Seems like the TARDIS has arrived on Earth, and the Doctor is turfing Ian & Barbara out.
The Doctor is certain they've returned to 1963 and shows them some stock footage of a field to prove it.
Ian butters the Doctor up by asking him out for a drink.
"Are we going to stand here talkin' all night?" The Doctor's been promised a drink & is determined to get it.
Love the way the Doctor rationalizes being in France as a stone's throw from London considering the distance they've come. "It's quite accurate, in fact!"
The travellers find an abandoned farmhouse. The Doctor starts lighting candles & disappears upstairs.
people say Reign is a comedy but its horrible really
It has its comedic sketches/characters but overall it's too bloody a period to be as farcical as e.g. The Romans.
They find some new togs, obviously part of an escape kit for Aristos escaping the revolution.
They're waylaid by two counter-revolutionaries, but a band of soldiers turn up.
The soldiers shoot Rouveray then drag Argenson off-screen to shoot him. They've captured Barbara & Susan too.
Ian is captured too & the Doctor's still unconscious upstairs as the soldiers take them away & set the farmhouse on fire.
As great as the restoration is they've obviously had to work from the lowest quality film copy of this episode.
Great first episode #ReignOfTerror agree Citizen?
It gets stuck in and Hartnell is as majestic as ever for this early period, but I don't feel much sympathy for Rouveray etc.
The Doctor is still trapped in the burning building as episode 2 starts with the others sentenced in Paris.
The jailer makes advances towards Barbara that go a bit beyond Saturday teatime fare...
The Doctor's been rescued from the fire by the urchin they met from episode 1. The Urchin is little-known superhero Recap Boy. He recounts the whole 1st episode in barely two lines. Skills.
Barbara & Susan share a cell in block H at the Conciergerie.
Ian's been imprisoned on film.
Ian's cellmate, the dying Webster, tells him to find James Bond, I mean Stirling, at the Grey Dog pub.
The jailer nearly rumbles that Barbara & Susan are attempting a Great Escape, when LeMaitre arrives to interrogate Ian.
If this story had taken place 7 years later, "LeMaitre" would surely have been played by none other than Roger Delgado.
Susan goes up a level from annoying to truly irritating in this story
She almost has a resurgence in #TheSensorites when they very weirdly ascribe her psychic powers but it's soon forgotten.
The Doctor gets one over on the chain gang overseer then sends his double to walk to Paris.
Ian watches helplessly as Barbara & Susan are carted off to the guillotine.
The Doctor arrives in Paris.
Distracted by LeMaitre, the jailer leaves the keys in the door, allowing Ian to attempt an escape.
Barbara & Susan are rescued by Jules & Jean, who gun down the revolutionaries.
The Doctor is clothes shopping.
The shopkeeper has taken a shine to the Doctor's ring.
Jules tells Barbara the rules of fight club. First names only.
LeMaitre tries to interrogate Ian, not realizing that Ian Russell is actually on holiday (ironically enough, in France).
The Doctor arrives at the jail, dressed as some sort of Ostrich.
No idea why the French jailer sounds like a minor Corrie character. TARDIS translation circuits tuned to ITV? Is this supposed to add to the comedy? It's *excruciating*.
LeMaitre says Robespierre wants to see the Doctor. He sends his cartoon double instead.
Ian Russell's going to get a shock when he returns from his holiday to find everyone's turned into cartoons.
Barbara gets chatted up by Mr. Meaker.
LeMaitre sees to it that the Doctor spends the night in the Conciergerie. Robespierre wants to see him again.
Ian is reunited with Barbara & Susan. He's also finally located Jules, so he can use Webster's message to find Stirling.
Jules & co. try to figure out the cover identity of the English spy, James Stirling.
"This calls for another drink!" says Ian, conveniently forgetting he owes the Doctor one.
Tell you what, the jaunty soundtrack is not at all served well by the animation direction.
It just about does the job, and is superior to any horrible slideshow, but it's pretty poor, sadly; not a patch on the animation for The Invasion. The 3D faces are freaky, the eye movements bizarre & the movement very stilted despite some rotoscoping. Any given still looks impressive, but as a whole, this doesn't come close to reflecting what it's trying to recreate.
I thought The Invasion was really good i was a bit disappointed by Reign, i would still like it animated than unanimated.
Snap. This animation house did seem to learn lessons very quickly though, their 10th planet is much much better.
Ian has walked into the War Meaker's trap! End of l'épisode quatre!
Ian's been chained up in the War Meaker's dungeon. Leon wants Ian to give up Bond. I mean Stirling.
The Doctor is finally reunited with Susan. Sort of. She's still locked up.
Robespierre seems to be cracking up a bit.
Not that LeMaitre's fussed. He just wants in on this secret meeting.
Not that LeMaitre's fussed. He just wants in on this secret meeting.
Babs is upset that Leon has been shot, even though he was the traitor, and set on torturing Ian. Cheers.
quite dishy though, Babs knows a good thing when she sees one
The Doctor is *still* faffing around the Conciergerie; has been for 3 episodes now. Make it stop.
LeMaitre has been listening at doors. What you might call "spying" on people, in fact.
Jules, Babs & Ian are still wibbling on about why Leon had to die. This episode is pure water-treading.
there was alot to be said for the VHS where Susan just gave the basics of the missing episode, not on the DVD sadly
If they'd brought Recap Boy to Paris this story would have been an episode shorter!
LeMaitre turns up at Jules' super secret hideout. He must have had those UNIT sign-makers on the job.
A
nd we're back in real life for the final episode.
nd we're back in real life for the final episode.
Turns out LeMaitre is really James Stirling. "Is it really such a surprise?" No, Jim, no it is not.
Jules has bound and gagged the innkeeper. This is the Doctor's best chance for that drink Ian promised him, surely.
Barrass' drinking buddy turns out to be Napoleon. Surely Barbara should have guessed this?
Robespierre's finished, shot in the jaw (off-screen thankfully).
The Doctor *finally* weasles Susan out of jail.
"I wonder who will be the next ruler of France?" muses Bond. Ian totally spoilers him.
Back to the TARDIS, where the Doctor closes the first season with a voiceover in space. 2 years before Star Trek.
not the dramatic season finale we are used to these days
TTFN! K.
Coming Soon... The Sun Makers, The Three Doctors, The Invasion, The Time of the Doctor, Dragonfire, The Happiness Patrol.
I still haven't become acquainted with this era of WHo. Is it worth the investment? Faced with potentially 2 years without new WHO we may need to revisit this rich past.
ReplyDelete