1964-09-12
N/A
150 min
The TARDIS materialises not far from Paris in 1794 — one of the bloodiest years following the French Revolution of 1789. The travellers become involved with an escape chain rescuing prisoners from the guillotine and get caught up in the machinations of an English undercover spy, James Stirling — alias Lemaitre, governor of the Conciergerie prison.
Aside from a bit of a moral conundrum about how time travel might present a dilemma for people who might be able to use their knowledge to affect the future, this is just a rather clunky drama that gives the crew of the TARDIS an excuse to dress up in red, white and blue and play a game of "French Revolution". No sooner have they left their blue box than they are arrested and it falls to the "Doctor" (William Hartnell) to get himself a fancy sash and try to get the others out of the dreaded Conciergerie prison before they have breakfast with "Madame Guillotine". Meantime, the incarcerated "Ian" (William Chesterton), "Barbara" (Jacqueline Hill) and the increasingly annoying "Susan" (Carole Ann Ford) encounter a mysterious English prisoner who might just be connected with a "Scarlet Pimpernel" style rescue operation designed to get the doomed to safety. The rest of this story is an amalgam of themes that I found a bit meandering and focussed too much on Hartnell's attempt at flamboyant theatricals. Six parts is probably two too many and the introduction of Robespierre (Keith Anderson) into the plot to complicate matters with the already duplicitous "Léon" (Edward Bradshaw) just fell a bit flat. Far too much dialogue and nothing remotely to do with sci-fi. For my money, one of the least entertaining of their travels.
