Clockwork robots, a spaceship with doors to a French palace and a romance with Madame de Pompadour! What is going on? But the most pressing question is - Should Arthur the Horse have become a full-time companion?
Watch the episode on BBC iPlayer:
Or on DVD and Bluray:
Give our rating out of 10 below:
For a while this was my #1 favorite story and while a number of episodes have passed it since then, itās still probably a top 10 for me and I think might still be my favorite 10th Doctor episode. So much here that I love. The clockwork droids are probably my favorite monster of the show, with a design that is to me both beautiful and creepy. The romance element I love both on its own and in relation to the Doctor and Roseās romance and I think this episode sits wonderfully next to School Reunion in examining the realities of what that romance really means. Itās also just a very funny episode, with the ādrunkā Doctor scene always being a particular favorite of mine.
Iāve also got a strong attachment to this one as the one that made me first fall in love with David Tennant as the Doctor. I went in totally blind and didnāt even know about regeneration, so was totally caught off guard at the end of S1 and spent the next few episodes thinking that Eccleston could have done them better, and this was the first episode that I felt like Tennant was bringing something totally different to.
Personally, I think this episode is majorly overrated. Itās not bad, but I just donāt see why so many people love it so much. There are some really cool concepts with the clockwork droids and the ship using human parts, and there are funny scenes with the Doctor being drunk and Arthur the horse (who should totally be a companion!), but the story just doesnāt compel me at all. I find it mostly dull. I donāt care for the romance, I think itās rushed, mostly one-sided, and not something I can understand or relate to as a demiromantic person. Also, the only reason I even remember Mickey is there is because I know I always forget Mickey is there. He does nothing the entire episode!
Hereās my review on the site:
I give it 4/5 but my review does pick holes in it quite a bit (mainly, I donāt like the Doctor in this much - sorrry @flora_snow00 ). But itās still a good story overall with a clever reveal right at the end.
Iām with @uss-genderprise, Iām not a fan of this ep. I absolutely love the clockword droids and the human bits on the ship, but very little else about this ep does anything for me
A strangely controversial episode but I think itās a beautifully sombre little idea box.
Moffatās odd trend of having the Doctor meet his love interests as children unfortunately persists and there are some very strange connotations this episode creates but I do love how it begins what Series Five would perfect: the Doctor becoming somebodyās imaginary friend.
The ship is a fantastic concept and the clockwork droids are interesting but are more of an intrusion past their first scene.
I think itās got this regal melancholy to it that I really dig and whilst I donāt consider it one of Moffatās best, I consider it of very high quality, especially for Series 2.
9/10
Definitely one of the best episodes of season 2 (low bar I know 
).
I really think a future spaceship harvesting human body parts for spare parts is a cool sci fi horror concept, and then add the time windows that follow Madame de Pompadour until she had āmaturedā for the final vital ingredient, and robots made of clockwork components - itās such a wild premise. Very recogniseably a Steven Moffat script.
I actually like the 10th Doctor in this? 
oh right he is removed from Rose for a chunk of it, thatās why
The 9th Doctor remembered he could ādanceā, and I do believe the 10th Doctor ādancedā with Madame de Pompadour at the Banana Daiquiri party 
A really good little romance for the 10th Doctor.
And Madame de Pompadour is really well written and acted, and her death at the end is really well done and the voice over of the letter is great.
Did Rose and Mickey actually need to be in this story?
4/5 
from me 
Yes. Every story needs Rose 
I just watched Stolen Earth and would very much like for Rose not to be in that oneā¦
(Watching Journeyās End right now, those specials are coming a bit too close for comfortā¦
)
Last time I watched Flux I thought. Ooh, this story misses a character that you care about. Rose would make them better!
The space station that Vinder was on was called Rose thoughā¦
And I care much more about that space stationā¦
You see we agree. You care more about a space station that is named after an awesome character than the flat character in the station.
Do I need to step in as moderator before you two come to blows
Blows about Rose.
Poetry!
