The Daleks Master Plan - The Destruction of Time

As Europe once said "it's the final countdown" and after eleven episodes its time to wrap up this epic adventure. It's quite a sad moment to know that this story is coming to an end. This story has a lot to achieve after making the viewers invest so much time into this story.

The alliance between the Daleks and Mavic Chen ends in spectacular fashion and this is the episode where the time destructor is activated and its where there are more deaths. After appearing in very little of the previous episode, its nearly the half way mark before he appears in this episode. When he does appear the episode steps up a gear and what is surprising is that the Doctor is the one that activates the time destructor. He is the one that effectivly kills Sara.

I personally think that it was a mistake to kill off Sara as she was a character that would have leant something good to the show and when you think that we have Dodo coming up soon then you realise the decision to kill off Sara was even more foolish despite how dramatic the death looked. The final scene with everyone trying to get into the TARDIS is one of the strongest scenes in the entire story which is quite a statement when you think what has happened in the story. It's just as effective a scene on cd as it is on TV.

I've not mentioned Kevin Stoney's performance much in this story but as Chen he has been brilliant and consistently engaging to watch. It's difficult to try and figure out which character is better, Chen or Tobias Vaughn. From start to finish, Chen has been a strong character that has managed to show an arrogance that hasn't been seen in Doctor Who before. His demise is long overdue and its good when his death happens. It's not the biggest or most noticeable death in this story as we see the exit of Jean Marsh. Sara becomes victim of the time destructor and its a shame that this episode doesn't exist on TV because it would have been a stunning piece of television. What we do have are telesnaps which show the harrowing effect of the time destructor has on Sara.

The performances from William Hartnell and Peter Purves have been solid in every episode. It must have been a relieve to Peter Purves to see that he had made it through the twelve episode. When you consider the loses the story has seen it must be said that this was the darkest story in Doctor Who history. Jean Marsh has also been a solid performer and her performances in recent Big Finish plays show what a great actress she is.  Even though he died early on, I thought that Bret Vyon was another good character and well played b Nicholas Courtney.

As an episode, The destruction of time did what it needed to do in its 25 minute slot and it did it well. Visually it would have been great and all the performances were strong. But it's a a twelve part story that I think it should be celebrated because despite its long running time it never seems like its running out of ideas and waiting for the end to come so that it can do the epic finale. Even it sometimes doesn't quite work it still feels like its building up to something. An epic in every sense of the word.

The Daleks Master Plan - The Abandoned Planet

This is the penultimate episode of this serial and its the beginning of the end. At the end of the previous episode the TARDIS burst into white light and there is several minutes before we find out that nothing major has happened to them. The explanation as to why this was the case was quite clever and the fallout from Sara's disbelief in the Doctors ways was quite amusing.

I like how Chen's popularity with the rest of the committee and the Daleks is pretty much non existent and there is a nice plan to try and oust him but its really too little too late as the Daleks still see some use for him. With the time destructor taking shape, it seems like the tension is starting to pick up. it seems like after several episodes of moving the story along without really mentioning the time destructor, we get server all mentions of it and it feels a bit more real.

There is a great sense of drama in trying to get warning back to Earth and there is a moment when Chen's ship explodes and it appears he has died but its all a ruse and he returns at the end of the episode to take Steven and Sara into the tunnel. 

For the first time since she joined Steven and the Doctor, it feels like Sara is part of the team. She works well with Peter Purves and their best scene was when they communicated when the rest of the council. Jean Marsh is on great form and it seems even sadder when you consider what will happen to her. William Hartnell goes missing for large portions of this story. It allows Jean Marsh and Peter Purves to take centre stage and they thrive in it. Hartnell's health is really starting to cause problems for the show and his lack of involvement in the episode does have an impact because you feel like he should be right in the thick of the action.

The cliffhanger set up the final episode nicely and if I were watching this in February 1966 then I would be counting down the days and hours until the next episode. This episode was good but was missing William Hartnell's presence.

The Daleks Master Plan - Escape Switch

Escape Switch is important for two reasons. The first being that its the last episode to exist on video and the second is that its the 100th episode of Doctor Who. Sadly there isn't any big fuss made of this and instead we get more sneaky movements for the Daleks trying to get the teranium core. The early part of this episode is focused on the Monk, Sara and Steven. It's not until the half way point before the Doctor has his initial scene with Chen and the Daleks. The handover scene is well done but is ruined slightly by the Egyptians attacking the Daleks.

There is a nice moment when Mavic Chen has to tell the Daleks that not evening runs to a schedule. Its something that the Daleks can get their head around. He has a wonderful moment when he push the Daleks eye stalk away in an act of defiance. I think that the relationship is pretty broken down. The return of the Monk makes sense now after he tries to suggest that the Daleks could use Steven and Sara as hostages then when he is taken as well tries to pretend he was saving their lives. There are some good comedic moments from the Monk and Peter Butterworth is a great piece of casting. When William Hartnell has his encounter with Chen and he hands over the core, its a great scene from him and shows that despite his ailing health he can still deliver good lines very well.

Its only now in this episode that the reason for setting this and the previous episode in ancient Egypt and its because of all the small crowded spaces. I think that the setting works better than it did on audio. It's better like this and actually doesn't look to bad. I think that if the previous episode had existed on video then the whole time spent in ancient Egypt would have worked better.

