| THE REIGN OF TERROR by Dennis Spooner |
| Story 8 Synopsis: Convinced he has returned Ian & Barbara to their homes, the Doctor is keen to get moving again, but Ian tricks him into coming with them, to check it really is England in 1963. They come to a farmhouse, and find that not only are they a few miles from Paris, but that the year is 1794, during the Reign of Terror. They are split up, with the Doctor trapped in a burning room. The others are taken to Paris, and put in jail. The Doctor survives, and starts the long walk to Paris. Ian is vouchsafed a message from a dying prisoner. Susan & Barbara are taken away to the guillotine, but rescued en route. Ian escapes from the prison. The Doctor trades his ring for a change of clothes, and goes to the Bastille, to find his friends are all at large. Susan & Barbara are recaptured. Ian falls into a trap, but is rescued. The Doctor has to trust Lemaitre, but he reveals himself to be James Stirling, an English spy whom Ian was supposed to contact. There is to be a meeting in an inn called The Sinking Ship, where there will be a discussion of a plot against Robespierre. Ian and Barbara go to spy on the meeting. Napoleon is the man at the inn. As the Bastille is stormed, Susan is rescued in the nick of time, Robespierre is shot, and the time travellers leave history to take its course. |
| Review:- So, the first season of stories came to an end, with a more direct brush with history than had been attempted before. The appearance of Napoleon Bonaparte is the most famous addition to the mythos so far, although it is to Spooner's credit that the story is more concerned with what led France in Bonaparte's direction. Splitting the regulars up was a basic device in the early days of the show, and here it becomes smoothly done, as all four split up, rejoin, then split again, before the dramatic last-ditch efforts to reunite at the last. The plot, such as it is, concerns James Stirling, superspy, who turns out to have been on screen for longer than the viewer realises (although he could hardly have been the gaoler). This double-agent stuff is more akin to The Scarlet Pimpernel than James Bond, although amusingly Lemaitre is of course French for "the Master". There are moments of mirth, with the Doctor escaping a chain gang, but plenty of violence, with Ian coming off badly at the hands of traitors. There is no black & white, only grey. A fine story, and a good look at the aftermath of the French Revolution. |
| Disclaimer: I've got a copy of the novelisation. |