The Reign Of Terror
Offended by Ian, the Doctor is determined to return his two passengers to their rightful place and time. But neither Ian nor Barbara is surprised to find that, while they have indeed returned to Earth, the TARDIS has put them in the path of history again, this time bringing them to the eve of the French Revolution. The time travelers stumbling into a farmhouse being used as a staging area for opponents of the Revolution, where they are captured by the Revolutionary soldiers – except for the Doctor, who’s left for dead when the barn is burned down. A scraggly youngster helps the Doctor to escape, but his companions are rounded up and scheduled for execution. Ian learns of the presence of a British spy among the Revolutionaries, and this knowledge saves his life; Barbara and Susan are eventually liberated by forces fighting against the Revolution. The Doctor adopts a disguise to free his friends from prison, but by the time he arrives, they have all already gone their separate ways; the Doctor tries to convince Robespierre to put an end to the executions, to no avail. Eventually, all four of the time travelers’ actions get them rounded up and returned to prison to await execution once more – unless, of course, their sentences are delayed by Napoleon’s uprising against Robespierre…
written by Dennis Spooner
directed by Henric Hirsch
music by Stanley MyersGuest Cast: Pete Walker (Small Boy), Laidlaw Dalling (Rouvray), Neville Smith (d’Argenson), Robert Hunter (Sergeant), Ken Lawrence (Lieutenant), James Hall (Soldier), Howard Charlton (Judge), Jack Cunningham (Jailer), Jeffrey Wickham (Webster), Dallas Cavell (Overseer), Denis Cleary (Peasant), James Cairncross (Lemaitre/Sterling), Roy Herrick (Jean), Donald Morley (Renan), John Barrard (Shopkeeper), Caroline Hunt (Danielle), Edward Brayshaw (Colbert), Keith Anderson (Robespierre), Ronald Pickup (Physician), Terry Bale (Soldier), John Law (Barrass), Tony Wall (Bonaparte), Patrick Marley (Soldier)
Notes: The scenes of the Doctor making his way to Paris on foot are the first-ever location footage shot outside the studio for Doctor Who…but they feature not William Hartnell, but a costumed extra made up to look like him.
Broadcast from August 8 through September 12, 1964
LogBook entry & review by Earl Green