Citizen! Perhaps we were a bit too light-hearted at the end of “The Sensorites,” forgetting The Doctor’s decision to unload Barbara and Ian. Did we not understand the pain Ian’s affront caused The Doctor? How could we treat his delicate and sensitive ego so carelessly?
He’s so injured, he even lands the TARDIS with nary a sound.
But wait! Our travelers know the way to a Time Lord’s hearts is to flatter his ego and they lay it on until The Doctor nearly purrs with delight. Still, facts must be faced and it’s back to 20th Century England…or not!
Hooray! Another adventure!
Harry -
Here we are, Citizen -- the end of the first season of Doctor Who.
Sarah -
The end of the first season. It's hard to believe.
Harry -
It has been quite the thrill ride, and how better to wrap up an unforgettable journey than for the Doctor to finally bring Ian and Barbara back home?
It took several tries, but the Doctor kept at it. It's funny to remember that this Doctor is the youngest of them all -- while his future regenerations will make him appear progressively younger, this Doctor was the one who could barely pilot the TARDIS, and still had much to learn.
But let's not jump too far ahead. For now, after some brusque moments, our present Doctor agrees to go out for a goodbye drink in London with his Earth friends. A charming and poignant moment.
Woops! It's France, and the adventure continues. Welcome to the Reign of Terror!
Sarah -
Watching everyone preparing to say goodbye was touching. It was hard to imagine seeing this 1964 and thinking that it could be the end of Barbara and Ian’s time in the TARDIS. Fortunately, we don’t have to say farewell yet – and who doesn’t love a chance to play dress up?
Harry -
No sooner has the TARDIS team sorted out where exactly they are, than they are hurled into the whirlwind of history. Events, my dear Sarah, events are about to overtake them!
According to Susan, this is the Doctor's favourite period in the history of Earth. Seriously? For all his admiration, the Doctor gets off to a poor start, knocked out and then trapped in a burning farmhouse while his companions are whisked away by French soldiers. Not the most auspicious of beginnings, but we have five more episodes ahead of us.
Sarah -
One would expect The Doctor to be better prepared for his favorite period in Earth’s history, no?
That said, Hartnell is spectacular in this entire episode! After the unfortunate burning farmhouse incident, the scenes with the small boy are charming. The Doctor is at his avuncular best. He happens upon the road crew without any papers to prove his identity – if there was ever a time he needed psychic paper! – and sets about lying to, stealing from, and assaulting the overseer. And the whole scene is hysterical!
Harry -
We’ve never seen the Doctor so violent before. He brains the “Road Works Overseer” with a spade (!) and later will brain the jailer with a bottle. Even though it was supposedly played as comedy, the Doctor comes off as a violent bastard. Perhaps he got caught up in the spirit of the times.
Sarah -
Well, one does like to fit in.
Of course, the comedic highlight has to be the jailer, but I jump ahead of myself. We haven’t even reached Paris yet!
The story takes a while to let us know where it’s going. D'Argenson and Rouvray seem like they might be important, but are quickly shot by the revolutionaries. Honestly, I can’t blame them for shooting Rouvray after his obnoxious assertion of is upper-class twitishness. Next time, one might want to avoid dismissing the folks with guns as “peasants.”
Our Travelers find themselves behind bars yet again, and even take a moment to remember tales of previous incarceration. I was delighted by Barbara’s spunk as she reminds Susan that they have to make their own opportunities, as Susan settles into despair yet again. There was a point when I yelled, “Pull yourself together, Susan!” just before Barbara said the same thing. Great minds think alike, although I may have also slugged Susan just to shut her up!
Harry -
Good grief, Susan and her whining! I yelled at the telly too, but with much stronger language than you.
Sarah -
Barbara's poise when dealing with the loutish jailer is commendable. Can you remember any other companion being so harassed by sexual predators while traveling with The Doctor? Fortunately, Barbara is more than up to the challenge of dispatching the oafs.
Harry -
It's astonishing how much shit Barbara has had to put up with -- from all sides!
Sarah -
It seems it was William Russell’s turn to go on holiday, which explains all his stand-alone scenes in jail. I found myself holding my breath during the key-retrieval scene; oh the stress!
Harry -
What I like most about this story is that there is no one real villain to the piece. Not a constant one, anyway. The TARDIS team continue to get swept along by the tide of history. Events, dear Sarah, events! They encounter soldiers, revolutionaries, and anti-revolutionaries. I liked how they were just on the periphery of things, not close enough to influence history, but close enough to watch it unfolding. They weren’t there to stop something from happening, or to change the course of history. For these six episodes, their greatest goal was simply to survive and be reunited.
