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This review of the partly missing four-part historical The Crusade is based on the existing episodes 1 and 3 as well as the official BBC telesnap reconstructions of episodes 2 and 4. My watch also included Julian Glover’s intro and outro scenes (made for the Loose Cannon release of the story) as well as William Russell’s lovely recaps of episodes 2 and 4.

“DEFYING WITH THE POPE: A COMMENTARY”

The Crusade holds a bit of a soft spot in my heart—it combines an interesting historical era with a tense plot and amazing guest performances, and it is one of the stronger William Hartnell era historicals despite two of its four episodes currently missing.

I rather like the swift beginning, which sees the TARDIS crew getting into trouble immediately and separated from each other, with Barbara and Ian especially going through rough times (again). We bump into King Richard the Lionheart in the opening scene, and there’s even a fight scene with the regulars before five minutes have passed!

This story is most interesting from Barbara's and Ian's points of view. Barbara is hunted by El Akir and almost killed when trying to escape. Also, consider the unusually dark and bleak turn in Part 3, where Barbara is essentially instructed to murder someone and then commit suicide—this was a children's program after all!

Meanwhile, Ian is knighted in his attempts to save Barbs, facing torture by ants along the way (in what is one of my favourite scenes of the Hartnell era, despite taking place in the missing Part 4). This is probably my favourite Ian story, due to how well the character fits a classic knight stereotype. However, Ian's rescue operation doesn't get underway properly until Part 4, and by that time, they have to desperately hurry up to make it in time for the end credits.

The Doctor and Vicki spend the majority of this story in King Richard's court and don't get a whole lot done. Their scenes are used to explore the intricate court politics at the time, as well as arguing about stolen clothes with the fun supporting characters Ben Daheer and the Chamberlain. The warm chemistry between William Hartnell and Maureen O’Brien is absolutely lovely to watch, though, and Hartnell himself is on top form.

The political tension between Richard and Saladin is in full bloom at the beginning of the story, and nothing is resolved or has progressed by the end of it, which means that some might feel a bit cheated by this adventure, considering how dialogue-heavy it otherwise is.

I'd argue that the only bigger problem with the story is the fact that David Whitaker fails to develop any of the plot strands during the first three parts, and so is left in a great hurry to wrap everything up in the final episode before hurling the TARDIS crew into their next adventure. The fact that a lot is going on in Part 4, but we cannot see any of it, makes the ending of the story a bit less effective.

The Crusade finds its strength in the various fight scenes, dangerous situations, and glorious character conversations. The actors put a lot of power and emotion into the colourful Shakespearean dialogue, making it some of the most enjoyable in Classic Who.

Julian Glover remains one of the finest guest actors to appear on the show, both here and in his later (and more well-known and beloved) appearance in City of Death (1979). Glover's King Richard the Lionheart is as commanding as he is just, and Glover plays him with utmost devotion. At the same time, he is very rash and selfish, as the story depicts him as less of a hero than usual.

Another acting legend comes in the shape of Jean Marsh, making her first of three glorious guest appearances on the show as Richard's sister Joanna. She climbs right up to the top as the best actress to appear on the show and will remain there for quite some while (she'd be back in the 12-part epic The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-1966) in the following season).

The fiery argument between King Richard and Joanna at the end of Part 3 remains among my favourite scenes in Doctor Who history: here we get two acting giants passionately shouting at each other, culminating in the classic line "You defy me with the Pope?!!". I’m so happy this episode exists so we can watch this glorious scene in its original form!

And the brilliance of the guest cast doesn't stop there. Bernard Kay returns from The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964) to play famous Saracen leader Saladin with a treacherous calm and intelligence that makes him instantly memorable (and breaks Oriental stereotypes prevalent at the time). His brother Saphadin is played by the equally brilliant Roger Avon. Another returning actor, Walter Randall (The Aztecs, 1964), becomes the villainous El Akir, calculative and sadistic, and he stands out well despite his similarities with Tegana from Marco Polo (1964).

The costume design and set decoration are impeccable as always, and what we can see from Douglas Camfield's direction is that he brings these characters and the setting to life perfectly.

John Cura’s telesnaps exist for the missing episodes, and the BBC reconstruction uses these, along with the surviving soundtracks, to create what feels like a fairly accurate representation of the two missing episodes. The tense chase sequence at the end of Part 2 is surprisingly well realised through the telesnaps and the onscreen subtitles explaining the unseen action.

Sadly, the use of blackface on the actors playing the Saracen characters, most notably Bernard Kay, means this story hasn't aged very well and should be seen as somewhat problematic nowadays.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

• Sir John isn’t a believable fake King Richard because he doesn’t have red hair. We wouldn’t know, of course, because we see everything in black and white!
• The Doctor once again justifies his stealing by calling it “borrowing"—what a kleptomaniac he is!
• I love the return of the “characters standing still in the shot while waiting for the credits to roll” cliffhanger ending to Part 1.
• This story was originally going to suggest that King Richard and Joananna had an incestuous relationship, but these references were removed at the behest of William Hartnell and producer Verity Lambert because they felt such themes didn't fit a family series. Oh, but apparent murder and suicide do?
• Tutte Lemkow is known for playing supporting villains in '60s episodes of Doctor Who, but every single one of his performances (Marco Polo, The Crusade, and The Myth Makers) remains missing from the BBC archives.