The Monks final scene is a good one as he seems to be abandoned on some horrible icy desert planet and we leave him presumably with the idea that we will see him again but that is the last we see of Peter Butterworth as the Monk. It's the final calm scene before the end of the episode. The final scene with the Doctor, Sara and Steven is very good and goes from humour at thinking of the Monks fate to wondering whether they can get Kembel and as they discuss things and Steven turns the switch then things go bright white so that's not a good sign.

I thought this was a good episode with some good moments and it felt like the story had been moved on. The Daleks were well used and Chen had some good stuff to do. As we approach the final two episodes of this epic, there is a great sense that we are building up towards something big.

The Daleks Master Plan - Golden Death

We're getting to the business end of the story. The episode starts off with a trip to ancient Egypt and a bit of a argument between Mavic Chen and the Daleks. The Doctor seems to be quite concerned with getting the lock mended after what the Monk did. First thing that is noticeable is that William Hartnell seems to be suffering from a croaky throat. This is a big continuity problem but I suppose in terms of storytelling its not the biggest problem ever.

Chen decides that instead of trying to get the real core himself, he gets the Monk to do it for him. Can't see why he does this apart from justify having Peter Butterworth back for another episode. It was at this point that I started to find myself wondering why we are even in ancient Egypt anyway. Then it dawned on me that very little was happening. The Daleks have very little impact in this episode which considering its their master plan is very surprising. Its almost as if Dennis Spooner didn't know what to do with the Daleks. It does seem like an awfully long time since the big hall with all the allies and the Daleks but its still impressive that despite their somewhat limited involvement in recent episodes, that the story is still moving along quite well. Even if the current location doesn't actually achieve anything to the story.

Peter Purves is very good in this episode and his greatness is something that hasn't been commented upon very much in these reviews. He has managed to take the action hero role that William Russell had done so well and made something different from the role. Jean Marsh seems to have fallen into that role of being a background companion. It's seems like its a short term thing but its a shame considering how good the character had been up until this point. William Hartnell seems to be ok form but doesn't have the same energy that he has had in the previous episode which is a shame. hopefully it's just the croaky voice that's doing this and he will be back on finer form next time.

It's one of the weakest episodes so far but only because the story hasn't really advanced in the past 25 minutes. The next episode is the final episode that currently exists on DVD and we can forget about this lack of excitement that I have had to endure.

The Daleks Master Plan - Volcano

Well after that brief respite where there was a bit of silliness, we get back to business and immediately we get Mavic Chen and we are reminded that Mavic Chen and the Daleks are about to test the fake teranium core. The core is tested but it is done in a rather horrible way. Trantis is the one that is tested and we get an idea of what the time destructor is meant to do and the fact it doesn't work (that comes later) is a rather god way of continuing the story. However his death is only delayed as the Daleks decide that he has outlived his usefulness and they exterminate him. The Daleks are more fierce than they have ever been.

There is a weird moment where we go to a cricket match. There is even time where the commentators talk about the runs that are required. Is like there was a scene missing from the previous episode and the really liked it so they decided to chuck it in here. The story thankfully returns to what we were expecting and it's not long before the title becomes relevant. Volcano refers to the setting of the next planet and we get the welcome return of the meddling monk. It's good to have him back if I am honest though its a mystery as to what purpose he serves apart from revenge but there isn't much time really for revenge. It is curious to know how he got away from 1066. It was a fairly simple explanation which is a shame. Another simple thing is how the Doctor gets round the lock that the monk has put on the TARDIS lock. No sooner have they left Titus that they go back to Earth during the New Year's Day celebration. Again something left over from the previous episode even though it could be argued that as this episode aired on New Year's Day 1966 that the viewer would appreciate this more than I would in the middle of August.

The cliffhanger is a little bit of a disappointment because it just seems to not really do anything except let the Daleks shout a bit. Not that there is anything wrong with that but i think that they could have come up with something stronger. Volcano is the eighth episode in the serial and this is the longest that a story has run and it doesn't seem like its running out of steam it has the same enthusiasm that it did back in episode one. I thought that despite a couple of iffy moments, the episode was a rather good one with the Daleks and Mavic Chen being back on good form and the regulars (i include Sara as a regular for now) are also on good form even though I can't understand her obsession with Kembel.

The Daleks Master Plan - Coronas of the Sun

Back to the CD’s and this story isn’t written by Terry Nation. It’s his idea but the responsibility of continuing this story falls to former script editor Dennis Spooner. At the end of the previous episode, the Doctor, Sara and Steven seemed to be in a situation where they wouldn’t be able to escape however what I forgot about were the invisible creatures and its their encounter that allows the Doctor and co to escape. There’s a nice fight that occurs early on which would have looked good on TV but sadly without that luxury we have to make do with the sound effects.

It’s very rare that I comment on a line from one of these episodes but this time saw another cracking line when Chen was talking to the Daleks and Chen is trying to make an excuse for not getting the teranium. The Dalek says that “You make your incompetence sound like an achievement”. The Daleks and Chen are both in fine form.

The Doctor has made a new core to try and fool the Daleks and Chen. In the previous Dalek adventure, the Doctor spends ages making a bomb to defeat the Daleks and here we are in a similar situation. There is a moment when Steven screams in pain and the viewer at the time must have thought that Steven was going to be the third death in as many weeks. It’s a great feeling to know that anyone could be next. The story builds up to the handing over of the fake Teranium. There is a moment when there is a question as to whether they will be able to fool the Daleks.

