This is that rare thing, a Doctor Who story about time travel, or rather about the consequences of foreknowledge. Once the TARDIS lands in Pompeii, even total newbies will know what's at stake and will understand the tension between the Doctor, who wants to escape from the inevitable destruction and protect the timeline, no matter how horrible it may be, and Donna, whose compassion compels her to try and limit the human misery the eruption will cause. The climax of the episode neatly resolves this conflict between them by replacing this dilemma with another: the time travellers realise that they have been folded into events all along and that they must decide, either to cause the eruption and kill thousands, or to save the city and allow the aliens to conquer the world. This is a great story, and a great time travel story, not least because it centres on a real - and for us, inevitable - historical event; the threat of Vesuvius is reinforced with every ominous rumble, every tremor.
But the drama continues even beyond the cataclysm. Donna's tearful rage against the Doctor is a desperately important moment in their relationship, just two episodes in. She is defined here by her most human qualities: her empathy and compassion, her determination to stand up to the Doctor. She demands, begs, that they use the TARDIS to save someone, anyone, from the disaster. Unable to relive his own trauma, his reaction is to run, reminding us not only of his alien nature (a vital aspect, much diluted during Tennant's tenure), but also of his Time War backstory and survivor's guilt. That she persuades him to go back shows us how important Donna is, both to the Doctor and to the show. There hasn't ever been a Doctor/Companion pairing like this before.
The rescue of Caecillius and his family is yet another tremendously powerful moment in the post-2005 run, and one of my favourites: the poor Romans, cowering in the ash and shadows, the TARDIS doors blazing light and the Doctor stepping like a god from the machine. It's glorious. Later on in this series we will begin to get further intimations of the Doctor's mythical status, but here this is clearly just how he appears to these superstitious ancients. I don't mean to belittle them with that description either: this family is marvellous: beautifully written, cleverly cast and sensationally acted, they put a recognisably modern face on historical Pompeii, rendering their culture of gods and omens so that we understand. Every one of them is great, but Peter Capaldi, a sensational actor, must now receive special attention - his casting as the Twelfth Doctor (and Karen Gillan popping up in a pre-Amy role) make The Fires of Pompeii a curio for future fans.
There's so much to love. The water pistol (properly Doctorish, that); the running TARDIS translation joke that peppers the script with Latin and Welsh phrases; the spine-tingling prophesy-off between Lucius Petrus Dextrus and Evelina, each magical pronouncement punctuated by the ominous rumblings of Vesuvius. There are some beautiful lines (the High Priestess says of the Doctor that "he carries starlight in his wake") and some strong ideas, like the disturbing notion for a soothsayer of feeling the future change ("And yet this was meant to be!"). And I know appearances shouldn't matter as much as they do, but the use of the ancient Rome set at Cinecittà Studios in Italy makes this episode dazzle. One of the very best.
The boys weren't going to admit to being moved by the powerful ending, but Chris did pick out Donna making the Doctor return to the villa as one of his favourite bits. He did feel that the story was weakened by the fact that Vesuvius was always going to have to erupt. "[The Doctor and Donna] were acting like it was a difficult choice! It wasn't, it was an OBVIOUS DECISION." So obvious that he had to knock off two whole points: eight out of ten from him.
But the drama continues even beyond the cataclysm. Donna's tearful rage against the Doctor is a desperately important moment in their relationship, just two episodes in. She is defined here by her most human qualities: her empathy and compassion, her determination to stand up to the Doctor. She demands, begs, that they use the TARDIS to save someone, anyone, from the disaster. Unable to relive his own trauma, his reaction is to run, reminding us not only of his alien nature (a vital aspect, much diluted during Tennant's tenure), but also of his Time War backstory and survivor's guilt. That she persuades him to go back shows us how important Donna is, both to the Doctor and to the show. There hasn't ever been a Doctor/Companion pairing like this before.
The rescue of Caecillius and his family is yet another tremendously powerful moment in the post-2005 run, and one of my favourites: the poor Romans, cowering in the ash and shadows, the TARDIS doors blazing light and the Doctor stepping like a god from the machine. It's glorious. Later on in this series we will begin to get further intimations of the Doctor's mythical status, but here this is clearly just how he appears to these superstitious ancients. I don't mean to belittle them with that description either: this family is marvellous: beautifully written, cleverly cast and sensationally acted, they put a recognisably modern face on historical Pompeii, rendering their culture of gods and omens so that we understand. Every one of them is great, but Peter Capaldi, a sensational actor, must now receive special attention - his casting as the Twelfth Doctor (and Karen Gillan popping up in a pre-Amy role) make The Fires of Pompeii a curio for future fans.
There's so much to love. The water pistol (properly Doctorish, that); the running TARDIS translation joke that peppers the script with Latin and Welsh phrases; the spine-tingling prophesy-off between Lucius Petrus Dextrus and Evelina, each magical pronouncement punctuated by the ominous rumblings of Vesuvius. There are some beautiful lines (the High Priestess says of the Doctor that "he carries starlight in his wake") and some strong ideas, like the disturbing notion for a soothsayer of feeling the future change ("And yet this was meant to be!"). And I know appearances shouldn't matter as much as they do, but the use of the ancient Rome set at Cinecittà Studios in Italy makes this episode dazzle. One of the very best.
The boys weren't going to admit to being moved by the powerful ending, but Chris did pick out Donna making the Doctor return to the villa as one of his favourite bits. He did feel that the story was weakened by the fact that Vesuvius was always going to have to erupt. "[The Doctor and Donna] were acting like it was a difficult choice! It wasn't, it was an OBVIOUS DECISION." So obvious that he had to knock off two whole points: eight out of ten from him.
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