I just finished watching the first season serial The Reign of Terror Sadly the serial is missing some episodes because of The Purge, but Loose Cannon Productions did a wonderful job of recreating what they could. The Reign of Terror is the last serial of the first season of Doctor Who.

The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan after leaving the Isop Galaxy in the twenty-eight century (the Doctor and Donna would travel there themselves…) found that they have once again materialized on Earth. As they scout around they quickly find out that they are once again in Earth’s historical past. They’ve landed in France in 1794 which is what many historians say was the bloodiest time of the French Revolution. The group have unwittingly stumbled upon a safe house used by an underground movement to help rescue and hide innocent people sentenced to the guillotine. Armed soldiers arrive and capture Ian, Barbara and Susan while the Doctor is laying unconscious in the hous that the soldiers had just set alight.
Ian, Barbara and Susan are sent to a prison to be held for execution. Ian meets a dying prisoner named Webster who tells him to find James Stirling, an English spy. Barbara and Susan try to dig their way out of the prison but it proves to be fruitless and they are carried off to be beheaded. On the way they are rescued by two men, Jules and Jean, who are helping to smuggle out political prisoners. The Doctor in the meantime was rescued from the burning house, press ganged for a while into digging a trench because he did not have proper papers, and cleverly managed to disguise himself as Regional Officer of the Provinces in order to try and rescue his friends.

I thoroughly enjoyed this serial. The TARDIS crew are stranded in a purely historical time, knowing what’s about to happen and knowing that there is nothing they can do about it. A lesson learned that is recalled by Barbara when she tried to change the Aztecs. Everyone had a chance to shine as well. We see how resourceful and clever Ian can be, Barbara shows her strength and courage in overwhelming odds, Susan was too ill to do much random screaming, and the Doctor talks himself out of one sticky situation after another. It was also more of a period drama than a sci-fi show. There were no aliens trying to change the history of Earth, no anachronistic devices made from available parts by the Doctor, all they had about them was their wits. It’s something I’m hoping to see in Moffat’s tenure as Doctor Who’s showrunner. And even for a slow paced adventure there were scenes that actually made me sit up and say, “Oh, snap!” (yes I really do say that… a lot…). If you manage to find a VHS copy of this, as it is not out on DVD, pick it up. You will not be disappointed.

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