8) THE REIGN OF TERROR

An entertaining story with plenty of plot twist and surprises, where regular changes of location keeps things highly entertaining, but is a let-down in terms of its historical inaccuracy. The serial is a mixture of highs and lows which is a shame because The Reign of Terror is a ‘fine’ piece of television, but the final result is far from being perfect. It is here where Susan Foreman becomes exceedingly tiring, and the quirky way she calls The Doctor ‘grandfather’ becomes a tiring writing tool which results in some very dated plot devices. Not good, considering the show was only a few months old at the time. There is some excellent practical effects work at the helm here, as well as some experimental camera work. The writing at time feels very chaotic and rather confused, which is no surprise considering the serial has the ‘misfortune’ of  carrying a large-sized cast, most of whom only appear for a maximum of two episodes. A chaotic storyline and a massive list of characters will continually be a terrible mix for the show over the years. There is also a hidden subplot concerning the violence and rising tension amidst the French Revolution, which although never actually depicted onscreen can be felt throughout; the falling guillotine blade at the start of episode two, Barbara and Susan being escorted for execution off-screen, the deaths of D’Argenson and Rouvray by gunfire etc. The villains of the piece are just typically power hungry and money driven, only in it for themselves revolutionaries, clichéd motivations seen many times before. These not the worst villains by any means, some of them are brilliantly acted, just bland. The Reign of Terror also has some witticism here and there resulting in some very funny moments, which brings the serial back to the surface level despite its many flaws. As for the Napoleon side of the story, that should have ended up on the cutting room floor. ***