Doctor Who: 15 Real Historical Characters The Doctor Has Met
9. Madame De Pompadour
While not the most well-known historical figure to be visited by the Doctor, no meetings have an impact quite like this one. Essentially a love story, 'The Girl in the Fireplace' ingeniously entangles the life of this French aristocrat with our favourite time lord in the most brilliant, yet heartbreaking way imaginable. The episode also works a treat in getting us to know a famous figure in French history that is largely unknown to the English speaking world.
The setting of the episode is a spaceship that mysteriously contains time portals to different moments in Madame de Pompadour's life as she is stalked by the ship's maintenance droids. The Doctor makes several visits via the portals throughout her life, with de Pompadour developing a deep affection for him throughout the years, even though it is just moments for him.
What works so ingeniously and makes this one of the great Doctor Who episodes, is in its portrayal of the impact the Doctor has on other's lives in such a short amount of time, while his friends "take the slow path". The true agony of the Doctor building friendships and falling in love with a human only to watch them pass before his eyes, is a heartbreaking but poignant reminder that nothing can truly last for our beloved timelord, and that living for eternity ain't all it's cracked up to be.