The ending of this episode seems to imply the wherever they have landed is going to be lethel to them. Bearing in mind that I know that what the next episode involves I can only say that this is effectively the end of the first half of the story. It’s been a solid build up to this moment and despite it losing something by being on CD, it still has a lot going for it and I thought that it was another episode where there were no deaths which makes two in a row.

The Time Meddler - Checkmate

The final episode of this story is also the final episode of the second season. This is where the Vikings come to Britain and the Doctor has to try and stop the Monk but first we have to get over the news that clearly the Monk is of the same race as the Doctor. Though obviously its not named its nice to finally get a bit more information about the Doctor even though we know that his race all look like humans.  

The Monk says that Stonehenge wouldn’t have been built with his technology. The Monk seems to want to meddle in time because he finds it amusing. Not for any egotistical gain he genuinely believes he’s doing good. I still find the scenes between Peter Butterworth and William Hartnell to be extremely funny. The Monk’s TARDIS is similar to the Doctor’s and what we see is a massive treasure trove of goodies. Another difference between the Doctor and the monks is that the console is raised up though its implied that the Monk’s TARDIS is superior to the Doctors. The camouflage circuit is referred to as the technology to change the TARDIS to match its surrounding. I don’t recall a name being given to it before and it obviously changes to chameleon later on.

The scene between Vicki and Steven where they discuss what will happen when the Monk changes history. The exact second it happens every history book ever written will change and it’s in this context that the not changing history takes greater significance. They seem to have been given a bit less to do in this episode after they enter the Monk’s TARDIS. Even what they do get given is a bit of a let down as Vicki has to tell the Doctor that they don’t have the TARDIS because the tide washed it away but this is quickly put down by the Doctor. The way that the story is wrapped up is quite strange. The Doctor isn’t the one that stops the Monk’s plans and the Doctor strands him in that period. That’s it. It seems a bit of a let down if I’m being honest and the final moment of the episode is another strange thing where the faces of Peter Purves, Maureen O’Brien and William Hartnell are imposed over a picture of stars. 

As a four part story, it certainly has some good things going for it. There are good characters and its definelty better than Dennis Spooner’s previous offering. I just think that it lacks from a proper conclusion to the story and it doesn’t feel like the Doctor has settled things against the Monk. It was ¾ a good story and ¼ an ok story.

The Time Meddler - A Battle of Wits

The penultimate episode of this story that I must be honest and say it has gone up in my estimation. Despite the quite good cliffhanger it quickly its not long before things settle down. There is a lot less action in this episode and a lot less going on that there has been in the previous two episodes. I like how the Monk has a to-do list. It’s such as childish thing to do. It also reminds the viewer what the Monk’s plans are and just how much he has to cram into two episodes.

I must say that William Hartnell is looking quite refreshed having come back of his holiday. Apart from one scene which he has with Alethea Charlton, all of his scenes are with Peter Butterworth. I think that their scenes were very funny and Peter Butterworth has been a revelation in this story because even though he’s the least menacing baddie in the shows history, he still manages to maintain my interest as an adversary of the Doctor’s. That’s more down to Butterworth than the writing.

The TARDIS appears to have been taken away by the tide. Knowing that this is a four part adventure, the idea of the TARDIS being washed away seems like a redundant thing to put in the story but at the time it must have been a genuine shock but nowadays its not so much of a shock but more of a plot point. It feels like a bit of the energy has left the story somehow. Not entirely sure how this happened. The Doctor and the Monk wander through the corridors. Vicki and Steven go from the monestary to the cliff and then back and that’s pretty much all they do.

There is a fair amount of violence in this episode. Admittedly its not Grand Theft Auto style violence but its not a typical sight to see the Doctor knock someone out with a stick. I suppose it’s the only bit of action in the episode as nothing else seems to happen here really.

When I first saw the cliffhanger I didn’t see it coming and I suspect those watching in 1965 would have been when they saw Vicki and Steven enter the Monk’s TARDIS. This is the first time that we see someone else have a time machine. Apart from the cliffhanger I must say that I was a little disappointed with this episode and felt like it was waiting for the final episode to come around. It’s good to have William Hartnell back.

The Time Meddler - The Meddling Monk

The second episode sees us hear more (and see more) from the monk. William Hartnell doesn’t appear in this episode except for the reprise from the previous episode and some pre-recorded dialogue. Any fans will know who and what the Monk is but at the time it must have been a nice mystery because he seems to know the Doctor and is trying to con the locals into thinking he’s a real monk. I like how creative they have been with letting Hartnell have his holiday but not impede the story. They just show the outside of the cell and have occasional cuts to hear the Doctor demand to be let out. There’s a strange cutaway moment to what appears to be stock footage from some film. I say film because someone is talking but we cant hear what is been said. Whilst it might be said that its good that they are trying to give the viewer a feel of the time but I think that they could have cut that few seconds out.

We have another situation in this episode where the locals seemed to be in the middle of a power struggle. It’s very much like ‘An Unearthly Child’ (which starred Alethea Charlton) and actually it’s done better here than in that story. The worst thing that there can be in a story is when you want the bad guys to win (like in The Space Museum).

