 Scott Matthewman of The Stage said that Donna 's insistence to change the past " formed the emotional backbone of this episode , producing some truly heartbreaking performances " . He liked the joke about the TARDIS 's translating the Doctor 's and Donna 's Latin phrases to Celtic , saying it was " subtly played throughout the episode [ ... ] in a way that builds the joke without trampling it into the ground " . His favourite part was Donna 's attempts to divert the population of Pompeii away from the beach ; the scene was " the emotional highpoint of a series of heart rending scenes " . However , he criticised Moran 's writing , specifically , Quintus 's and Metella 's dialogue , saying the former " remained pretty much one @-@ dimensional throughout " . Alan Stanley Blair of SyFy Portal also gave a positive review . He was highly appreciative of Tate , saying " [ she ] moved even further away from her " Runaway " character that initially joined the show . " The phrase " TK Maxximus " and the Doctor 's use of a water pistol to subdue the Pyrovile were complimented , as were the special effects used to animate the Pyrovile . However , he disapproved of the use of Cockney colloquialisms in the episode , most notably the Stallholder ( Phil Cornwell ) saying " lovely jubbly " . 
