Doctor Who: The Romans

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

The year is 64 AD, and the TARDIS travelers are enjoying a restful time in a villa close to Rome. Their peace and quiet is shattered when a visit to the city sees the Doctor mistaken for a lyre player, and him and Vicki subsequently pursued by an assassin. Meanwhile, Ian and Barbara are kidnapped and sold as slaves: Ian on a galley in the Mediterranean Sea, and Barbara to serve in the court of Nero himself. Using all his ingenuity to gain the freedom of Nero’s court, the Doctor inadvertently inspires the Emperor’s plans to completely rebuild Rome. Can the Doctor, Vicki, Ian and Barbara escape with their lives before the city becomes a cinder? William Russell, who played Ian Chesterton in the series, provides additional linking narration, and a selection of bonus archive radio items looks at the real�life Nero, and the life and career of William Hartnell.

Genres: Doctor Who, Audiobook

2 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 2008

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

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable! The quality of the episode soundtrack is high and the linking narration is really well done.

This story is very good and has many nice laughs (many of the jokes that can get lost in the noises of the TV episode are clear in this audio CD).

The Doctor, Barbara, Ian, and Vicky land near Rome in ancient times and spend a long holiday there. Bored with Ian and Barbara who seem content to do nothing but lounge about; the Doctor and Vicky set off to Rome for some adventure. And they find it when they stumble across a dead body and the Doctor gets mistaken for a famous lute player! Meanwhile, Barbara and Ian don't the peaceful relaxation they'd hoped for as slavers set upon them and whisk them off to Rome as well!

It's a delightfully paced, nicely humor-sprinkled romp that really works well on this audio format.

[Adam Duclos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great audiobook! It was a great story, fun to listen to, and the action was narrated by the guy who originally played Ian Chesterton in the show! Unlike 'The Sensorites', the story was snappy and masterful.

Also, there's this great scene where the First Doctor, who has been impersonating a famous lute player that he found dead on the side of the road because he thought it would be interesting, has just been forewarned that, due to playing a trick on him in order to disguise the fact that he can't play the lute to save his life, Emperor Nero has ordered him to play in the Colosseum, which sounds nice, but then he will have the lions set on him! Right after learning of this, the Doctor runs into Nero again, and when the Emperor tells him of his upcoming 'concert', the Doctor launches into what has got to be the most fun round of awesome puns ever!

So great! Well, it's a bit odd that Ian and Barbara can shrug off their enslavement, but I guess at that point they were already setting up the next story. Also, Ian is a bit mean to Barbara when he forces her to pick up the broken pottery at the end... It had been jocular up until then, and it was jarring. He could have at least joked that he couldn't possibly have picked it up because his arms were still tired from all that rowing! That could have easily been cut from the show.

[Melenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part I really enjoyed this one

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good audio book to listen to especially if you love Doctor Who!