When the Vikings do appear they look the part with their helmets and costumes even though one looks like he’s just come from a 1960’s episode of Top of the Pops. The Vikings immediately come across as baddies which depending on your stance in history is a good thing or a bad thing. Once they have arrived its not long before they become involved with the locals and a fight soon begins and ends. Steven becomes more willing to believe the situation that he finds himself and becomes quite clever when he fools the Monk and is convinced that the Monk is lying. He seems to be doing well in trying to be the action hero figure but I will state now that he will never be like Ian but I think that the partnership of Vicki and Steven is going to be a good one.

There is a bit of Spooner’s humour but it’s a blink and you’ll miss it and that shows that Spooner knows that he’s got a good story and hasn’t got time to allow the comedy to take centre stage.  There is too much going on for us to have a sequel to the Romans. The episode ends with Vicki and Steven entering the Doctors cell and find that under the blanket he isn’t there. It’s a good cliffhanger and I think that whilst its not as strong as the previous episode I do think that the pacing of the story works well and the characters are all relatively well.

The Time Meddler - The Watcher

I must admit that as I start the final story of the second series that I’m not quite sure about the show. It’s the first one that doesn’t feature Ian, Susan or Barbara and so three quarters of the original line up has gone. Now we are left with a very different Doctor to the one that we saw in ‘An Unearthly Child’. It was the same feeling (oddly enough) that I felt when Carole Ann Ford left. The Time Meddler is another historical story however it’s the first pseudo-historical adventure. Meaning that there is a bit of sci-fi mixed into the historical goings on. This adventure is also another by Dennis Spooner who wrote ‘The Romans’ which is an adventure that I wasn’t 100% keen on.

In one of the first scenes with the Doctor, Steven and Vicki. The Doctor is asked to explain the TARDIS and whilst he doesn’t see why he should its nowhere near as aggressive as it was back in ‘An Unearthly Child’. In fact he seems to thrive to the challenge and is looking forward to prove Steven wrong. When the Doctor shows Steven a Viking helmet he comes up with the great line “What do you think this is? A space helmet for a cow?” It’s a cracking line. Another is when he states to Steven that he’s “Not a mountain goat”. It’s a good thing that happens in this story where they are trying to show a doubtful Steven that they are indeed in the past. It does feel slightly frustrating because the viewer knows that this is the truth and I just want Steven to get to grips with the situation and then we can all continue with the show.

Considering that the entire episode is made in studio, the story moves along at such as pace that it doesn’t really become an issue. There is some much that is happening and that Dennis Spooner seems to have found the right balance between humour and drama. The Monk is a figure that has some mystique about him and even though he doesn’t actually utter a word he still manages to have something about him. Even though at this point Peter Butterworth hadn’t appeared in a Carry On film it’s the most high profile name that the show had cast.

The episode sees Alethea Charlton return after appearing in the very first story where she was impressive. Here she plays a similar character but probably a bit more normal. In this episode she’s weary of the Doctor (some might say understandably) and then after a small while she starts telling the Doctor all the things that he asks. The Doctor spends the rest of the episode being a bit curious with the music and working out the time and telling the viewer what is about to happen. I must admit that this is a part of history that I like so it’s probably why I don’t mind the history in this episode.

I must say that I’ve never been a massive fan of ‘The Time Meddler’ but based on the opening episode I am starting to warm to it. Whether that will still be the case at the end of the story remains to be seen but out of the two Dennis Spooner stories we’ve had this is definitely the stronger of the two and the process of getting over the departure of Ian and Barbara continues.

Day 57: The Romans - Inferno

The final episode of this story which hasn’t been one of the greatest in Doctor Who. It starts with the sword fight with Ian. Sadly that’s where the excitement ends because the rest of the story continues to be a precession of scenes where we are suppose to find things funny but it doesn’t work. The next time that the story picks up a bit is when the Doctor is looking over a map of Rome and accidentally sets fire to the map which Nero is horrified by at first but soon cheers up when he realises that he could burn Rome to the ground so the senate would back his plans to rebuild Rome.

The problem with this episode is that I have lost patience with the story and just think that its neither funny nor dramatic. The performances are fine but its what they have to do that is poor. Even William Russell cant save this story and what started off as an interesting journey at the early start of the story now descends into nothingness. The moment the fire starts on the map it is when the story is getting wrapped up and the regulars start to make their way out of Rome and back to the villa. The shot of Rome up in flames might seem cheap and a bit of a let down but I think that whilst it might have been good to see something better but its rather effective and I liked it.

The last shot of Nero is of him playing his lyre whilst Rome burns which has spawned the phrase. Nero has been a massive disappointment because unlike Marco Polo, I thought that they could have done something different with the character and made him a threat in the story instead of the clown that he was portrayed.

I like it when the regulars are reunited after narrowly missing each other for the previous episodes. It might have been a far stretch to believe that they could all have missed each other whilst almost tripping over each other but that’s the least of the stories problems and it’s a massive relief that it was only four episodes long.  The final scene of the episode is in the TARDIS and the Doctor says the TARDIS is being dragged down by some force. It’s a nice way to ensure that people turned in for the next episode as it’s a nice mystery about what could be powerful enough to do this. I cant deny that Im sad that this episode is over. It was fun a bit at the beginning but soon became tiresome and not really what I think Doctor Who should be doing. Historicals are hard enough to get right without adding the

Day 56: The Romans - Conspiracy

The penultimate episode of this story sees the four regulars have their own adventures. The Doctor is on course to play in front of Nero and befriends him. Unfortunately there is a lot of nothing happening in this story. Instead of trying to install some action into this, Dennis Spooner decides to base a large chunk of the episode Nero’s palace instead of having more of Ian which is something I was yearning for. Had there been more of William Russell then I would be more warm to the whole four episodes but sadly what we have is about 20 minutes of the Nero running around after Barbara and the Doctor enjoying a sauna.