The first time I saw this, as it went out, I thought it was amazing. There were so many ideas crammed in together and the look of it was sumptuous. A horse on a spaceship! Clockwork robots in pre-revolutionary France! The whole time-lapse conceit and how achingly sad it turned out to be. It was so many different things at once. Yet, as I come back to it, especially with respect to what has come since, some of its veneer has come off. There are some problematic issues around the relationships between the Doctor, Rose and Mickey, and the juvenile Reinette. Itās a common trope in fiction, but is it appropriate to start an adult relationship as a grown man who has known that woman as a child? The love story is painful, but also the early new series sexualisation of the Doctor never quite got it right. It always feels a bit inappropriate. What is an appropriate age gap between a human and a centuries-old timelord? I know weāre not meant to think about it too much, but there are still some power dynamic issues, even if we think of each of the characters as ostensibly human.
Despite my niggles, I think itās a rollicking good story, and a stand-out in Series 2.
A genuinely different story for DW at the time it was done and, a bit like @deltaandthebannermen , this was really the story where I felt Moffat, the writer, truly arrived. Donāt get me wrong. Iām hugely fond of āThe Empty Child/The Doctor Dancesā and yetā¦ one good script does not a writer make! This is the one that sealed the deal. This guy has talent, thought I. These thoughts were subsequently confirmed by āBlinkā and wonderful āSilence in the Library/Forest of the Deadā.
Anyway, this one dared to be different. I loved the setting on board the 51st Century spacecraft. Also loved the juxtaposition of sci fi with history. The Clockwork Robots were a perfect way to marry these two elements together through a common aesthetic. They look suitably futuristic and yet utterly befitting the 18th century period.
It isnāt the perfect story but it is clever, sweet, funny and sumptuous. A highlight from a season I struggle with. I love the 10th Doctor, but this doesnāt really happen for me until series 3. Series 2 isā¦ OK. āGirl in the Fireplaceā is, happily, one of a couple of exceptions in this series.
The Girl in the Fireplace is a high point of Series 2, one of the weaker seasons of the revival.
Moffat crafts an inventive timey-wimey adventure, combining a character-driven period drama with pure and fun science fiction. Itās an early example of Moffat challenging the expectations of the viewers.
David Tennant is lovely in this story, in one of his better performances. Sophia Myles proves to be one of the most memorable and solid guest performers in the revived series. She puts in a soft but very engaging performance.
The Doctor is both funny and touching here, ready to help a woman he barely knows, even if it means he gets separated from his companions. The way heās excited about space-age clockwork, snogging Madame de Pompadour, befriending Arthur the Horse and getting drunk (and ādancingā) at a party are things only Ten could pull off.
Mickey is now officially a part of the TARDIS team, but still a bit of a comic relief character. The two companions are mostly abandoned by the Doctor throughout this, but they fare very well on their own, and Billie Piper isnāt too annoying for a change. Granted, they donāt have much of a role to play in the episode, but still.
The Clockwork Droids are a great concept, used pretty well but perhaps not as much as could have been possible. Their design and function are creepy, and they work effectively despite being so simple. What makes them scarier is the fact that they harvest human body parts to run their spaceship.
This is one of the better-produced stories in the early revived series. 18th-century France looks incredible, the droids look realistic, and the old, abandoned spaceship is also pretty nice. The CGI isnāt always up to par (Iām thinking of the āhorse through the mirrorā scene), but itās not too bad. The sad music stands out the most.
This is a slower episode, but itās well-paced nonetheless, allowing the Doctor and Reinette to connect properly, which makes the ending feel properly satisfying.
Once again, Moffat manages to craft an atmosphere that effectively combines authentic period drama with dark and creepy scenes, romance, heartbreak, and plenty of sharp humour.
There are so many great lines about bringing a banana to a party, Thickety Thick Face, keeping the horse and other stuff. Just a very quotable and meme-friendly episode.
This is easily a 9/10 for me!
Hard agree with @MrColdStream The Girl in the Fireplace is great, the timey-wimeyness is brilliant, and generally I think this is one of the most Doctor Who stories of all time (at least, one of the most revival Doctor Who stories of all time)
Inventive monsters, time travel as part of the plot, past and future shown off well, solid comedy, historical figure Iād never have known about if not for the show, great villains, and like it or not, itās got the romance thatās very much part of Tennantās era which is when revival was at its cultural peak.
Plus itās one of my Dadās top three episodes, so Iāve got to score it highly for that the others being Fatherās Day and I think Heaven Sent. Then again he hates Waters of Mars, Children of Earth, and Midnight, so I definitely donāt always agree with him.
9/10
Now just imagine if it had had Pete and Jackie Tyler insteadā¦ (Pete can get Jackās part.)