The Reign of Terror
Previous: The Sensorites
The Reign of Terror
I think that's the first time I've see the TARDIS materialize without the engine sound.
So it looks like One was serious at the end of The Sensorites: he's trying to dump Ian and Barbara off.
Wow. Ian might be the first champion of stroking the Doctor's ego.
I'm just a little surprised that their reaction to being landed in the middle of the French Revolution is so mild.
"We might not get back to the ship if Grandfather leaves you in the Reign of Terror. It's his favorite period in the history of Earth!"
Ian Chesterton: Armed and Dangerous. Possibly.
And quite possibly not. OH HELLO FIRING SQUAD.
A Doctor in my burning building? It's more likely than you'd think. Also, holy crap, the fire's even burning through the ending credits...
Okay. Ew. Soldier dude. Please stop hitting on Barbara.
BARBARA BITCH-SLAP.
So now One owes his life to a young French urchin. Nice.
Hartnell, how do you take something so simple as walking through a field with a cane and make it look AWESOME?
"Promise...promise!" Dude, you are way too close to Ian's face.
"I suppose you think you're VERY clever."
"Well, without any undue modesty, yes."
Ian, that is the most blindingly white shirt ever.
Wow, everybody's getting all up in Ian's face this episode.
Usually I'd admonish Susan for being afraid of rats, but then I remembered what time period we're dealing with here...
One has escape plan tiems nao.
So elaborate a plan in such a short amount of time. Doctor, you never cease to amaze me.
Okay One please tell me you just knocked that guy out and didn't KILL HIM WITH A PICK-AXE.
Good. Although, was the coin over the eye REALLY necessary? Some of us know our Greek mythology, you know.
"Paris: 5 km." Kilometers? *checks Wikipedia* Oh, France was one of the first countries to be metricated. Or was it THE first?
Maybe it comes from being American, but sometimes I just need to check and make sure a show's being accurate about its metric system use.
"Next Episode: A Change of Identity"? I wonder what that entails...hopefully it'll get Susan and Barbara AWAY FROM THE GUILLOTINE.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I'm impressed with these early Hartnell episodes for having an orchestrated score.
Thanks for leaving the keys in the cell door. I'm sure that'll come in handy as a plot device fairly soon.
Has anyone else ever noticed that Barbara and Susan almost look like mother and daughter sometimes?
Convenient rescue tiems nao!
Change of Identity appears to = One getting some new clothes. And this may sound weird but...I didn't know coat hangers existed back then.
"A fancy dress...my dear sir, I doubt you've seen a coat like it!" Quite! The pockets are bigger on the inside!
So One's had that ring the whole time, but this is the first time it's ever come into play.
BAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH MY GOD. THAT OUTFIT IS THE BEST THING. AND THAT HAT. ONE, YOUR HAT IS A BIRD.
So the ring's actually going to be a plot point? I have to admit, I didn't really see that coming...
Ah yes, the next two episodes are reconstructions...
Ah, hello Robespierre!
I know the Doctor tries to intervene in major historical events as little as possible but it sounds like he's trying to slow the revolution.
Or maybe he's just trying to lessen the death toll. Either way, it sounds like he's trying to talk Robespierre out of something.
Oh yeah! This is a reconstruction that actually has some surviving clips!
Or maybe the only surviving clip is that door opening and closing. And I'm not sure about the closing. It's probably the opening in reverse.
I can only assume that that's Ian they've just captured. Then again, they're the good guys.
REUNION!
Guess I was wrong about the door. There was a VERY brief and VERY blurry film clip of Ian saying "I've been looking for you!"
I'm starting to wish I was keeping track of how many times they've used that one clip of the door opening and closing.
There's another clip: Barbara trying to usher Susan out of the physician's office.
And of the soldiers marching out of the prison.
Well Barbara's finally found One, but now Susan's been taken and Ian's still back at the house...
...except he's actually at the church walking right into a trap...
"You should know by now, young lady, that you can't get rid of the old Doctor as easy as that!" Nearly 50 years later, he's STILL around.
Susan's better now? So the whole illness thing was just a cheep plot device? *sigh*
More surviving footage: One pacing around saying "That's it...that's it!"
I love how every once in a while they'll play La Marseillaise in a different key to fit the mood of the scene.
More footage: One and Barbara agreeing that his voice "does carry some weight."
"I flew here with three friends in a small box. When I left England it was 1963." Because that's what you say when you're chained to a wall.
I think that's the first reconstructed fight scene I've seen that actually gave a blow-by-blow narration.
The weird shift in sound quality seems a pretty clear indication that this is one of those episodes with a fan-recorded soundtrack.
"You check your history books, Ian, before you DECIDE what people deserve!" Wow. I've never heard Barbara stand up to Ian like that.
Failed escape attempt has failed.
Oohhhhhh, NOW I see how the ring is a plot point.
"Barbara, sorry about Leon. But it really was the only way, believe me." Good lesson for the kids? "Sometimes violence is the only answer."
Looks like we ended with footage from the beginning of the next and last episode...
THE REVEAL. JUST AS PLANNED.
A risky meeting at an inn called The Sinking Ship? This calls for OBLIGATORY THUNDER AND LIGHTNING AND RAIN.
I'm not sure whether to be amused or slightly offended by Barbara's barmaid disguise.
Oh wow. Ian. Your ruffian voice. Yes.
That comment about "the next ruler of France" was a tip-off after all. Hello, Napoleon!
He's significantly taller than I'd imagined...
So I'll bet the dilemma now is how to rescue Susan without changing the course of history.
Called it.
Ah yes, so my vague recollection of Robespierre shooting himself in the face before he was carried off was right.
"Funny. I get the impression they don't know where they're heading for. Come to that, do any of us?" Deep, man. DEEP.
"Our lives are important, at least to us. And as we see, so we learn."
"And what are we going to see and learn next, Doctor?
"Like the old adage my boy, our destiny is in the stars. So let's go and search for it." And so ended the very first season of Doctor Who.
Next: Season 2: Planet of Giants