The scene where Nero is chasing after Barbara is a bit like a sketch from the Benny Hill show. It’s rather silly and whilst I know that its suppose to be a comedic episode its still a bit frustrating. Another thing that was frustrating was how the Doctor missed Barbara yet again. It’s quite a while before we finally get to the more serious side of the story and that of Ian’s situation. He’s about to be trained to be a gladiator.

Vicki gets to spend some time with Locusta. Locusta is a woman who poisons people. I quite like the character and thought that Anne Tirard played the role quite well and seemed to add some sanity to the plot.  Vicki ends up nearly poisoning Nero which would have been against history.

The Doctor is still due to play his musical instrument even though he can’t actually play a note. The scene where the Doctor does end up playing the instrument he decides that he is going to play it but so quietly that no one can hear it. It’s quite a bold plan of the Doctor and it fits in with the feel of the story. The moment where the Doctor stops Nero from drinking the poison is the Doctor’s attempt to prevent history from being changed and it brings the events of ‘The Aztecs’ to the viewers mind. Nero gets someone else to test his drink and it is filled with poison. The rather pithy comment that he makes when the person drops dead I think is rather out of step with the show.

The episode ends with Ian in another fight in front of Nero and Barbara. It’s quite a good fight and it leads to a nice cliffhanger where Nero does the dreaded thumbs down thing. What almost makes it seem tense is Barbara’s reaction. The episode is rather a let down because after the mix of comedy and drama in the previous episode, it was sad that it seemed to be more comedy in this one. My view of the story hasn’t really changed and it’s easy to anyone why this story isn’t as well loved as it is.

 

Day 55: The Romans - All Roads Lead to Rome

The episode starts off with the cliffhanger of the mute assassin about to kill the Doctor. What follows is a nice little fight sequence which is similar to the one in The Rescue. I thought that the cliffhanger was a bit odd and I still think its odd but the fight was quick and immediate that I forgot about it at first. The Doctor almost won before Vicki chases him out of the window, much to the Doctors annoyance. 

More odd models to show that they are in Roma, at least it’s a step up from the drawings in ‘The Reign of Terror’. Barbara is on her own and she is about to become a slave. She is looking after a woman who is very ill a bit like Ian was back in ‘The Reign of Terror’. She gets an offer from Tavious but refuses it which is in keeping with her character but I think had Vicki or Susan been with her then there might have been a different outcome. Ian is also on his own but has ended up on a ship. Neither of their settings is particularly cheery which is at odds with the light hearted tone the story has taken on the Doctor and Vicki’s side of things. Things get worse for him when the ship hits the rocks. It’s all got really bad for him really quickly. 

Tavious seems like a nice person even though he is involved in what is essentially human trafficking. Which I’m not sure how I feel about it. Being such a horrific thing it feels wrong to sympathise with him even if he shows kindness to one of our favourite characters. He gets his own way and buys her at the auction but Barbara is still not going to be 100% grateful. It’s good how the Doctor and Vicki miss seeing Barbara because the Doctor is in too much of a hurry to meet Nero. It’s a frustrating thing that happens here but if they did meet then the story would be over too quickly. 
We get to meet Nero in this episode and he’s not quite historical figure that he should have been. He is very much played for laughs and I must admit that the scene with the Doctor and Nero was quite fun to watch with Vicki chipping in the odd line that makes the initial scene between these two quite good.

Despite starting off quite comedic, the story takes a more darker tone than in the previous episode. Ian and Barbara are in quite harsh situations. It’s good that the Doctor and Vicki’s story is more light-hearted as this story should have the right balance and Dennis Spooner has done well with this script in my opinion. This is a better episode and my opinion of the episode has changed greatly since watching the opening episode.
 

Day 54 - The Romans: The Slave Traders

The Romans marks a change in style for Doctor Who. This is the first story that features more comedy than drama. This is another pure historical story. After the reprise of the TARDIS going over the cliff, the story moves on a month with the crew resting. Well Ian is resting and the Doctor is watering the plants. Vicki an Barbara are going to the market. When Barbara and Vicki are in the market, Vicki is presumptuous as she thinks that Barbara will make a dress out of some material. She’s also a little ungrateful as she is bored and wants to leave. Though she seems to perk up when the Doctor goes to Rome.

The crew aren’t looking for trouble (though they never are) yet it seems to find them very quickly. There are lots of people interested in them and its quite good how people have just assumed that they are looking after the house for the owner who is in Gaul. It’s quite a convenient plot point that answers the question as to how they have ended up in this house/villa. There is a lovely scene where they are all sitting around enjoying the food that they are eating. There is a nice bit of enquiring on the Doctor’s part about what they’ve eaten and it shows how the series has developed in a relatively short time. Despite being together for only a short time, its amazing just how well they seemed to have gelled.