Sarah -
This was one of my favorite things about the story, which will be reflected in my final rating. Bring on the ambiguity! Of course, it may just be my History degree talking.
Harry -
Poor Barbara -- even Ian got on her nerves, leading to a wonderful line:
"You check your history books, Ian, before you decide what people deserve."
The passion of the history teacher!
Sarah -
This was my single favorite moment. (See previous reference to History degree.) Ian attempts to sort her out, but I’m firmly with Barbara on this one!
I did disagree with Barbara’s willingness to let the doctor use leeches on Susan. Hello, Barbara, remember that whole 20th century thing? Leeches, indeed!
Harry -
The Doctor finally makes his way to Paris and acquires the provincial officer’s disguise. Fancy! Made him look stylish during his encounter with Robespierre. It was a nice little set piece, in an adventure that felt like an ongoing series of set pieces.
Sarah -
I quite enjoyed this scene. Hartnell was delightful – clever and manipulative, and perhaps a little too smart for his own good. I loved the tailor telling The Doctor that his clothing was little better than fancy dress. SNAP! And, honestly, have we seen a better hat in all the years of Doctor Who?
The Robespierre scene was disappointing, as was Napoleon’s. I can’t help but think that it would have been better to leave these historical figures out of the story if their appearances were going to be so perfunctory.
Harry -
Robespierre and Napoleon were both diminished by their appearances here. Neither actor was able to make his character seem larger-than-life -- they should have been chewing the scenery. They might have been served better by either not being seen at all, or only given brief non-speaking cameos.
It was a bit disappointing, though, that we never got a resolution to the ongoing gag about how the Doctor escaped the burning farmhouse. He brushed aside both Barbara and Susan when they asked him, building the anticipation for a great Hartnellian yarn at the end (ie. total BS on the fly), but we never got it.
Sarah -
Good point. The Doctor’s scenes with the jailer almost made up for it. I nearly fell out laughing when The Doctor told the Guard, “It’s a pity you’re surrounded by such fools,” and the jailer thought he had at last found an ally. The tradition of low-level employees as comic relief continues as the jailer quickly adjusts to the changing waters.
Harry -
I guess we'll have to assume that the Doctor managed to stagger outside to safety before the roof collapsed, then passed out. Although it wouldn't have been surprising if the young boy dragged him outside and the Doctor didn't want to own up to it.
I wasn't so much a fan of the buffoonish jailor, and his scenes were the ones I enjoyed the least. Maybe in a story that was packed with betrayals and double-crossings, I found his predictability uninteresting?
Sarah -
Didn’t you love it when Ian told Colbert the truth about time travel? I guess Ian was fortunate that Colbert didn’t live much longer.
Harry -
Ian's revelation to Colbert was stunning. I imagine he expected to be scoffed at, but Colbert's quick demise was tidy end to it -- no consequences for Ian's action there.
Sarah -
Oh, we haven’t mentioned Lemaitre yet, have we? I imagine there’s a good reason for that. He was a bit on the dullish side, but I became slightly fond of Jules.
Harry -
Lemaitre was neither truly villain nor hero, like everyone else in the story.
I loved the TARDIS team coping with the swirling maelstrom they were caught in. This may not have been their best outing, but this is still a great historical. I'd so love to see the present Doctor, Amy and Rory in a pure historical like this. The Nu Who tendency towards "celebrity historicals with an SF monster" is starting to grate on me.
Sarah -
I have to agree. The formula is wearing thin.
Lasting image – The Doctor’s first appearance in his plumage!
Favorite moment – Barbara telling Ian, "You check your history books, Ian, before you decide what people deserve."
Best line - “We can’t stem the tide, but at least we can stop being carried away with the flood.”
Rating: 8/10
Harry -
Lasting image - Beautiful plumage, mais oui!
Favourite moment - the Doctor's nasty and violent encounter with the Road Works Supervisor.
Best line - "Paris, eh? Hmm. A hundred miles or so, either way is to be expected. After all it's only a fraction of the distance we've covered. It's quite accurate, in fact." Some fantastic BSing from the Doctor when they discover they aren't in London.
Rating: 7/10
Our marathon continues with Story #9 - Planet of Giants...
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