My reviews of historicals are typically along the lines of "I'm not a big historical fan so take the fact I didn't like it with a pinch of salt." I'm thrilled to announce that this time my final opinion was "I'm not a big historical fan, but this was really good."

Isolating Steven for this serial was a really good choice, especially since for the most of it it seems the Doctor is working against him. The focus on the regular people, as it were, also worked well, especially the final scene of France (even without the visuals). We also get perhaps the first truly heartbreaking look at what it's like to be the Doctor, eternally lonely, surrounded by people who will never truly understand him. We'll politely look past how William Hartnell flubbed his lines in the middle of it