Doctor Who For People Who Hate Doctor Who, Part One: The Girl in the Fireplace
I know what you're thinking: Oh, god! Please don't try to make me watching Doctor Who happen. It's never going to happen.
And don't worry. If you're not a fan, I'm not going to even attempt to make you a fan by petulantly retelling the entire history of the Daleks from 1963 to the present day and Who-splaing about how the Daleks are really just thinly veiled metaphors demonizing collectivism and socialism.
That's right out.
Instead I'm just going to point out that there have been a fair number of top-notch writers contributing to the show since the reboot in 2005. And every once in a while an amazing episode emerges that can stand completely on its own as great storytelling. You can come at these episodes without any knowledge of the Whoniverse whatsoever and still completely follow along. These also tend to be my favorite episodes.
The Girl in the Fireplace is one such episode. Forget the backstory of who, what, and why. The Girl in the Fireplace consists of one great story by Steven Moffat (Sherlock) and two great actors, David Tennant and Sophia Myles. In this episode the science fiction takes a backseat to the core relationship between two star-crossed people who meet across a lifetime.
Please note that this is not your typical Doctor Who story. If you watch another random episode expecting to find a poignant story of personal connection across space and time, you're going to be sorely disappointed. This episode takes a break from sonic screwdrivers and guys in rubber monster suits to examine what it's like when two humans connect, even if one of them happens to be a two-hearted alien from the planet Gallifrey.