There’s a lovely scene with Ian and Barbara after the Doctor and Vicki have left where they seem to behave like a married couple. They spend a lot of time lounging around and joking going on between them and it’s a nice moment that we don’t often get to witness in Doctor Who. Sadly it doesn’t last long and just when you get use to the niceness of the pacing and the humour, it all changes. They are taken as slaves and so their story is more ‘grown-up’ than the one featuring the Doctor and Vicki. The Doctor gets taken to be someone else by a Roman guard after Maximus who was first seen in the square by Vicki. He was suppose to be killed by the mute on the order of Nero. When you first seem him in the market you think how much he looks like the Doctor. To be honest it’s a bit silly as it’s the cliché of drama that someone is taken for someone else.

The thing about this story is that the comedy takes some out of the sting out of the grim idea of being taken as slaves. This means that there isn’t much in the way of drama and it just feels like two plots are running side by side and you know that they will be reunited. The cliffhanger is a bit odd if I’m honest. What we have is the mute assassin walking up to the curtain which belongs to the room containing the Doctor and Vicki and then the screen fades to black.

The whole episode is a comedy episode with a faint hint of seriousness. It wrong foots us because we had become use to serious episodes and at times quite dark that when it tries to do comedy it doesn’t seem quite right. It’s hard to believe that they decided to do this story but it exists and as an episode is perfectly fine. There are some nice moments and its better than some of the stories coming up.

Rating - 6.83/10

Day 42: The Reign of Terror - Prisoners of Conciergerie

The final episode of Doctor Who’s first season. It wasn’t the final story to be filmed in this production block but it’s the first season finale in Doctor Who. There’s an awkward moment when they stand around waiting for the captions appear on screen. It could only happen in 1960’s TV. When they do eventually get started its not quite the getting out of the blocks that I would expect from the final part of the story. The first six minutes are made up of just standing around and talking about things that cropped up in the first episode. Once the story gets going the action moves to a pub where Barbara is dressed like a maid and Ian looks like….well I don’t know what like but it’s a funny look.

Napoleon Bonaparte is possibly the biggest historical figure that the show has encountered. It seems like a late addition to include him in as when he does get introduced then the shift of the story seems to change. It’s almost like Dennis Spooner has thrown this in at the last minute because they were worried that the story needed something to keep the story going for 20 minutes.

It’s 20 minutes before Susan appears and its another episode where Susan seems to be given a redundant role. She cant really do much in five minutes and it would have been nice if they had done something else or re-written the script to have Susan at least appear instead of just stagger into the story. Barbara and Ian get the most amount of the action and the Doctor seems to be getting more and more impatient as he waits for Susan to be freed. It’s another episode where the regulars seem to be passengers in the story and allowing the historical figures to do what they need to do.

There is a rather crude map of what I think is France but could have been designed by a five year old. It’s then mixed in with stock footage of a horse and carriage. It seems to be a theme of this story where the production values aren’t quite as good as they normally would be. Even when you consider that the budget wouldn’t have been there even at this stage of the production process, you think that professional integrity was sacrificed

The Destiny is in the stars speech was a lovely way to end the episode. It would be seven weeks before the show returns and I suppose there is no point in doing a cliffhanger because people would have forgotten after nearly two months. As an episode it was slightly better than the previous one because there seemed to be bit more of people moving around. It seems to have halted the decline that there was over the last couple of episodes. As a story it was quite a good one. The first half of the story is stronger because it seemed more active whereas the latter half was just people standing around talking about French politics which with the best will in the world isn’t something that really excities me.



Day 41: The Reign of Terror - A Baragin of Necessity

This is the second episode to be animated. I’m still impressed with how good the animation looks and how it feels part of the episode. It’s great to see how this episode would have looked up. Obviously there are some things that they have probably had to make up but its still animation wise a good episode.


Ian spends the first few minutes of the story tied up after being fooled by Leon there is quite an exciting moment when Ian is saved and it’s a problem with this episode is that its not a particularly memomrable episode. After the initial couple of episodes, it’s a shame that this latter part of the story has essentially been about standing in rooms and trying to win this battle. It’s the problem that comes with historical stories because there is only so much that can be done and when it’s a historical story with aliens then its different but with a pure historical there is a pretty strict course of events and you cant really do much.

Another problem with this story is that there is a lot of nothing happening. The best that we get is Leon’s death leading to a moral debate between Ian and Barbara and their difference of opinion about how to feel about Leon. It’s different from what they were like in the early part of this story. Carole Ann Ford may as well have not bothered turning up because she wasn’t given very much to do as all we do see of her is her face through the bars of the cell door and then she tries to escape the jail and gets stopped. In fact this episode sees the lion share of the action given to the supporting cast which isn’t something that has happened before but the performances were all quite good.

The title refers to the deal that the Doctor does with Lemaitre. He has to as he says otherwise Susan wont be released and that would be the only reason that the Doctor would help him. Hartnell seems to be still having fun in his current role. It’s a shame that he will have to go back to his old garb because it’s a brilliant site and seems more eccentric than his old one and more in line with the other outfits.

The cliffhanger was another good one and was probably the most exciting part of the episode. The Doctor arrives back at Jules Renan’s house accompanied with Lemaitre and Renan claims that the Doctor has betrayed them. It’s a fair assumption based on what they see and it will be interesting to see how the Doctor gets himself out of this. Hopefully the final episode will redeem this because the last couple of episodes have felt a bit stagnant and what this story deserves is a cracking finale because its not just the final episode of the story but it’s the final episode of the season.

