Just when you thought Doctor Who might be settling into a comfy template, along comes "The Romans."
Sarah -
Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your sofas! I come to discuss "The Romans" – a story I enjoyed even more than anticipated.
Harry -
We meet up with a TARDIS crew having a positively languorous time in an ancient Roman villa. It turns out that they have been chilling out for almost a month! Who cares about London, don't worry about the TARDIS, pass the grapes. I love it! I'm envious!
Sarah -
Ancient Rome and the living is easy – grapes, wine, fancy duds, and trips to the marketplace! The Doctor is in fine form once again. Hartnell is utterly delightful in the opening scenes, living the high life. I love him more with each story.
Harry -
Almost the entire first episode is taken up with Ian and Barbara drinking, frolicking and lounging (as Rob notes, there is definitely a relationship there if there wasn't before!).
Sarah -
I loved their scenes! There’s all kinds of hubba-hubba going on below the surface, isn’t there? On top of that, they both look fabulous – especially after Barbara gives Ian his makeover. (And, can I just mention Ian’s excellent gams?)
Harry -
I love it when we get glimpses of Ian's gams!
*ahem*
Tearing himself away from Barbara's exotic cooking (she can do it all!), the Doctor sets off for what he deems "a few days" and takes Vicki along. From this point on, the story breaks into parallel plots involving mistaken identity, capture and escape, danger and hilarity.
Sarah -
You should know by now that nothing is beyond the scope of Barbara Wright! She can do anything!
The Doctor rolls with every situation he encounters on the road, never flustered or worried. Vicki is delightful. I couldn’t help but think that Susan would be falling off a cliff or something when the Doctor assumed the identity of Maximus Pettulian.
Harry -
*bursts out laughing*
"OH GRANDFATHER!!!!"
Sarah -
I love Vicki’s mischievous look of amusement whenever the Doctor explains things to her. It’s as if she sees through his bluster and completely understands him.
Harry -
She's a sharp one beneath that pixie exterior.
In the second episode, our heroes are all thrust into unpleasant situations. Well, other than the Doctor apparently. Do my eyes deceive me or did we just see a William Hartnell fight scene? And he kicked ass, laughing all the way!
Sarah -
Never underestimate the Doctor! He doesn’t have to play the action hero often, but stands at the ready when called upon. “I am so constantly outwitting the opposition, I tend to forget the delights and satisfaction of the gentle art of fisticuffs.” Classic!
Harry -
I loved the final flip at the end just as Vicki entered.
Meanwhile, Barbara is captured by slave traders, and Ian is made a galley slave. The idle frivolity of the previous episode seems long gone all of a sudden.
Sarah -
Alas, no one who travels in the TARDIS is allowed a Roman holiday, after all.
Harry -
By the midway point of the story, I would argue that "The Romans" is still delivering what we are coming to expect from a Hartnell historical. I never would have predicted what would come next...
Sarah -
I never would have expected it to turn into a drawing room comedy!
Harry -
...and cue the theme music from Benny Hill!
Sarah -
*bursts out laughing *
Harry -
As soon as Nero enters the scene, this story descends into a farce of the highest order. The Roman Caesar chasing Barbara for a smooch. The Doctor's brazen lyre pantomime. Nero's servant oh-so-typically dropping dead from the poison draught. It's buffoonery, utter buffoonery!
Sarah -
The lyre concert was a highlight. Hartnell looked like he was having the time of his life. Meanwhile, Barbara finds herself manhandled yet again! Honestly, the thing a girl has to put up with. While I’m usually one to tut-tut about things like this, I found myself enjoying the buffoonish Nero.
Harry -
And yet, we can't entirely enjoy ourselves. Ian survives a shipwreck only to be locked up in a Roman prison. Barbara becomes the target of a murder attempt. The going is still rough for the regulars, and yet, Nero's outlandish caricature dominates. It was as if the story couldn't decide what it wanted to be.
Sarah -
It was all over the place, but I still enjoyed it thoroughly. I gasped when it seemed that Nero had stabbed Barbara, but had actually killed the guard standing next to her. Not my Barbara!
Harry -
A couple of things that I really liked about this story:
First, the numerous strands of the Doctor and Vicki, Ian and Barbara all diverging, then almost converging in Rome, then diverging again only to be reunited back at the villa. I loved all those near misses among the characters.
Sarah -
That was one of my favorite things about the story – so well orchestrated!
Harry -
Second, I liked that everyone got into the spirit of things by donning local dress. That feature was more-or-less dropped after the early years of Doctor Who, but I wish we could see more of that, BBC wardrobe budgets be damned!
Sarah -
The costumes were great, weren’t they? I enjoyed Vicki calling the Doctor out on lecturing her about how they weren’t supposed to influence history after he set the map on fire. Her cheeky, “Alright, you have it your way; I’ll have it mine,” endeared her to me.
The final scene in the villa was wonderfully cozy, everyone teasing and chastising each other. What a merry band! An utterly delightful story.
Harry -
As a comedy story, it's pretty good. I don't think I would show this one to a new viewer, because it would leave the impression that Doctor Who was a silly romp, and not a serious science fiction program, which must be taken seriously at all times (bluster bluster).
Sarah -
I'm feeling more generous -- and gave up caring about new viewers decades ago!
Harry -
Lasting image: Nero's ridiculous faces!
Favourite moment: the Doctor laughing through his entire fight scene.
Best line: "Oh, something else I forgot to tell you. I think I’ve poisoned Nero." Vicki puts it so nonchalantly.
Rating: 7/10
Sarah -
Vicki is excellent and I can't wait to see more of her!
Lasting image: The Doctor’s Lyre concert!
Favorite moment: All the near misses in the corridors.
Best line: “I am so constantly outwitting the opposition, I tend to forget the delights and satisfaction of the gentle art of fisticuffs.”
Rating: 8/10
Our marathon continues with Story #13 - The Web Planet...
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