Doctor Who: 10 Timey-Wimey Episodes (Written By Steven Moffat)

8. The Girl In The Fireplace

Years before that temporal temptress River Song arrived on Doctor Who, Steven Moffat created another timey-wimey Doctor Who love story in the Girl in the Fireplace. Discovering time windows on a 51st century spaceship, the Doctor wanders into 1700s France and encounters a young Reinette Poisson, the famous Madame De Pompadour. He returns €“ minutes apart for him €“ several times over her life and each time the pair grow closer. The reason for these time windows is that the spaceship's clockwork repair droids want to get their hands on Reinette's brain when she is 37 (due to their ship, SS Madame De Pompadour, being 37 years old). The Doctor defeats the droids and promises to come back for Reinette and show her the stars. Sadly, the uneven windows mean that when he returns, Reinette has passed away. The Doctor is heartbroken. While it seems natural for the Moff to write puzzlebox plots, they are rarely as heartfelt and sincere as the one on show here which perfectly utilises the timey-wimey to tell a unique story about love and loss. I'm not winding you up.