Day 40: The Reign of Terror - The Tyrant of France

The fourth episode of this story is the first animated one of the release. Up until this was released on DVD, all we had was the audio version and a narrated version on VHS. So this was the first time that we would get to see what this episode was like when it was first transmitted in August 1964. The cliffhanger from the previous episode saw the shopkeeper say that he’s got evidence of the traitor and shows the Doctor’s ring. The Doctor tries a nice bit if diplomatic diplomacy with Robespierre (Keith Anderson). It’s good how Hartnell seems to be having fun in this episode and its good how despite Robespierre being quite an important part of the story, the Doctor doesn’t really have much respect for him.


William Russell has come off holiday so he is back to being in the thick of the action. His return is rather dramatic after being bought in by Jules. After being out of it pretty much for a fortnight, it’s a shame that he doesn’t really do much except talk and sit down or the course of this episode.

Susan is getting worse and its deducted that Susan caught something whilst in prison. This means that Carole Ann Ford’s involvement is somewhat limited. The partnership between Carole Ann Ford and Jacqueline Hill is again quite good in this episode. Carole Ann Ford has been given a nice run of episodes where she hasn’t been a whiney schoolkid. Ok so she’s playing been unwell but its better than acting like a four year old. When the Psychian is treating Susan its clear that he’s making a quick exit so that he can report them to the Jailer. At least Susan and Barbara saw it coming straight away and were hampered by a locked door. However they are soon caught and end up back in prison. It seems like it’s a way of extending the story a bit because the whole thing about this episode is that it’s a lot of nothing happening. There’s a nice moment when Barbara and the Doctor are reunited. It’s a lovely little moment and a rare one of happiness. I always think about the early episodes of this series when the relationship as a lot more frosty than it is now and how they have all mellowed and become friends over the course of the series.

The shopkeeper who has news about the traitor is in one cell whilst the Doctor manages to dodge him (unknowingly). It creates a bit of tension about whether the keeper will be able to point out the Doctor as the traitor. Just as it looks like he is about to leave he is stopped by the jailer. It would be rude not to mention something about the animation. It’s the second story so far that has had lost episodes animated and this one was several years after the last lot and the style of the drawing matches the mood of the story and was very good to watch.

The cliffhanger was rather good as Ian was being set up and ended up being captured by Leon and his guards. With Barbara and the Doctor being reunitd and Susan bound to get better its just typical that someone is prevented from making it a proper reunion. It’s not been the most exciting episode as it was a lot of sitting down and talking and not much else happening. The only thing that makes this episode worth watching is seeing the very good animation.

Day 39: The Reign of Terror - A Change of Identity

I commented on the poor cliffhanger from ‘Guests of Madame Guillotine’ where Ian looks slightly shocked to see Barbara and Suasn on their way to the guillotine. The directors have a choice of either replaying the cliffhanger or do it again live but give it a slightly different emphasis to it and it would have been nice if Henric Hirsch had done this but no we don’t get that we get to see the lacklustre ending. The Doctor finally reaches Paris which is a good studio set. Whilst Ian is in a cell and Barbara and Susan are being taken from pillar to post, the Doctor spends a lot of time in this episode to walking around and getting dressed. He walks into a clothes shop and despite having no money, he arranges for a clothes swap. Hartnell really goes for 11 on the comedy front when he goes into the conciergerie as a regency officer. It’s the first time that Hartnell has had a change of costumes in 39 episodes. It’s a fantastic costume and Hartnell plays the role well

This is the second week that William Russell is on holiday and his presence - is maintained by some more pre-filmed stuff. He uses his chance to breakout by removing the key from the big set that the jailer left when it got stuck and his attention was diverted. All his scenes don’t actually have any dialogue which I think is a bit strange but Russell does well with them and manages to make them fit in what the rest of the story. There’s a nice shoot-out that takes place and despite it being brief it was rather well done and it leads to Barbara and Susan being freed/captured again.

Danielle is the first female supporting character that we have encountered in this story which is strange considering we are into episode 3 of this story. She is the person who seems to be more of friend to Susan and Barbara. Susan becomes ill in this episode and it at first looks like fatigue but by the end of the episode it looks like it’s something a bit more serious. Carole Ann Ford has been allowed to settle down after her hysterics from ‘A Land of Fear’ and Ford puts in a good performance in this episode. Jacqueline Hill doesn’t really do very much in the story as she is playing mother to Susan and it’s a shame really because Hill deserves better.

Jules (played by Donald Morely) is a very likeable person and vows to Barbara to get Ian out of the Conciergerie. It shows the despite the possibility of being killed, he is willing to get people out even when he doesn’t know them and must know that they aren’t French. Jean (Roy Herrick) is also a likeable person but is outshone by Jules. It’s good to have characters in this story that are nice and are there to be supportive to the regulars as it makes the story less bleak than it could have been.

The sets are really good in this episode and again Roderick Laing has done a good job. I thought that the home of Jules and Jean was lit in a good way as it wasn’t overdone and the candles help create the right atmosphere. It’s a very small set and almost has a theatre feel to it. After the

The cliffhanger is very interesting. The shopkeeper shows the Doctors ring and says that its evidence against the traitor. It’s much better than the one we got in the Guests of Madame Guillotine. The whole episode felt better than the previous two. If you watch the documentary about this story you will know that this is the episode that there was a bit of a problem with the director Henric Hirsch who became ill during the recording and none of that shows in the story and the story continues to tick along nicely.

