And I'm finally back, after an unexpectedly long absence. A big part of this was due to Hurricane Isaac, which prevented me from finishing the last two episodes and finding the time to blog about it. But it was also due to a lack of interest in sitting down to watch this story.
It's not a terrible story, really. I can certainly think of later stories that are cringe-inducingly bad, on a level Reign Of Terror doesn't come close to achieving. It's just that it's another historical (something I'm typically not a fan of), and another six-parter. Thankfully, it's the last six-part historical, and one of the last six-parters, period, with only the Daleks justifying longer stories for the next two seasons. It's no secret that I'm not fond of the pacing of classic Who, and Reign Of Terror whips out every cliche it can to extend the story to its unnecessary length: characters are separated, imprisoned, escape, imprisoned again, betrayed by the person who was supposed to help them, uncover a plot towards the end that will require them to stick around for another episode or two... it just goes on and on.
Continuing The Doctor's over the top hissy fit that ended The Sensorites, we find the TARDIS landing on what is supposed to be Earth, with The Doctor kicking Ian and Barbara out. He's right, they are on Earth, but in the wrong time: they've landed during the aftermath of the French Revolution.
I'll be honest here: I don't know much about the French Revolution. Perhaps that impacts my enjoyment of this. Names are thrown around that are supposed to be important, but they mean nothing to me. We simply never studied it in that much detail in history class, although I know it came up several times during my schooling. I know enough to find it odd that the story seems to take a pro-aristocracy view. I can't help but think that in the United States, such a story would sympathize with the revolutionaries, not the deposed nobility.
The story itself attempts to address this, with one of the agents encountered by the travelers making a speech about how even though he isn't a noblemen himself, he still opposes what the revolution has done to France, and wants order restored. And Barbara is openly upset when she learns that Leon, the double agent, has been murdered, arguing that to his own people, he would be a patriot.
And herein lies some of the problems with this story. For a show geared for younger viewers, these are complex issues, and they almost get in the way of the adventure. Whereas Marco Polo was light and fun, The Reign Of Terror is dark and fatalistic. It has to be, given the time period. There are executions, someone's shot in the mouth (because apparently that's what actually happened)... in short, there's no victory to be won, other than The Doctor and his companions escaping. It's a gloomy end to the first season. When we get to The Massacre of St. Bartholomews Eve in season three, though, it'll seem downright cheerful.
It's easy to see why the historicals were phased out. The show's adamant stance that history can't be rewritten, at least when it comes to Earth, results in the audience watching the main cast stand around while events unfold, unable to do anything but survive. There's little urgency, since we know they'll escape, so it all feels like a creaky old educational film.
That's not to say there aren't good things about the story. The Doctor, for one. We got glimpses of a more pro-active Doctor in the previous story, but we get more of that here. It's still mainly in the interest of self-preservation. He's not out to save the world yet, but he'll get there. The Doctor is as much, maybe even more, of a driving presence than Ian in this story. He's clearly in charge, and he even gets physical with a cruel work boss in episode two.
By the end, everyone is reunited, naturally, and they leave in the TARDIS. For the first time, we get an actual ending, with no peek at the next story, since it's the end of season one. On to season two...
GRADE: C-
Strictly average, with a little more taken off due to its length. I found this a tough one to get through.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Susan goes backwards a little in this episode. It's a shame, since she just grew a little in The Sensorites, but here she's once again a hysterical teenager, afraid to even escape a prison cell because there are rats in the hole they're digging.
Barbara once again finds herself embroiled in a little mini-romance. This time it's with Leon, who turns out to be a traitor, so a bit of a step down from the Thal who wooed her back in The Daleks. It's strange that Ian never seems to find any romance.
With only pictures to go by, I'd always assumed the set design for Marco Polo was quite good. Although much of it is dark and gloomy, the sets for this story are more impressive than what we've been getting with the sci-fi episodes. Maybe the BBC studios had these sort of historical items more readily available.
NEXT: An overview of season one, and then on to season two and Planet Of Giants.
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