Doctor Who's Tragical History TourDoctor Who's Tragical History Tour
  • Nu-Who
    • Ncuti Gatwa
    • Jodie Whittaker
    • Peter Capaldi
    • Matt Smith
    • David Tennant
    • Christopher Eccleston
  • Tweeners
    • John Hurt
    • Paul McGann
    • The Master List
    • Regeneration X
    • The Mystery Guest
    • The Hand of Fear
  • Colo(u)r
    • Sylvester McCoy
    • Colin Baker
    • Peter Davison
    • Tom Baker
    • Jon Pertwee
  • Monochrome
    • Patrick Troughton
    • William Hartnell
  • Tour du Jour
    • On This Day
    • The House of Holmes
    • 50 for 50
    • The Randomizer
    • THT Rand-o-pix of the Day
    • The Feast of Steven
    • Tour Notz
    • The Watcher
    • Contact the Tour
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Doctor Who's Tragical History Tour
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  • Nu-Who
    1. Ncuti Gatwa
    2. Jodie Whittaker
    3. Peter Capaldi
    4. Matt Smith
    5. David Tennant
    6. Christopher Eccleston
    7. View All

    Who Told You There Wouldn’t Be Any Math?

    December 5, 2022

    The Next-iest of Doctors

    May 29, 2022

    Svelte 16

    May 8, 2022

    Who Told You There Wouldn’t Be Any Math?

    December 5, 2022

    B-Bye Bradley

    October 6, 2022

    Svelte 16

    May 8, 2022

    Now You Sea Devil, No You Don’t

    April 24, 2022

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    E-Spaced

    August 4, 2023

    Svelte 16

    May 8, 2022

    The Dark Jacket Dimension

    November 13, 2021

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023

    E-Spaced

    August 4, 2023

    Who Told You There Wouldn’t Be Any Math?

    December 5, 2022

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (60→55)

    September 15, 2023

    Who Told You There Wouldn’t Be Any Math?

    December 5, 2022

    The Next-iest of Doctors

    May 29, 2022

    The Dark Jacket Dimension

    November 13, 2021

    The (W)hole Ruth

    January 31, 2020

    Ten Days Till the Tenthiversary of the Tenting of the Tenth

    December 22, 2019

    The Last ‘Last Christmas’ Specials Rankings #3

    December 24, 2018

    Stotz v. Stotz: A Love Story

    October 1, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    Toyz in the Good

    September 24, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023
  • Tweeners
    1. John Hurt
    2. Paul McGann
    3. The Master List
    4. Regeneration X
    5. The Mystery Guest
    6. The Hand of Fear
    7. View All

    Hurt So Good: A Doctor and His Umbrella

    April 27, 2023

    Who Told You There Wouldn’t Be Any Math?

    December 5, 2022

    Svelte 16

    May 8, 2022

    Ten’ll Get You Five

    September 4, 2020

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (60→55)

    September 15, 2023

    McGann Before McGann

    May 26, 2023

    … And All That Yaz

    November 16, 2022

    Fivey at Forty: The First Companion Death of 1982

    March 16, 2022

    Stotz v. Stotz: A Love Story

    October 1, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    Toyz in the Good

    September 24, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023

    Ghost Re-Write

    November 16, 2021

    The (W)hole Ruth

    January 31, 2020

    Dup-topia

    January 29, 2020

    The Glue Guy

    June 24, 2018

    Doctor on Doctor ACTION!

    November 19, 2017

    The Wheel in Cheese

    August 10, 2014

    The Hurt Locker

    May 25, 2013

    Stotz v. Stotz: A Love Story

    October 1, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    Toyz in the Good

    September 24, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023

    Stotz v. Stotz: A Love Story

    October 1, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    Toyz in the Good

    September 24, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023
  • Colo(u)r
    1. Sylvester McCoy
    2. Colin Baker
    3. Peter Davison
    4. Tom Baker
    5. Jon Pertwee
    6. View All

    A Studio Film (or rather a film in the studio)

    June 9, 2023

    … And All That Yaz

    November 16, 2022

    Fivey at Forty: The First Companion Death of 1982

    March 16, 2022

    Roomba With a Prenumbra

    March 1, 2022

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (60→55)

    September 15, 2023

    Hurt So Good: A Doctor and His Umbrella

    April 27, 2023

    … And All That Yaz

    November 16, 2022

    Stotz v. Stotz: A Love Story

    October 1, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (60→55)

    September 15, 2023

    The Inevitable Adric

    July 14, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023

    Destiny of the Costume Closet

    September 1, 2023

    The Inevitable Adric

    July 14, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    McGann Before McGann

