Sarah -
I have to admit I wasn’t particularly looking forward to this story.
Harry -
Yes, I think we've been subconsciously registering our sentiments towards some of these stories by avoiding them for as long as possible.
Sarah -
It’s probably not fair, but I think it’s because it’s such a beloved story in fandom among people who don’t share my views about appropriate relationships between humans and Time Lords. If I’m going to dip back into Series 2, this is not the story I’m going to select and I’m fairly certain it’s been at least 10 years since I last watched it. That said, I mostly enjoyed it on this viewing. I have a few problems with the story, but we’ll get to those later.
Harry -
It turned out to be a breezy rewatch.
Sarah -
This is a proper Steven Moffat timey-wimey story, isn’t it? He’s such a romantic.
Harry -
This is really where Moffat's timey-wimey legend began. His previous story, "The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances" was chronologically straightforward. This one is too, but with greater jumps ahead in time for one group of characters, while for the Doctor, Rose and Mickey it looks like it was only a matter of an hour or two.
Sarah -
One of my favorite things about the story is the robots. Not only do they look amazing, but they’re acting like proper, logical robots. They’ve got a problem and they’re trying to solve it with the tools at hand. It’s horrifying, but nothing personal. They’re not evil, it’s just business.
Harry -
The clockwork robots were wonderful. The mechanisms inside their glass skulls looked and sounded brilliant. When they adopted period dress to fit in with 18th century France, they ended up looking scary rather than commonplace because of those eyeless masks. I always love it when someone cosplays these robots at Chicago TARDIS.
Sarah -
As the laziest cosplayer ever, I’m always impressed by people who show up with proper costumes. The clockwork robots are even scarier in person.
Harry -
Moffat introduces us to his puzzle by landing the TARDIS aboard a generic looking spaceship in the 51st century. Our friends have a look around, and the Doctor soon discovers that the ship is emitting enough concentrated power to punch a hole in the universe. He traces it to an anachronistic (and downright strange) fireplace. Not something you tend to see aboard spaceships. Even stranger, the fireplace frames the hole that the ship has punched in time, and on the opposite side is a bedroom in a house in Paris. A young girl is there, and she and the Doctor meet for the first time. He fiddles with the apparatus and finds the trigger to make it spin like something out of an old haunted house movie. Now on the other side, the Doctor encounters the girl face to face. For him, it was only a matter of seconds, but she tells him that several weeks have gone by.
Puzzled, the Doctor examines a clock on the mantle. It is broken, but there is still a loud ticking sound from somewhere in the bedroom. There's something under the bed! I admire Moff for throwing in this classic spooky moment in the middle of his high concept story.
Sarah -
While the Doctor is traipsing back and forth between the spaceship and Versailles, Rose and Mickey are having adventures of their own. It’s a little confusing as Rose was none too happy about having Mickey tag along at the end of "School Reunion". This time, she seems delighted to be able to play the Doctor and show Mickey how to have proper adventures in space and time.
It warms my heart when the Doctor tells them both to stay put while he heads back to Versailles and Rose sets out for adventure the moment he’s gone. Jo Grant would be so proud!
Harry -
Rose and Mickey were relegated to secondary roles in this story but it was fun to see them make the most of it.
Sarah -
While the Doctor is off with Reinette, Rose and Mickey discover that there are human body parts wired into the spaceship. The Doctor returns, with a horse named Arthur in tow and Rose and Mickey get to meet Reinette in person when they enter 18th Century through a time window. Having saved Reinette from a clockwork robot, the Doctor sends them off to follow the robot.
While the Doctor is scanning Reinette’s mind, she gets a glimpse into his, discovering the truth about the last of the Time Lords. She responds by asking him to dance, “There comes a time, Time Lord, when every lonely little boy must learn how to dance.” Oh Reinette, this is definitely not his first dance. Get in line, Sister.
Harry -
It was a peculiar moment when Reinette began reading the Doctor's thoughts. Even he was caught off guard.
Meanwhile, after lurking throughout her life, the clockwork robots finally find the correct time window - one that opens to the correct age for her to be incorporated into their ship as if she were a replacement part. More creepiness from Moff.
The Doctor runs interference, the robots run wild, and the Doctor and Arthur are off to save Reinette. There probably isn't much argument in Who fandom that the "horse-crashing-through-the-mirror" scene is the most awkwardly green-screeny moment since the 70s. Almost whimsically hokey, that effect.
Sarah -
I was dreading that moment for the entire story. It’s hokey as hokey can be, but it also cuts the Doctor off from Rose and Mickey. He can’t get back to the spaceship until Reinette takes him to the fireplace that brought him to her in the first place. Before that, Rose and Mickey have to contemplate what they will do without the Doctor. Having this story follow School Reunion is so effective. The Doctor has explained to Rose that while she can spend the rest of her life with him, he can’t spend his with her. She decides it’s worth sticking with the Doctor, but doesn’t count on him having a shiny new human toy to play with so soon in their adventures. The look on Rose’s face when she realizes he can’t get back to her is really heartbreaking, which was not something I expected to feel.
Harry -
Anyway, the Doctor saves the day, of course. Instead of a happily ever after ending, Moff separates the two lead characters again, leaving the Doctor to travel back to France one final time to learn of Reinette's death. She wasn't killed by the monsters, she didn't sacrifice herself to save others, she died a regular human death. Not something we see the Doctor face all that often because he's usually off to the next adventure while things get sorted out in his wake. Her death clearly hits him hard.
Sarah -
To borrow Rose’s question, why her? He went all history fanboy on her, but the Doctor’s lack of concern about having left Rose and Mickey stranded on a spaceship was really upsetting. We know what his attention span is like -- there’s no way he could stay in Versailles without the TARDIS.
His relationship with Reinette also illustrates the problem of human-time lord relationships. She is a literal child when they first meet and like every other human, pretty much remains a child when compared to the Doctor’s lifespan. It’s all so icky.
While there’s more to like in this story than I remembered, it still has so many of the elements that make the Tenth Doctor’s era one of my least favorite. I had completely forgotten about the drunk scene and really hope that I’ll be able to forget it again. I suspect we disagree on this, but I found it so annoying. Rose should have knocked him upside the head when he said she sounded like her mother. What a wanker.
Harry -
If there was any doubt that Moffat stories were season highlights, his latest one would have done away with that. The cleverness, the horror, the timey-wimey twists are all there.
And so the Doctor, Rose and Mickey have survived their first adventure as a team. Shall we check out where they land next?
Best line:
"What do monsters have nightmares about?"
"Me."
Favourite moment: mock-drunk Doctor bursts into the room with his necktie around his head.
Lasting image: the clockwork robots.
8/10
Sarah -
Best Line:
Reinette: “I have seen your world, and I have no desire to set foot there again. Kindly remember that this is Versailles. This is the Royal Court, and we are French. I have made a decision. And my decision is no, I shall not be going with you today. I have seen your world, and I have no desire to set foot there again."
Robot: "We do not require your feet."
Favorite Moment: The robot reveal.
Lasting Image: Definitely the robots
6/10
Our marathon continues with Story #172: Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel...
