The premise—the moral dilemma the Doctor faces, and Donna's insistence that he save a family from Pompeii—was widely praised, while the writing, particularly of the supporting characters, was criticised.

At the house, the Doctor and Donna meet the local augur, Lucius Petrus Dextrus, who has arrived to collect a sculpture he commissioned.

The Doctor wishes to learn more about the sculptures and enlists Caecilius' son Quintus to help him break into Lucius Petrus' house.

Inside, the Doctor deduces that the circuits will make an energy converter, but he is caught by Lucius Petrus, who beckons a large stone creature to attack and kill them.

The Doctor discovers that the Sisterhood are being controlled by the Pyroviles, stony creatures whose home planet of Pyrovilia was lost.

[5] While telling the Doctor that he had sold the TARDIS, a stallholder (performed with a cockney accent) comments that he "got fifteen sesterces for it.

Lovely jubbly", referencing the London market trader term popularised as Del Boy's catchphrase in the sitcom Only Fools and Horses.

[12][13] At the end of Book I of the Cambridge Latin Course, Caecilius and Metella perish in Pompeii on the day of the eruption, but Quintus survives.

The episode was heavily based on a moral question posed to the Doctor by Donna: whether to warn the population of Pompeii, or to recuse themselves from the situation.

[9] The series' story arc was hinted at by the Doctor's invocation of the Shadow Proclamation, an intergalactic code previously invoked in "Rose", "The Christmas Invasion", "Fear Her" and "Partners in Crime",[14][15][16][17][18] and referencing the "Medusa Cascade", which executive producer Russell T Davies stated in Doctor Who Magazine would "come back to haunt us" later in the series.

[19] Moran also added continuity links independent of the story arc: as a "fun continuity thing", the script includes a scene in which the Doctor admits partial responsibility for the Great Fire of Rome, as depicted at the end of the 1965 serial The Romans;[12][20] and the sale of the TARDIS as modern art refers to the 1979 serial City of Death, which includes a scene in which the TARDIS is appraised in a similar fashion.

[12] Additionally, Lucius Petrus, while under prophetic influence, informs Donna that "there is something on your back"—a foreshadowing of the story development in the season's later episode "Turn Left".

Other locations suggested were in Malta and Wales, but the size of the project, the biggest since the show's revival, resulted in production taking place in Italy.

To create the falling ash, the special effects team used a large mass of cork, with a "constant supply of debris raining down".

Karen Gillan returned in the fifth series to play Amy Pond, full-time companion of Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor.

Casting director Andy Pryor suggested her to new executive producer Steven Moffat based on her performance in this episode as one of the soothsayers.

Capaldi also played John Frobisher throughout Children of Earth, the third series in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, although no similar connection has been made on-screen to this character.

The episode was the tenth most-watched programme of the week and received an Appreciation Index score of 87 (considered Excellent).

He was ambivalent to Donna's reaction to the Doctor leaving Caecilius's family to die: he criticised her acting, comparing her to The Catherine Tate Show character Joanie "Nan" Taylor, but said "top again if that was intentional".

"[32] 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".

His opening said "Fantastic effects and a well developed moral dilemma bolster 'The Fires of Pompeii', although the episode fails to erupt."

Rawson-Jones felt that Moran's script took "too long to actively engage the viewer and tap into the compelling premise of the time travellers arriving in the doomed city shortly before 'volcano day'."