Yes it’s old Dr who time again and this time we go right
back to the first Dr Who and one of the longer stories.
This story was first
broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 August to 12 September 1964.
Brief plot:
The Doctor and his grand-daughter Susan along with Ian and
Barbra arrive on earth where, what the Doctor thinks, is 1960s England so
returning Ian and Barbara home. However, as usual, the TARDIS has got it
slightly wrong, not only are they in Paris but about 200 years early – slap
bang in the middle of the reign of terror during the French revolution.
Can the Doctor keep to the laws of the time lords and not
change the course of history and still make sure everyone survives and keeps
out of the clutches of Madame Guillotine..?
What I thought of it:
The writing of the overall story is good but I dare say
historians will be able to hind historical inaccuracies in it but this is meant
to be a drama series not a documentary so I think we can allow a bit of
artistic licence. However, this was a six part story and I have to say I felt
it was rather long and some of it could have been cut and would not have
affected the story very much at all and also this would have helped with the
pace some of the scenes move at.
Although the story is in black and white, whilst it may put
some off, I feel does help give the feeling of the damp and dankness of the
prison which is one of the main sets in the story. The lighting used in these
scenes also adds to the squalor of the conditions even if the stone walls do
look more like a painted pantomime sets than actual stone. The jailer (Jack
Cunningham) is also a good piece of casting the part is portrayed as someone
who isn’t all that intelligent but doesn’t miss a trick if there is money to be
made.
The acting is generally of a high standard although James
Caincross as Lemairtre does rather over egg his part and his rather ‘superior’
accent which appears part way through and his cutting over other actors’ lines is
a little irritating. William Hartnell does seem to be enjoying the part of the
doctor in this story as by this point the series had settled down and was
gaining viewers. Although there is the occasional fluff on his lines which have
been left in he carries off the part as a rather pompous, fussy but caring
gentleman well.
As with many of these older Dr Who stories there are some
missing episodes in this story. Fortunately thanks to audio recordings from
fans of the original broadcast this story has two animated episodes to replace
the missing ones. Whilst these are not going to be as good as the actual
episodes would have been they do complete the story and they have been well
drawn. The sound quality is a bit up and
down in these episodes but that is to be expected but it does show Keith
Anderson as Robespierre off as a an excellent voice artist – particularly as
Robespierre himself was reputed to be a highly skilled orator. Also there is no
sign of the ‘allo ‘Allo dodgy French accents – thank goodness (not that I think
there is anything wrong with ‘Allo ‘Allo)
Ok the budget didn’t allow for much in the way of special
effects and even the TARDIS appears silently this time there is also some
camera ‘flare’ where candles and burning torches are used which more modern
camera lens filters would block out. The gun fight in the street was about as
convincing as Twiggy impersonating Pavarotti but for me some of this was the charm
of the old series as there was nothing to distract the viewers from poor
storylines and dodgy acting which have badly affected the more recent series.
Bonuses:
Don’t lose your head: the making of the reign of terror:
Discussion by the cast and crew about the story Carol
Ann-ford liking the fact it is a historical story rather than a ‘mad science
fiction one’. Discussing the casting and how they had to rehearse on set when
the set was leaking avoiding the drips and the buckets on the floor. Also the
fact that Hartnell and the director didn’t exactly get on as Hartnell didn’t
rate him very highly.
Also how in the studio when it got a bit warm the sprinklers
would come on so everything had to be stopped and then restarted.
Also mentioned is the relief from both cast and crew when
the story was finished as this was the last story of the first series. Also
mentioned is that Henric Hirsch didn’t direct another Dr Who after this one.
Robespierre’s domain set tour:
Begins by showing some of the animated sets used for the two
missing episodes, with sections of the audio from the story used as well.
Photo gallery:
Self explanatory
Animation gallery:
A look at the drawings used for the two animated episodes
including the drawings of the cast and costumes etc.
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