The Peterloo Massacre, one of the heaviest Fifth Doctor stories I’ve come across and one of the darkest pure historicals Doctor Who has ever put out, which is surprising considering the writer, Paul Magrs, whose usual style is more light-hearted and bizarre. Then I read that he lives in Manchester along with his partner and it all made perfect sense. The TARDIS crash lands on the grounds of a factory owner and his family, who offer shelter to the time travellers and they each separate with a member of the family and one of the servant girls Cathy. The Doctor tags along with the factory owner and witnesses the appalling conditions his staff (including children) work under. Tegan goes with his son William into the city and sees just how rough the less privileged had to live by, and Nyssa meanwhile goes with Cathy who’s hoping to deliver a speech at an upcoming march in the city in the hopes of improving conditions for those in her class, so that she can provide a better life for her baby “brother”. But the Doctor realises to his horror that they’ve arrived on the eve of one of the worst events to ever take place in this country’s history and the darkest day in Manchester’s history.

If you know already about the Peterloo Massacre of 1819 then it shouldn’t surprise you why this is one of the heaviest Doctor Who stories of all time. The event where the working class took to the streets to march in protest to the horrible conditions they were forced to work and live under, only to be met by the militia who charged on horseback through the crowd resulting in a stampede which led to about 18 deaths and between 400 – 700 injured, injured who couldn’t even afford treatment for their injuries which led to more deaths in the aftermath. And this story doesn’t shy away from the brutal reality of this event. Being a pure historical, there’s no aliens, no grand plots for world domination, there’s not even any proper villains per say, just the horrible despicable actions of the militia upon those they felt deserved no better.

This is an outstanding story and one of the strongest pure historicals Doctor Who has ever put out, do give this a listen but be warned, it’s not a pleasant listen with little to no moments of levity.

This is part of a series where you can follow me on my journey across time and space (more commonly known as Big Finish Productions)

You can find the original posts here: https://forum.tardis.guide/t/oh-no-big-finish-addiction/4799?u=the9thcyberlegion

What a nice one to start off on (what happens in it isn’t nice but I’m sure you get what I mean). This main range is an absolute gem by Paul Magrs. And that comes from a Mancunian himself. I’ll be honest, I had no idea this happened before I listened to it.

This adventure is a pure-historical (no aliens but they go back in time) where the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison), Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding) and Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) crash into August 1819 after the TARDIS gets caught in the smog from the industrial revolution and falls into the garden of the house of factory owner and all-around idiot, Mr Hurley (Robbie Stevens). The usual stuff happens where Mr Hurley tries to take advantage of the TARDIS and at the end of part 1 when the Doctor realises where (or should I say when) is executed perfectly.

The way this story talks about real and horrific tragedies committed by the upper class that were overlooked at the time and also how it isn’t afraid to get real and dark is done really well and I want to thank Paul Magrs for this amazing main range installment.

The Peterloo Massacre - (10/10)

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Aquitaine

What an infuriatingly good story. What better way to show how unfair and unjust the system is than to make the Doctor himself utterly helpless to it. There's even some elements similar to Rosa where the Doctor is forced to be on the wrong side of history for a moment.

Every now and then Doctor Who does a historical tragedy and it's very often brilliant. The suspense throughout this story is incredible, you know exactly what's going to happen (mainly because of the title) and hearing it play it out was just so tense. The scene where the Reverend quietly read out the Riot Act and used it as their justification was horrifying.

I don't want to speak about the plot of this story too much because it's genuinely something that everyone needs to hear. It's tragic and there's no redemption at the end and that's what makes it so powerful. I had never heard of this event before and now I really wonder why the Doctor puts up with humans so much.

Next Story: Tartarus

One of my favorite doctor who stories of all time. I've always been a big fan of historicals, and to use it to tell a tale so full of death works wonderfully for the 5th doctor. It takes me back to watching his final season, with this theme of death in his wake, even if not his fault. This is what I think should be used as the main example for how to write a historical, with the Doctor simply having to take in the setting, instead of influencing it. I urge everyone to give this story a shot, you won't regret it.