Day 38: The Reign of Terror - Guests of Madam Guillotine

We get a map and a caption to indicate we are in Paris and a brief cliff of the guillotine and another picture to show us some more. Sometimes the small budget is evident and in this brief moment it shows. This is the first of two episodes where William Russell doesn’t appear except in pre-filmed scenes as he was on holiday during this time. His scene in this episode was very good and he and Jeffrey Wickham (Webster) should be applauded for this all too short moment. This is where all the regulars are split up and this is where they have to go on their various plot strands.


There is a weird scene where someone of authority is talking directly to the camera as if Barbara and Susan are in front of him. It’s another quite good piece of directing from Henric Hirsch. It then leads to them being put into prison where Ian has been put in a cell just moments earlier. The Doctor was last seen in the house burning and somehow he was rescued by the young boy that he was a bit rude to in the previous episode. He goes on his journey to Paris and gets caught up in a little bit of drama where he is force to work mending the road. Thankfully it just takes place in this episode and doesn’t spill into the next one. The way that the Doctor bashes the Road Works overseer (as he’s credited) is quite a surprising moment and one that I wouldn’t have expected from the Doctor. It must have been someone in the production office to make sure that the guy was just sleeping as it was quite a violent moment.

This episode is sees another first as its the first time that there has been some outside location. It is of the Doctor walking through a field and along a path going to Paris. It isn’t William Hartnell of course (its Brian Proudfoot) but its still a nice moment in the shows history as it. It’s complimented by some music that sounds like its from the period.

Barbara and Susan are locked together whilst Ian gets a cell to himself. They really get the lions share of the stuff to do in this 25 minutes. They notice how they have always managed to get out and Susan rather pessimistically notes that they always had Ian and/or the Doctor with them. Susan talks about things catching up with you and it hindsight it seems like it’s another indication of Susan’s impending departure and even though I know this isn’t the case it’s still fun to think of RTD or Steven Moffat style story arc in action here. Susan is all doom and gloom in this episode though despite this they are a very good double act and Jacqueline Hill puts in another great performance.

The jailer is a comedy character as despite how rough he looks he is still quite an amusing sight in this episode. Even when he’s sending Barbara and Susan to the guillotine it doesn’t quite carry the menace that it could and maybe should have done. We get more of him and its Dennis Spooner’s comedic writing that has meant we get a slightly comedic figure in what is a very dark and grim story.

The cliffhanger is simply Ian reacting to seeing Barbara and Susan at the gallows. It’s a bit understated and I think it could be been handled better. It’s not William Russell’s fault as he did the best that he could but its wasn’t the most exciting ending to an episode that there has ever been.

Day 37: The Reign of Terror - A Land of Fear

The Reign of Terror is the final story of the first series and its another pure historical adventure. It’s the most recent historical story that the TARDIS has visited so far. It’s also the one where there is a greater sense that the regulars are in peril. In the previous episode, the Doctor was throwing a hissy fit after Ian cracked a joke. The opening scene sees Susan get over emotional about the impending departure and whilst its obviously sad that they would be apart it seems that Susan forgot that Ian and Barbara didn’t plan on being a part of the TARDIS crew and all the adventures that they have been on was never going to change that.


I like how confident the Doctor is about getting the TARDIS back to earth considering that its taken 37 episodes to get even this close to 1963. Even Ian isn’t getting his hopes up. It’s nice that once Ian realises that they aren’t where the Doctor thought they were, he isn’t disappointed. Though thatt’s short lived when he realises that they are in the middle of the French Revolution or The Reign of Terror as Barbara calls it. The Reign of Terorr is the Doctor’s favourite period in Earth’s history. Not quite sure why but everyone has their quirks.

To me the best performances came from William Russell and Jacqueline Hill. Individually they are strong but when they are working together then they are even better. I like how they work together to manipulate the Doctor to come out with them instead of just leaving them and going off into time and space. Then they are simply great throughout the episode. Carole Ann Ford has a ropey start but once they are at the house then she improves greatly whilst William Hartnell doesn’t really do much in this episode and his best contribution comes when he gets knocked out.

The boy that Ian grabs sees some unusual reactions from Barbara and Susan. Barbara reckons Ian is hurting the boy by just grabbing him by his shirt and Susan has a go at the Doctor for scaring him. I don’t think that Ian was particularly hard with him and the Doctor was just been himself yet that didn’t seem to make any difference to the ladies.

The sets are a mixed lot. The woodland scenes at the beginning are somewhat disappointing yet the abandoned house they come across is very impressive. Obviously they decided to spend the money where it would be of most use. The house looks exactly as it is meant to and yet it still looks quite spacious in what was probably a tiny studio. Credit to Roderick Laing for what he has done here.

It’s not long before they are captured and they are separated with the Doctor being knocked out whilst the others are taken away. The cliffhanger is a good one as it sees the Doctor in the strange position of being burned to death. It’s made even more effective with the camera focusing in on the flames of the house before panning upwards with the highest flames appearing on screen just to remind us of the Doctor’s peril.

It’s directed rather well by Henric Hirsch. There are some interesting shots and the story moves along at a snappy pace considering that the story takes place in just the one location but its still very enjoyable and it sets up the rest of the serial very well.