    May 26, 2023

    The Warrior Before Time

    May 19, 2023

    Purple Shag Carpet

    May 11, 2023

    Stotz v. Stotz: A Love Story

    October 1, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    Toyz in the Good

    September 24, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023
  • Monochrome
    1. Patrick Troughton
    2. William Hartnell
    3. View All

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (60→55)

    September 15, 2023

    When Patrick (almost) Met Ian

    August 25, 2023

    When Patrick Met Verity

    August 11, 2023

    More For Letts

    July 25, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023

    When Patrick Met Verity

    August 11, 2023

    The TARDIS whirled on it’s way again…

    December 23, 2022

    Stotz v. Stotz: A Love Story

    October 1, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    Toyz in the Good

    September 24, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023
  • Tour du Jour
    • On This Day
    • The House of Holmes
    • 50 for 50
    • The Randomizer
    • THT Rand-o-pix of the Day
    • The Feast of Steven
    • Tour Notz
    • The Watcher
    • Contact the Tour
Doctor Who's Tragical History TourDoctor Who's Tragical History Tour
50 for 50 David Tennant

50 for 50 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — #14

By -- DSWAugust 21, 201302 Mins Read
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Oh the perils of Countdown Conflict Syndrome.  This week not only was my #14 already taken , so was my #13, thus we move sharply (and happily) to my #12, but for the purposes of the overall countdown #14, Steven Moffat’s second Doctor Who script, The Girl in the Fireplace.  This was the Moff’s first real foray into timey-wimey, with parallel sidereal timelines, and it all worked magnificently well.

Even if you didn’t know that David Tennant and Sophia Myles were in a significant relationship at the time, the chemistry shown by the two characters on-screen was so apparent it positively leapt off the screen.  The scene where they are each walking through the mind of the other, was playfully carried out, and the pull of Madame de Pompadour even to the Doctor was palpable.  But the triumph in the scripting was in making Reinette not only a force such that it would intrigue both the Clockwork Men and the Doctor, but an intellect capable of discerning most of what was happening to her, on both sides of the fireplace.

Reinette, not Mickey or Rose, has the audience point of view in this story, wondering why she has been so selected by the Clockwork Men (as an aside, the Doctor’s admiration for their design is shared here too).  The final revelation as to the why of it all makes so much literal sense it is both amusing and tragic simultaneously.

The problem with these all-time classic stories sometimes, especially as the list(s) winnow down to a precious few, is that the near-universal acclimation these stories share make us think we know these stories, beat for beat, perhaps a bit better than we actually do.  Contrarily it’s also best to keep these all-timers a bit at arms length, taking them of the shelf sparingly, literally and figuratively once in a while to remind yourself as to why you fell in love with them in the first place.

Alan’s #14 — Midnight
Andy’s #14 — Father’s Day
David’s actual #14 — Terror of the Autons
Steve’s #14 — The Eleventh Hour

#13 next week…

Short Hops:
  • The Slow Path
    The Slow Path
  • 50 for 50 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — #10
    50 for 50 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — #10
  • The Ten Specials of Christmas — #2
    The Ten Specials of Christmas — #2
50 for 50 David Tennant Terror of the Autons Series 2 The Girl in the Fireplace Steven Moffat The Eleventh Hour Father's Day Midnight
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On This Day in Doctor Who History
  • October 2
    • 1976: The Hand of Fear [1]
    • 1965: Galaxy 4 [4--The Exploding Planet]
  • October 3
    • 2015: Under the Lake
  • October 4
    • 2014: Kill the Moon
    • 1975: Planet of Evil [2]
    • 1980: Meglos [2]
    • 1986: Mindwarp [1]
    • 1989: Ghost Light [1]
  • October 5
    • 1987: Paradise Towers [1]
    • 1968: The Mind Robber [4]
    • 1988: Remembrance of the Daleks [1]
  • October 6
    • 1979: City of Death [2]
  • October 7
    • 2018: The Woman Who Fell to Earth
    • 1978: The Pirate Planet [2]
    • 1967: The Abominable Snowmen [2]
  • October 8
    • 1977: The Invisible Enemy [2]

Random Thoughts
50 for 50 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — #6
By -- DSWOctober 15, 2013 50 for 50 2 Mins Read
Mondas, Mondas, Can’t Trust That Day
By -- DSWMarch 11, 2017 Tour Updates 2 Mins Read
7/15/2007
By -- DSWJuly 15, 2007 Roundel Roundabouts 1 Min Read

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