“There is a vessel in your world where the days of my life
are pressed together like the chapters of a book, so that he may step from one
to the other without increase of age while I, weary traveler, must always take
the slower path.”
On the slow path myself, I have finally arrived at The Girl
in the Fireplace. There are a few elements that disturb me, however the episode
is so beautifully done that I tend to forgive them. The costumes are exquisite,
the sets elegant, the monsters spooky, the script witty, and the acting
superior. The story has romance, humor, action, thrills, and pathos. It is a
Doctor Who story worthy of the canon.
“It’s a spaceship. Brilliant! I got a spaceship on my first
go.” This is Mickey’s first journey in the TARDIS and I have to say it is about
time. One of the better things about this episode is the old school nature of
the Doctor and his companions (although paradoxically this leads to the more
disturbing aspects, but more on that later). Mickey’s presence restores a balance in the
TARDIS dynamic; it is no longer the Doctor and Rose show played out for their
own private amusement.
“Don’t wander off. I tell them, I do. Rule one.” Rose and
Mickey have broken rule one and wandered off; and I can’t help but reminisce,
Gary, about Ian’s disgusted reaction (“Why? Why do they do it?”) in The Dalek Invasion of Earth when he and the First Doctor return to find Susan and Barbara
gone. This is what companions do; good old fashioned Doctor Who companions.
They wander off.
Rose and Mickey make a good team, at least now that Rose has
gotten over her displeasure with Mickey’s addition to the TARDIS crew and has
taken him under her wing. There is some good natured humor between the two and
again between the three when the Doctor reappears. (“You’re not keeping the
horse.”)This is the easy-going relationship that has been underplayed for a
long time. No tension, sexual or otherwise; no hidden meanings; no exclusive,
members only club mentality; just some honest fun.
Exploring the ship, Mickey and Rose discover human body
parts hard wired in, giving new meaning to that pervasive barbeque smell. While
I have serious doubts about the efficacy of this patchwork repair job, the idea
is horrific and lends grim undertones to our story. However, the Doctor and
Reinette (AKA Madame de Pompadour) make up the heart of the tale.
“The monsters and the Doctor; it seems you cannot have one
without the other.” Reinette is on the slow path through life, meeting her “fireplace
man” when a young girl with monsters under her bed. The clockwork monsters in
creepy mask and wig are straight from a little girl’s nightmare. But the
monsters have a nightmare of their own; the Doctor. The Doctor can take the “quick
route,” stepping from the monsters’ spaceship in the fifty first century into
various points of Reinette’s life. It is a poignant love story played out
through the trickeries of time.
Both are a bit starry eyed; the Doctor is star struck with
the famed Madame de Pompadour while Reinette is worshipping the hero of her
childhood dreams (complete with white horse).
However they establish an intimacy, facilitated by the Doctor’s mind
meld: “To walk among the memories of another living soul.” Brushes with danger and
the sense of urgency serve to heighten their feelings.
The clockwork androids are scanning Reinette’s brain,
waiting for her to be “complete,” or in other words, waiting for her to reach
the age of 37 when they believe her brain will be compatible with the ship,
providing the last missing part they need to complete their repairs. The Doctor
smashing through the mirror on his charger is the dramatic high point in this
romantic fiction that is full of self-sacrifice and bittersweet emotions. The
Doctor saves Reinette, but in so doing effectively strands himself in
eighteenth century France. The Doctor is resigned to living life on the slow path with his
newfound love, however Reinette leads him by the hand to the fireplace of her youth; a
doorway back to the TARDIS. Buoyed by the discovery that this last link to the
ship is miraculously still working, the Doctor invites Reinette along for the
adventure of a lifetime.
The Doctor has just said goodbye to Sarah Jane in the
previous episode School Reunion. She had been a link with his past before the
Time War, a reminder of happier times. Now he meets another mature woman of
beauty, wit, and charm. Is it any wonder that he wants to sweep Reinette up
into the heavens with him? His joy as she accepts his offer is infectious, and
his sorrow when he returns for her moments later only to discover that he is
too late is heart breaking.
It is a beautifully done love story. And this leads me back
to the beginning and those disturbing elements.
In and of itself The Girl in the Fireplace is a superb
Doctor Who story. It has lighthearted companions, thrilling action, and an
emotional punch. However, The Girl in the Fireplace does not stand alone. It is
the fifth episode in a fourteen episode second season. As such, it is in the
middle of the unfortunate arc of the Doctor and Rose. For some unknown reason
the Doctor has invested Rose with qualities and importance well beyond her. He
has hesitated in saving whole universes because it could mean the death of
Rose. He dotes on her to the exclusion of others. And then along comes Madame
de Pompadour and he is willing to strand Rose (forget about Mickey for the moment—the
Doctor probably has) on a spaceship thousands of years out of her time, and he
does this not to save the world or the universe or time or anyone other than
Madame de Pompadour.
I can’t help wishing, Gary, that the rest of the series was
more like The Girl in the Fireplace. Stand alone episodes without wearisome
arcs; dashes of humor (“bananas are good”) with no surrounding sexual tension;
companions who can wander off without the constant need to validate themselves with
the Doctor.
I am still enjoying the show, and The Girl in the Fireplace is a definite high note; however “the path has never
seemed more slow.” And so Gary, I, weary traveler, continue on . . .
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