.jpg "Doctor Who: 'The Reign Of Terror' BBCDVD3528")
- Broadcast:
- 8th August - 12th September 1964
- Doctor:
- William Hartnell
- Companions:
- Ian, Barbara, Susan
- Adversary:
- French Revolutionaries
- Written by:
- Dennis Spooner
- Director:
- Henric Hirsch
- Music:
- Stanley Myers
- Script Editor:
- David Whitaker
- Producer:
- Verity Lambert
- Average Viewers:
- 6.73m (6.9, 6.9, 6.9, 6.4, 6.9, 6.4)
If The Sensorites was the most removed from Earthly normality (so far) then it was followed by the most solidly grounded. The Reign Of Terror is regarded as one of the best historical stories. It brings a greater sense of reality and a more naturalistic drama than The Aztecs but the setting of subterfuge and revolution leave it vulnerable to being a little unclear in the latter half and researching the French Revolution ahead of writing this review left me just as confused but it's worth noting that this isn't so much a story of good against evil as it is pure circumstances. The Reign Of Terror is the first story, chronologically, to have missing episodes recreated with animation and they work really well.
Meanwhile, back in the summer of 1964 when The Reign Of Terror was first broadcast, a Rolling Stones gig in Scheveningen (Netherlands) got out of control and was ended after 15 minutes by riot police (resulting in spectators starting to fight the riot police!), Gwynne Owen Evans and Peter Anthony Allen were hanged for the murder of John Alan West, making them the last people to be executed in the United Kingdom (though the death penalty for murder would not be abolished until November 1965 and was still available for treason until 1998), and the IOC banned South Africa from the forth coming Tokyo Olympics due to the racial segregation of their athletes (similarly, John Lennon announced that the Beatles would not perform to a segregated audience in Florida). On a happier note, Derek Foster became the youngest player in the Football League at the age of 15, Mary Poppins had its world premier (though UK audiences would have to wait until Christmas to see it), and the Forth Road Bridge opened over the Firth of Forth. "Match Of The Day" had its first broadcast and could have been watched on portable televisions which also became available around this time. In cinemas, future film companion and series friend of the Doctor Bernard Cribbins could be seen in Crooks In Cloisters, along with Wilfred Bramble who's "Steptoe And Son" co-star Harry H. Corbett was in Rattle Of A Simple Man. Of particular note to us though, Jacqueline Hill could have been seen by older viewers in The Comedy Man. Topping the music charts were Manfred Mann with "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", Honeycomb with "Have I The Right" and the Kinks with "You Really Got Me"
Meanwhile, back in the summer of 1964 when The Reign Of Terror was first broadcast, a Rolling Stones gig in Scheveningen (Netherlands) got out of control and was ended after 15 minutes by riot police (resulting in spectators starting to fight the riot police!), Gwynne Owen Evans and Peter Anthony Allen were hanged for the murder of John Alan West, making them the last people to be executed in the United Kingdom (though the death penalty for murder would not be abolished until November 1965 and was still available for treason until 1998), and the IOC banned South Africa from the forth coming Tokyo Olympics due to the racial segregation of their athletes (similarly, John Lennon announced that the Beatles would not perform to a segregated audience in Florida). On a happier note, Derek Foster became the youngest player in the Football League at the age of 15, Mary Poppins had its world premier (though UK audiences would have to wait until Christmas to see it), and the Forth Road Bridge opened over the Firth of Forth. "Match Of The Day" had its first broadcast and could have been watched on portable televisions which also became available around this time. In cinemas, future film companion and series friend of the Doctor Bernard Cribbins could be seen in Crooks In Cloisters, along with Wilfred Bramble who's "Steptoe And Son" co-star Harry H. Corbett was in Rattle Of A Simple Man. Of particular note to us though, Jacqueline Hill could have been seen by older viewers in The Comedy Man. Topping the music charts were Manfred Mann with "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", Honeycomb with "Have I The Right" and the Kinks with "You Really Got Me"
