😄77% = Good! = Recommended!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

THEY ALMOST MADE IT: A COMMENTARY

• Part 1

The serial begins with an atmosphere of finality as the Doctor believes he's finally brought Ian and Barbara back home, only to slowly realise that they've landed on the right planet but at the wrong time.

I like how this episode relies heavily on the warm relationships between the four travellers, as well as the slow reveal of the setting and time period we have landed in. There's this wonderful sense of mystery and exploration that is prevalent in a lot of the adventures from this era.

The episode's tail end throws us into the tense political climate of the era, and we see death and treason up close as our heroes get entangled in the ongoing conflict.

I love the small musical touches, the costumes, and the sets that truly help underline the historical aspects of the adventure.

The supporting cast playing soldiers does a fantastic job of being nasty and militaristic.

The Doctor finds himself trapped in a burning house, seemingly unable to escape in time, creating a thrilling cliffhanger.

• Part 2

The second episode cleverly leaves us waiting for the resolution to the cliffhanger (spoiler: the Doctor survives!) and instead opens with Susan, Ian, and Barbara transported to Paris and thrown into jail. Here we also meet the harsh and bumbling jailer, one of the funnier supporting characters of the Hartnell era, performed well by Jack Cunningham.

I love the way William Hartnell delivers his French lines here!

Susan and Barbara work well together here, attempting to find a way out rather than wasting their time complaining (though Susan returns to it at the end). In the meantime, Ian becomes embroiled in political intrigues, hearing about significant individuals he needs to track down. These come into play at the end of the story.

The entire sequence with the Doctor and the road workers is pure filler, but it's one of my favourite scenes of Season 1 because it has such a funny ending. It sees the Doctor trying to use his authority to take charge, which usually works, only to be put to work with the other workers. He then has to use his wits (and, surprisingly, some light violence) to lure the guard and escape.

Lemaitre has a positive air of authority about him, which makes the viewer see him as a potential threat and someone to watch out for. James Cairncross, who also plays Beta in The Krotons, excels in his acting.

• Part 3

The serial continues to impress with the costumes and sets as the action moves to Paris proper!

Hartnell is truly on fire in this one and seems to enjoy himself, particularly as he gets the opportunity to impersonate an important French general to help his friends escape. The way he gallivants into the jail in full regalia as if he owned the place is satisfying, and it lets Hartnell bring out those stern military leader vibes he is so well-known for.

This is where the serial begins to drag a little. The Doctor's scenes are interesting, but the scenes in the jail with Ian, the jailer, and Lemaitre don't go anywhere.

Here, we meet Jean and Jules, who save Susan and Barbara. Although I've always found it challenging to differentiate and establish them as characters, their performances are commendable. They are then involved in lengthy scenes of exposition at the tail end of the episode.

We also meet Léon, another forgettable supporting character, but a charming one at that, with a key role in the final third of the serial. Barbara has a minor crush on him, which eventually leads nowhere.

• Part 4

Episodes 4 and 5 are missing, so I watch the official animated reconstructions for these. They were released in 2013.

These early animations are pretty rough around the edges. The character models are crude, but the facial features are recognizable! They stand out from the backgrounds in a strange way, and they excessively utilise close-ups and unconventional angles. They help to give the missing episodes some more life, though.

We immediately meet the infamous Robespierre, played very confidently by Keith Anderson, who makes him just the vile and determined tyrant he is known as. Robespierre doesn't make many appearances and doesn't really feel like a villain. The Doctor handles him very well, though.

This is another episode that hardly moves the narrative forward. Ian is gone for the most part of it; the Doctor maintains his ruse but evokes suspicion; Susan is suddenly ill; and Barbara hangs around with her newfound friends.

As the Doctor finally locates Barbara and Ian arrives at his secret meeting, we feel everything tightening just in time for the cliffhanger.

• Part 5

The crude animation continues here, and combined with some strange edits, it makes for an occasionally confusing visual dimension.

More political intrigues and twists occur in this one as Ian becomes a hostage and the Doctor attempts to deceive Lemaitre.

There's one action sequence in the dungeons that, unfortunately, appears a bit silly in this animation and doesn't do the actual scene any justice.

I have to admit that it is wonderful to see the Doctor scheming and fooling his enemies with his wits and authority, and Hartnell sells all these scenes perfectly.

Barbara and Ian argue over the Revolution, its casualties, and whether they are necessary. This is one of the outstanding moments in the story.

• Part 6

While the cliffhanger to Part 5 is fairly clunky, the resolution at the start is pretty awkward, as the actors stand in a circle waiting for their cue to arrive after the opening credits.

This is where we discover the major twist: Lemaitre was actually James Sterling all along. I've always quite liked it. It's also great to see the Doctor so genuinely worried about Susan and upset that he cannot get her out of prison.

The entire inn scene with Ian and Barbara in costume spying on the secret meeting is a wonderful one. The small Napoleon cameo enhances the scene even further.

I like how the tail end of the episode shows the end of the Reign of Terror and ties together all loose ends—Robespierre is brought down, while the Doctor fools the jailer one last time.

Susan has been gone for Parts 5 and 6, but she's back at the end here. This at least saved us from her constant complaining.

That final scene has an air of finality to it, but luckily, this isn't the end!

 

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RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

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• I've always found it fascinating that The Reign of Terror is the Doctor's favourite period of the Earth's history, when it is such a violent and bloody period.
• The sequence of the Doctor walking down a country road is the first instance of location shooting in Doctor Who. Brian Proudfoot, the first new actor to play the show's title character, plays the Doctor here instead of Hartnell.
• I frequently overlook the fact that Edward Brayshaw, better known to us fans as the War Chief in The War Games, plays Léon.
• Director Henric Hirsch infamously collapsed midway through production of Part 3, due to the immense pressure of the production. John Gorrie, the director of The Keys of Marinus, directed the rest of the episode. Hirsch was back for the filming of Part 4.