Be realistic, were they going to carry Baby Tony around with them all the time? Pete’s probably on paternity leave 
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I’ve been meaning to rewatch this one.
I remember really liking the visuals of this episode. It’s strikingly beautiful, the lighting in the Ecceslton-Tennant years was always a huge highlight. As for specifics of story, I actually quite liked the majority of it, just… not the whole Madame de Pompadour romance subplot. I think the Doctor’s romances are very, very particular. I can count the ones I like on one hand.
Around this time, Moffat recieved lots of heat over his sexist practices in writing. I think that, intentional or unintentional, you can point to many sexist factors of his writing. Many of the times Moffat was tasked with writing female companions, they were moreso cardboard cutouts, ideas of human beings, with the exception being Bill Potts, and I want to zero in on why that is the exception. Bill has absolutely zero romantic tension with the Doctor. I think the sexist notions of Moffat’s writing come from a poor idea of what makes a love story interesting. Or, at the least, he cannot write a love story that I, and many others, find interesting.
Let’s start with what I like.
The soundtrack and set design are still phenomenal. The chiming music box motif, the revolving doors, 17th century decorum contrasted with the big spaceships… Love it or hate it, I think this is one of, if not the best looking episode from series 2.
Even if I don’t like it, Madame de Pompadour and 10 do have fairly good chemistry. (Note to self, what’s this actress’ name?)
Everything about the space station is well executed. The cut up body parts, the clockwork androids… Absolutely fantastic. Adore it.
I love Rose Tyler. I usually don’t love Mickey, but I think he was well used in this episode.
“Oh, look what the cat dragged in, the Oncoming Storm…”
Billie Piper is a great actress, and Rose is such a sweet and down to earth character.
The Doctor’s selflessness and love for life above all else is great in this episode.
Next, nitpicks.
I did not like Madame de Pompadour and 10’s romantic tryst. I thought it was dumb.
Mickey Smith… nyyyeehhhhh. Don’t like him. As well as he’s used, I don’t like him.
10 jumping through that window. No. Bad. Cringed. Liked the idea, but… No.
3/5. Solid. Not my favorite, but good!
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This is a solid 4/5 (8/10 for me. The spaceship stuff is fun. Mickey fits into the banter well. The France stuff is very sweet and isn’t creepy like people try to make it out to be. Costuming is great, but what else do you expect from the BBC. Clockwork droids are a very cool design.
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I only recently found out that David and Sophia Myles started dating after filming this, which… is not surprising. David meeting all his girlfriends (okay, two) on Doctor Who is a bitsy iconic.
I love this one. I agree with RTD’s assertion that Moffat is the best monster creator on DW, and the clockwork droids are a testament to that. (Actually, I think he’s one of the best writers period, though a lousy showrunner.) The dialogue is great too (“Mickey, what’s pre-Revolutionary France doing on a spaceship? Get a little perspective!”). The ending always makes me sad, not least because it was so obviously going to happen.
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Joining the TV Club for the first time!
Really enjoyed this one. Don’t think I’ve seen it since broadcast.
The ship full of time windows is a unique really fun setup.
The clockwork droids are a really good design and they do some clever editing to swap out actors in suits vs the mechanical heads with great effect.
MDP is a really adds to the story as a guest character and help give this story a few emotional moments that elevate it above a fun romp.
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Hurray! Long may it continue 
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I love this one! Solid 10/10 for me. An excellent little classical romance.
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The doctor trying to recruit MDP to the Tardis does remind me that we’ve yet to have a historical companion in NuWho.
Seems like a good opportunity for a change of pace. ‘Belinda’ isn’t the most contemporary name so I guess we’ll see in Series 15 / Season 2.
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Of course, if I was the type of person to hide surprises in people’s names, Belinda sounds kind of like Bel/Vinder…
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I would actually be much more than okay with that 
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With this, Doctor Who continued to redefine itself and spread its wings as it had since 2005. The idea of the Doctor falling (very quickly) in love is perfectly feasible after 40 years of no real interest in ‘that kind of thing’ - when the story is as unusual and fascinating as this.
My favourite bits involved the wonderful robots. Big Finish released an 8DA around this period, called ‘Time Works’ that also featured ticking robots, and I wondered if the two were made by the same manufacturer!
I’m not sure how the Doctor’s burgeoning romance with Madame Pompadour was supposed to sit with Rose, who was smitten with him herself; she showed none of the petulance here that she did when Sarah Jane turned up.
My only real issue with this story was, I began to find this Doctor just a tiny bit irritating. The overplaying of certain scenes, especially the drunken one, still makes me wish for a touch more restraint. This style became a trademark of Doctor Ten and some people like it, but I wish he’d turned the volume down a little.
