Comments | scifiunicorn: Why I don't Like "The Girl in the Fireplace" Part 1: Problematic Themes

scifiunicorn

Why I don't Like "The Girl in the Fireplace" Part 1: Problematic Themes

May 22, 2012 11:29

The Girl in the Fireplace. Any Doctor Who fan, even a casual viewer, knows about this episode. It's often considered the best episode of series 2. Written by Steven Moffat, it received critical acclaim, is a favorite of most Doctor Who fans, and even won a Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation in Short Form. So, what's the problem? Well, a lot, ( Read more... )

Comments 37

kilodalton May 22 2012, 17:08:16 UTC

I love you. That is all ( ... )

scifiunicorn May 22 2012, 17:38:04 UTC

Aww, thank you!

Well, I'll give the episode this, it's pretty, but that's basically it's only good attributes. It just doesn't really work in terms of plot and character, especially within series 2.

I just really can't understand why they would put an episode like this in series 2. It feels like an episode that was really written for series 5, which I think would have been much better, and I possibly could have enjoyed (although Madame de Pompadour still would have been reduced to a girl who waited, so hmmm...).

kilodalton May 22 2012, 17:52:18 UTC

Yeah it's really too bad, imo. If it had been better slotted into a later season, it could have worked much better (despite the plot/sexism flaws). As is, part of the fandom loves it, part hates it with a passion, and others admit there are big problems with it and prefer to think of it as a standalone. It didn't need to become the pariah that it is, if TPTB had been doing their jobs =/

scifiunicorn May 22 2012, 19:15:18 UTC

It drives me crazy how many people uphold it as this genius masterpiece/work of art, and it really makes me angry when it takes precedence over The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit as the best episode of series 2. TIP/TSP had character development, the plot was good, you wanted to keep on watching, Rose was especially awesome (but that's the Rose Tyler-stan in me speaking), and the secondary characters were so well-developed. Unfortunately, everyone seems to prefer the prettier episode over the ones that are actually well-written.

To be honest, I hate it more for the classism and sexism than for the fact that it introduces another romantic interest for the Doctor besides Rose. Don't get me wrong, I love Doctor/Rose (though it's not currently the ship I'm obsessing over at the moment), but the fact that it doesn't ship Doctor/Rose really doesn't make it a bad episode, though it does contribute to it's problems with continuity.

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grapefruitzzz August 26 2012, 23:26:05 UTC

Thanks! Interesting article. I remember at the time I was most annoyed at the way he abandoned his team without a second thought. It really offended my sense of hospitality and The Designated Driver.

The other stuff bothered me too, especially the 'nagging wife' thing. Although now I can see that sex workers and pining women are all part of Moffat's standard writing :\

Come to think of it, I pretty much left any active part of DW fandom after this episode aired.

(drifted over from a tumblr link on feminist DW blogs, even though it's a few months later!)

scifiunicorn September 1 2012, 22:49:53 UTC

Thank you!

Moffat tends to use stuff over and over again. The whole "little girl meets the doctor then grows up wanting to have sex with him" seems to be his standard mold for characterizing women. He still has this whole "men are from mars, women are from venus" way of thinking, and you can really see it in his writing.

serpentinred October 22 2012, 15:04:46 UTC

Hello, I posted a link to this on my tumblr and my twitter. I hope you don't mind. =/ If you do, let me know and I'll take it off.

scifiunicorn November 22 2012, 02:17:00 UTC

No, that's awesome! I'm so glad to hear that! Would you mind giving me the link?

serpentinred November 22 2012, 03:08:00 UTC

No problem! Here's the link for the Tumblr post: http://serpentinred.tumblr.com/post/34099572288/http-scifiunicorn-livejournal-com-3114-html.

But there's no link for Twitter ... at least I don't think there's a way to link to tweets on Twitter. *scratches head* Sorry, I don't really know all the functions and stuff on Twitter yet. O.o ...

cyandevil October 23 2012, 01:27:06 UTC

Took the words right out of my brain (not mouth, brain). Love you for putting it so eloquently.

scifiunicorn November 22 2012, 02:17:21 UTC

Thank you! I really felt the need to get this out there.

whosintheattic December 20 2012, 06:51:38 UTC

All very good points. I've always struggled with this episode, but had to watch it several times to fully understand why it never sat right with me. Your analysis covers a lot of it ( ... )

scifiunicorn December 21 2012, 02:09:31 UTC

Wow. You literally just put everything that is wrong with this episode more eloquently and understandably than I ever could.

The thing most annoying about GitF in my opinion is the way Reinette is portrayed as inherently better than Rose because of her social class. That just, ugh.... I literally can't describe how much it disgusts me.

whosintheattic December 21 2012, 04:57:39 UTC

Thank you; I only added to what you already phrased so well ( ... )

scifiunicorn December 24 2012, 21:22:34 UTC

I totally agree. One of the things I love so dearly about Doctor Who is that the Doctor chooses regular people to travel with him, and that anyone can be a hero. I mean, Rose Tyler's story really speaks to me, because I know what it's like to feel like you're trapped on a treadmill, doing the same thing every day, never getting anywhere in life.

I think there was an interview where Moffat said that if the Doctor were to fall in love, it would be with someone high-class and cultured like Reinette, and I just.... Ugh. Ewww Moffat, eww.

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