Doctor Who showrunner writes sequel to classic episode “The Girl in the Fireplace”
By Ariba Bhuvad
Some of my favorite Doctor Who episodes came during David Tennant’s time as the Tenth Doctor. I often go back and watch some of his episodes, and when I heard that “The Girl in the Fireplace” got a sequel, I was ecstatic.
This 2006 episode from season 2 quickly became a fan favorite as we saw the Doctor fall in love with the real-life Frenchwoman Madame de Pompadour, whom he’d visit at different points in her life to protect her from evil androids.
As you may recall, the episode ends on a rather tragic note, with the Doctor entering Pompadour’s time stream seven years after her death. I still remember crying my eyes out because Tennant played that scene so incredibly well; you could sense the loss the Doctor felt at that moment.
During this time of social distancing, current and former cast and crew members from Doctor Who have been coming together to give Whovians all sorts of new material to enjoy, whether it’s all-new stories or continuations of old ones. And let’s not forget the epic virtual Doctor Who watch parties the cast and crew have been a part of. The latest bit of new content is a sequel to “The Girl in the Fireplace,” written by ex-showrunner Steven Moffat and narrated by Sophia Myles, who played Madame de Pompadour:
I get a strange, surreal feeling watching the video, since it leads us to believe that Madame de Pompadour is still alive in some way. Maybe not in physical form, but she seems to be waiting for the Doctor to return to her someday. And there’s a conscious version of her in a computer that is on the SS Madame de Pompadour. Say what?
She recalls her fleeting time together with the Doctor, and the creepy androids that tried to take her life. It all feels a bit meta, because in a way her very existence is a result of the technology that sought to kill her. And she remains trapped within this computer-generated world, waiting for a version of the Doctor that will never come.
What a tragic romance.
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h/t Digital Spy