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This story is certainly masterfully made, the atmosphere, the music, the sets work wonderfully. The acting is great too, especially the actress playing Reinette. I think the clockwork droids are really quite creepy, especially in their first scene. While Rose and Mickey don’t have a big role, they are quite good in this one. The love story, or perhaps rather mutual fascination with the other, between the doctor and Reinette is executed very well. I’m not quite sure if I like it, but by the end especially I was moved so I think it achieved what it set out to do. Definitely a great episode of doctor who.
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A wonderful episode from the straight into the story pre-credits moment, the timey-wimey mystery, the clockwork robots, the ‘drunk’ Doctor scene. Some real surreal images (a horse on a spaceship!), a nice romance, some brilliant sets & transitions between the past & the future, & everything comes together in a satisfying way for me that I find genuinely moving.
The Rose/Doctor dynamic being sidelined & her being not so much of a shit to Mickey as in other episodes probably helps my enjoyment. I don’t find the love story creepy, it feels romantic in an old fashioned way in keeping with the era of Madame de Pompadour. Haven’t seen this in years & it’s one that I still love & feels like such a great example of contemporary Dr Who.
BF, where’s the Unbound spin-off The Honeymoon of the Pompadours?
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I don’t like it.
I can see why people enjoy it, but for me, it was always pretty overrated. Sure some dialogue is pretty nice, the performances are quite solid, sure the clockwork droids are utterly amazing designed and a concept I really like… but in an episode where romance is such a key point? Yeah. No. I don’t really hate this Episode, I can see the good in it, and I am glad for anybody who enjoyed it, but for me? The Episode does nothing for me, considering series 2 is very much low for me, I feel like this would place around the middle ground.
Hmm, maybe it’s just that I don’t like romances in Doctor Who. Hmm… (Hoping the little meme comes across the right way as I intended-)
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Loving the UNIT sticker and the cheeky lightsaber. And if I’m not mistaken that’s a Season 18 Tom scarf.
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I absolutely adore this episode. For all the reasons said above. But also certain quotes just stick with me forever and here are some of them:
REINETTE: The monsters and the Doctor. It seems you cannot have one without the other.
(I think about that a lot!)
The next scene isn’t really easily quotable but this whole scene just gives me goosebumps:
(The Doctor basically does a mind meld with her)
REINETTE: Oh, Doctor. So lonely. So very, very alone.
DOCTOR: What do you mean, alone? You’ve never been alone in your life. When did you start calling me Doctor?
REINETTE: Such a lonely little boy. Lonely then and lonelier now. How can you bear it?
DOCTOR: How did you do that?
REINETTE: A door, once opened, can be stepped through in either direction. Oh, Doctor. My lonely Doctor. Dance with me.
DOCTOR: I can’t.
REINETTE: Dance with me.
DOCTOR: This is the night you dance with the King.
REINETTE: Then first, I shall make him jealous.
DOCTOR: I can’t.
REINETTE: Doctor. Doctor who? It’s more than just a secret, isn’t it?
DOCTOR: What did you see?
REINETTE: That there comes a time, Time Lord, when every lonely little boy must learn how to dance.
And then:
REINETTE: So, here you are, my lonely angel, stuck on the slow path with me.
Chef’s kiss
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well this is it - the episode that leaves me completely torn.
On the one hand - taken in isolation from the context of the series as a whole, it was an amazing piece of television & I really enjoyed it for what it was. Definitely a huge step up from some of the earlier episodes this season, for all the reasons mentioned above.
However - the romance bit just didn’t sit right, especially in terms of where it came in the Season. I hate the whole idea of the sexualisation of the Doctor anyway, although I can see that if he were to fall in love, a woman like this would be the kind of person to tempt him.
But in the context of what had just come before - his determined fighting down his growing feelings for Rose only one episode before and her reactions to that - it simply jarred. I thought that at the time and still feel that way now. If this episode had come early in the Season and School Reunion near the end, everything would have made total sense - him later growing closer to Rose but rejecting that because of what had just happened here. But as it stands, it denies that he had any such feelings for Rose at all - which is not what is implied in the previous episode - if he can just forget her so quickly to “really” fall in love here.
And the “banana” scene was total cringe - I hate it when Tennant overacts like that. Also rewatching with the benefit of hindsight, I wondered why he had turned into Crowley from Good Omens in the middle of a historical story, the shades immediately taking him into the other character for me (was that scene an inspiration for how he was to play the later part?)
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Girl in Fireplace bad.
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