Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror

by Dennis Spooner, William Hartnell (Narrator), William Russell (Narrator)

The TARDIS arrives in the midst of the French Revolution in the remastered soundtrack of a classic story starring William Hartnell, with linking narration by Carole Ann Ford.

'The events will happen, just as they are written...'

Materialising in a forest, the Doctor and his three companions discover themselves to be 12 kilometers from Paris. This is the 18th century, and France is the scene of an ongoing bloody battle between royalists and revolutionaries. Following a blaze at a rural farmhouse, Ian, Barbara and Susan are separated from the Doctor and arrested as traitors, their destination the city's gaol.

Ian receives information about James Stirling, an English spy with information vital to the revolution. No-one seems to know where Stirling is, and locating him becomes Ian's priority. The Doctor, meanwhile, arrives in Paris in the guise of a Regional Officer, and before long he has an audience with the leader of the revolution himself: Robespierre!

With Robespierre's downfall imminent, and the revolution about to reach its climax, the Doctor and his friends must extricate themselves from Paris, before events overtake them and they too become victims of Madame Guillotine...

Carole Ann Ford, who played Susan in these six BBC TV episodes from 1964, provides linking narration for the story. In a bonus interview she also recalls the experience of making The Reign of Terror

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook

3 pages, Audio CD

First published February 6, 2006

About the author

Dennis Spooner was an English television writer and script editor, known primarily for his programmes about fictional spies and his work in children's television in the 1960s. He had long-lasting professional working relationships with a number of other British screenwriters and producers, notably Brian Clemens, Terry Nation, Monty Berman and Richard Harris, with whom he developed several programmes. Though he was a contributor to BBC programmes, his work made him one of the most prolific writers of televised output from ITC Entertainment.

Reviews

[Melenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good story. I enjoyed it.

[David Sutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This presentation of the surviving recordings of the lost First Doctor adventure "The Reign of Terror" provides a better thematic soundscape, more exciting escape story, and better overall listening experience than the chronologically previous lost adventure "Marco Polo". Poor Ian, Barbara, and Susan are just trying to get home after a full first season of adventures when the T.A.R.D.I.S. takes them to France instead of England and thrusts them into the flames of the French Revolution. Unfortunately Season 1 Episodes 40-41 got the guillotine leaving the adventure 1/3 incomplete until now. In addition to this presentation by BBC Audio Whovians also have the option of experiencing this lost adventure recreated using animation from a 2013 DVD release. Despite being reconstructed for DVD release sadly these missing episodes still end up missing from the Doctor Who Classic steaming library on both tubi and brit box. Until the day that these lost episodes are finally reunited for streaming I am grateful that I could listen to the audio version from Pikes Peak Library District.