The Reign of Terror

Directed by

UK Viewers

6.9 million

Appreciation Index

58

Synopsis

The TARDIS lands during the French Revolution, where Ian, Barbara, and Susan become caught up in the politics of the day. When they are arrested and set to be executed, the Doctor must take on the disguise of a public official to try and save their lives.

Guests of Madame Guillotine

First aired

Saturday, August 15, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

6.9 million

Appreciation Index

54

Synopsis

Susan, Ian and Barbara are sentenced to be guillotined but an encounter with a dying English prisoner may offer Ian a chance of survival.

A Change of Identity

First aired

Saturday, August 22, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

6.9 million

Appreciation Index

55

Synopsis

Susan and Barbara are rescued by Jules and Jean, two members of the escape chain, while the Doctor gains access to the prison by posing as a revolution official.

The Tyrant of France Missing

First aired

Saturday, August 29, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

6.4 million

Appreciation Index

53

Synopsis

The Doctor is forced into a meeting with Robespierre while Barbara's attempts to find a physician for Susan result in them being betrayed.

A Bargain of Necessity Missing

First aired

Saturday, September 5, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

6.9 million

Appreciation Index

53

Synopsis

Ian finds himself held prisoner by the treacherous Leon while the Doctor attempts to engineer Susan and Barbara's escape.

Prisoners of Conciergerie

First aired

Saturday, September 12, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

6.4 million

Appreciation Index

55

Synopsis

Ian finally delivers his message to James Stirling but in order to secure Susan's release he and Barbara are forced into a dangerous spying mission.

Characters

First Doctor

William Hartnell

Susan

Carole Ann Ford

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The Reign of Terror

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The Reign of Terror (VHS)

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9 reviews

Out of the Pure Historical this Season, this one is easily the weakest. I am very big on any kind of pure Historicals in Who and that Period offered such a great setting, sadly I think it does lack a bit and tended to go on for a bit too long than it probably should have. Not to say it’s a bad one, I very much enjoy the Doctor finding his Way to Ian and Barbara and all the mischief he gets on with at that journey. I also very much enjoy the beginning and the finale of the Story, but yeah overall while I enjoy it I think it’s far away from the highs we had in this Season.

Still a pretty solid way to end the first Season of the Show.

Review last edited on 15-12-24

This review contains spoilers!

“Well, I can assure you Barbara, Napoleon would have never believed you”

La Révolution n’est plus qu’un tas de cachots sordides, de paysans stupides et de têtes coupées, et la pauvre Susan n’a plus que ses cris dans ce qui est sans doute sa pire histoire. Mais le pire c’est que l’épisode gâche un sujet qui, autrement, aurait pu être vraiment bien.

Des mois et des mois de bataille politique, de luttes émancipatrices, de renaissance intellectuelle, sont sacrifiés par Spooner, qui préfère faire de son épisode une sorte de monument de cynisme.

Et peut-être que son Docteur filoute, et apporte à toute l’histoire (et malgré elle) tout son charme, les compagnes n’ont jamais été aussi idiotes, et l’Histoire vide de vie et de sens.

Review last edited on 10-11-24

I think I'm just not a fan of pure historicals, but also Susan didn't get much (or, anything) to do in this one, the plot was a lot of travelling between locations, and all the side characters looked the same. At least the Doctor got a fancy outfit

Review last edited on 7-10-24

This review contains spoilers!

I'm a sucker for a Doctor Who pure historical - especially in the shows first season. Its remarkable that the three stories here take up very different approaches to the same problem of needing the TARDIS to be inaccessible - Marco Polo has the crew all together throughout with Marco holding the key hostage to sell to Kublai Khan, the Aztecs has the TARDIS locking in Yataxa's tomb where the crew cannot access easily, and where Barbara ends up in a key position; and here where the French Revolution results in Ian, Barbara and Susan being arrested and the Doctor needing to recover them.

The story is simple - the Doctor is keen to throw Ian and Barbara off the TARDIS because of a perceived slight at the end of the Sensorites (one of the weaker cliffhangers between stories); the TARDIS lands in revolutionary France mid-Reign of Terror and the crew blunders into a safe house of a group of people opposed of Robespierre right as it is discovered. Ian, Barbara and Susan are arrested and sent to Paris and the guillotine; while the Doctor (almost burned to death) ends up taking on the role of a provincial official to get them back to safety. I think this is a story where interest in the period is required to fully appreciate: especially the terrifying nature of revolutionary France. The side story is also interesting; with an attempt to try and discover the identity of James Sterling, an English spy, who ends up being one of the key officials in the prison in charge of executions.

The set designs in this are good considering the budget of the show; I like the Direction (even though from all reports it was one of the more chaotic production jobs, with the Director having a breakdown mid-show) and the aminiation of the lost episodes is very functional for what it is - although clearly produced on a budget.

Negatives might include the animation point above (which also has some of the poorer audio quality of a Doctor Who story - and one where I hope recent discoveries of fan recordings may help them improve for the Season 1 Collection Blu-Ray when that comes); I think they probably could have achieved everything in four episodes and also the fact that again Susan is really not used at all well here - she spends basically the entire story locked up and when she isn't she's sick (which results in her and Barbara being re-locked up again).

Review last edited on 22-07-24

This review contains spoilers!

The Reign of Terror: 4/10 - Well I just finished Reign of Terror. I didn’t particularly enjoy it. The best part was probably the twist with the bad guy turning out to be the good guy. I thought that was interesting. I also liked the costuming and Hartnell rocked his outfit. The rest of the story was very boring to be honest. I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters and the animation probably didn’t help with my opinion of it.

Review last edited on 27-06-24