when there's somebody on the other side talking to her?

All in all, a really cool experiment with a fun plot, great monsters and a nice stab at a good emotional story; but a slightly sweeter ending and maybe a little more script polishing would have helped it no end.