A Bluffer’s Guide to Doctor Who: The Massacre
For the third story in a row, everyone dies.
Describe The Massacre in six words:
A lost Steven investigates religious genocide.
This is… the one with the Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Day.
Episodes: 103–106 out of 868 (as of 31st December, 2021)
Broadcast: 5 February — 26 February, 1966
The Doctor Who Story Title Controversy: Okay, so this story isn’t actually called The Massacre.
Before Innes Lloyd became producer, Doctor Who serials were not given overall story titles to be depicted on-screen (although general titles for the production team were used, they were the story’s titles. For example, Terry Nation’s overall titles included “Daleks 3” (for The Chase), “Dalek Cut-Away” (for Mission to the Unknown) and “Dalek 12-parter” (for The Daleks’ Master Plan).
This story — which features a massacre — isn’t actually called The Massacre. Nor, is it actually called The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve. It has been given those titles retrospectively. However, the only on-screen titles were for its individual episodes. Therefore, contemporary viewers watching would not have been spoiled the way modern viewers are. Which is why, I personally prefer to go with the 1973 Radio Times title War of God (the Radio Times special listed all the untitled Hartnell stories using the title of the first episode. So, An Unearthly Child was An Unearthly Child and The Edge of Destruction was The Edge of Destruction. But The Daleks became The Dead Planet, The Romans became The Slave Traders, and Galaxy Four became Four Hundred Dawns.
Also, let’s be honest. After sequences featuring mass-death in the preceding three stories, why is this story called The Massacre?
Any behind-the-scenes gossip?:
First story to be directed by a woman, Paddy Russell. Russell managed to control the show’s lead by telling Hartnell that “the Doctor’s showing” when he was paying the Abbot of Amboise.
But otherwise, pity poor writer John Lucarotti. After having delivered Marco Polo and The Aztecs, Lucarotti worked on the third serial that he had been commissioned for way back when Dennis Spooner had been story editor. So, off he goes, writing his story about the Vikings, submitting it…
…and them getting it rejected. See, by this time, John Wiles was the producer and Donald Tosh was the story editor. They didn’t particularly want a story about Vikings, especially as Doctor Who had done Vikings very recently.
Wiles felt that Doctor Who should do a story about religious conflict (He apparently felt that the show was “light” in its Verity Lambert-produced seasons. I find this an odd view although admittedly, they weren’t as bleak as Wiles’ always-end-in-death stories). Tosh recommend the massacre of the Huguenots in 1572.
Lucarotti began writing the script. However, Tosh was unhappy with what he viewed as historical deviations, and had to change scenes to work around Hartnell’s schedule (Hartnell was on holiday for the recording of the second episode). As such, Tosh rewrote the scripts. Lucarotti felt that so much had changed, he requested his name be taken off the credits, however BBC paperwork indicates that this request was refused.
Tosh, having had enough of Doctor Who, especially the exhausting 12-part Dalek story he never wanted to do, left. This story marks his last credit on the program. Tosh was replaced by Gerry Davis in time for the fourth episode. Wiles was also unhappy, particularly as his relationship with Hartnell was hostile. Wiles began preparations to leave.
What Happens?
The TARDIS lands in Paris. The Doctor and Steven, being a couple of lads, head to the nearest pub.
The Doctor wants to visit Charles Preslin so departs. On the way out, a man recognises him.
Steven stays in the pub — ignoring all of 16th century France he could explore — and drinks with French Calvinists Protestants, also known as Huguenots. They claim to be persecuted by the reigning Catholics. This is shown to be more truer than they realise as the French Court under the reign of King Charles IX and the influence of Catherine de Medici.
Steven tries to look for the Doctor and sees him: disguised as the Abbot of Amboise. Or does he? Maybe the Abbot of Amboise looks like the Doctor? Steven tries to find out the truth, gets accused of being a spy by the Huguenots after revealing his friendship with the Abbot, and a murderer by the French public after discovering the dead body of the Abbot.
Turns out, the Doctor wasn’t disguised as the Abbot (He’s not clear about were he was for two whole days). When the Doctor discovers the date, he is horrified and tells Steven they need to flee. The gates to Paris are closed and outbreaks of Catholic mob violence fire up, attacking and killing the Huguenots, aided and encouraged by the Watch who slaughter the friends Steven has made.
But during this adventure, Steven has had his own companion — Anne Chaplet — who was a French maid at the Abbot’s house. And in leaving the Huguenots to be massacred, Steven is angry because that means they left Anne to die. Furious, Steven leaves the TARDIS at the next stop.
Anyway, a strange girl barges into the TARDIS to make a phone call. Steven comes running back and the Doctor dematerialises the TARDIS.
Observations:
The TARDIS doesn’t translate written French.
The Doctor talks up Charles Preslin, who he claims will make an important influence to germ theory. It’s odd: The story treats him as an underappreciated, historical figure — like Nikola Tesla or Mary Seacole — yet this person doesn’t exist. It might be that Lucarotti/Tosh meant it to be Louis Pasteur, founder of germ theory but was named after another French figure? While that’s odd in itself, what’s also strange is that none of these individuals were alive at the time of the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
No reprises. Episodes are based around an entire day. Only one cliff-hanger ends with a character in mortal danger and instead of a reprise, we see Steven the morning afterwards having escaped. The rest are reveals (the Abbot being a dead ringer for the Doctor, the identity of the Sea Beggar).
The Abbot of Amboise is painted to be mysterious. Characters don’t really know where he came from. Could he be the Doctor?
Meeting between the Abbot and Steven exciting. Wish we could see it (Notably, Hartnell is hmm-less, suggesting he is playing the Abbot with key differences)
Steven and Nicholas don’t actually save the Admiral. This is an interesting beat.
Steven thinking that the Doctor is dead: his sadness, his fear about being stuck in 1572. Great drama.
Episode guides make out that the Abbot is a bigger deal but he’s actually a rather minor part. It’s not knowing whether he is the Doctor or not that really makes the drama, not anything the Abbot actually does.
Neither Steven nor the Doctor meet any of the big historical figures (Steven gets the closest, meeting de Coligny). Also, Steven is the only one of the two that gets close to meeting any of the antagonists (his one scene with the Abbot). Somehow, though, unlike The Reign of Terror, this still works as Steven is trying to work out what’s going on meaning the scenes with the French court allows us insight refused to him.
Doctor has a “special” key to open the TARDIS. Doctor says he is a ‘Doctor of science” and that the TARDIS is “a machine for travelling in time and relative dimensions in space”
Doctor’s monologue: Perfect. (But, controversially, doesn’t mention Katarina or Sara. Does he not consider them companions?)
The obscurity of the historical event adds to it. It makes sense for Steven to be the lead here.
Dodo’s entrance is simultaneously needed but also random. The idea of her being related to Anne seems desperate and muddled (not just that surnames aren’t carried down through females… unless Anne had a baby boy out of wedlock)
Novelisation is totally different in terms of tone and major plot events. But it’s also difficult to imagine as Lucarotti’s “original”: It features a book-ending sequence with the First Doctor talking to the Time Lords, scenes with Doctor/Abbot confrontations and near-misses (which would have been challenging ‘as-live’). Novelisation also rushes the actual massacre and Steven doesn’t leave the TARDIS removing the story’s strongest moment. But it is a fun book.
To see (or rather hear) the brilliant monologue of Hartnell and the oddity of Dodo’s arrival, go here.
Recommend / Further Reading (note how various sources use the two different titles for this story):