"Doctor Who"
The Fires of Pompeii (2008)

Director:

Colin Teague

Writer:

James Moran (written by)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (2005)

Original Air Date:

12 April 2008 (Season 4, Episode 2)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The Doctor and Donna visit Pompeii in AD 79, on the eve of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. |

Plot Keywords:

Pompeii | Volcano | Volcano Eruption | Telephone Box | Man With No Name

Cast

David Tennant	...	The Doctor
Catherine Tate	...	Donna Noble
Phil Cornwell	...	Stallholder
Karen Gillan	...	Soothsayer
Sasha Behar	...	Spurrina
Lorraine Burroughs	...	Thalina
Peter Capaldi	...	Caecillius
Tracey Childs	...	Metella
Francesca Fowler	...	Evelina
François Pandolfo	...	Quintus
Victoria Wicks	...	High Priestess
Gerard Bell	...	Major Domo
Philip Davis	...	Lucius (as Phil Davis)

Runtime:

45 min (50 episodes)

Certification:

UK:PG (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

BBC Wales

Trivia:

Caecilius, Metella and Quintus are all named after characters who appeared in the first book of the Cambridge Latin Course, which is set in Pompeii just before its destruction.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the earthquakes in Caecillius' house before the eruption, despite the walls, statues and other ornaments shaking, the water in the pond remained perfectly still.

Quotes:

The Doctor: Some things are fixed, some things are in a flux. Pompeii is fixed.
Donna Noble: How do you know which is which?
The Doctor: That's how I see the universe. Every waking second, I can see: what is, what was, what could be, what must not. That's the burden of a Time Lord, Donna. And I'm the only one left.

Movie Connections:

References Spartacus (1960)

This is an episode that's everything an episode of Doctor who should be

A great one-off. This episode is great fun to watch. Not only is there a "baffling" mystery to be solved, but there's amazing tension because a huge argument is brewing between the doctor and Donna about whether they should leave Pompeii or not. Each of them is convinced they're doing the right thing.

That alone would make this a stand-out episode, but there are also some of the best special effects yet seen on the show.

Aswella as a few more tantalising hints about what might be coming later in the series.....

overall Grade A for this episode.