A Bluffer’s Guide to Doctor Who: The Romans
Hartnell optimum fabulam. Plus es Pulchra es.
Describe The Romans in VI words:
Fiddles with Nero while Rome burns
This is… the one with the Romans
Episodes: LIV — LVII out of DCCCLXII
What Happens?
Act I
Having crashed in Italy, 64AD, the time-travellers spend some time relaxing and enjoying Roman life. The Doctor takes Vicki to Rome while Ian and Barbara stay at the villa the time-travellers have been squatting in.
Act II
Unfortunately, both groups end up in trouble: The Doctor is mistaken for a lyre-player who Nero wants dead, and Vicki and him end up caught in palace intrigue. Ian and Barbara get kidnapped and sold as slaves.
Act III
All four manage to escape from their misadventures on the evening of the Great Fire of Rome. Upon returning to the villa, the Doctor is dismissive of Ian’s and Barbara’s adventure, not believing them. They leave in the TARDIS.
First broadcast: XVI January — VI February, MCMLXV (or 16th January to 6 February, 1965, if you prefer)
Why Was This Made?:
Recorded as part of the same block as The Rescue, meaning this story was directed by Christopher Barry. It had been commissioned by previous Story Editor David Whitaker to be written by incoming Story Editor Dennis Spooner. (Spooner returned the favour by commissioning Whitaker to write The Rescue). Under guidance of Producer Verity Lambert, who was keen to push Doctor Who’s format, the serial featured a mix of comedic and tragic elements, deliberately written as a farce so the comedic adventures of the Doctor and Vicki contrasted with the tragic adventures of Ian and Barbara.
Observations / Things to Say:
- Dialogue being written to be enjoyable as much as informative. Nearly every character gets a good line or two, but our main cast are particularly favoured. Hartnell is having a whale of a time.
- Again, like The Dalek Invasion of Earth’s 2164, this is set in 64AD, making it set 1900 years in the past (Well, almost. 1901).
- Our time-travellers in tourist mode. They’ve spent three weeks enjoying themselves. We only see the action when it begins to go wrong.
- The three story strands interweave together: The Doctor’s and Vicki’s comedic stumbling through palace intrigue; Ian’s grisly drama; and Barbara’s jumping from farce to horror. Great plotting and playing with tone. The series is maturing now, taking risks.
- Spooner has developed how to do historical stories since The Reign of Terror: Now, it’s all playing in history’s toybox: Roman markets, Roman slaves, Emperor Nero fiddling while Rome burns, Ian becoming a gladiator, galleys, threatened by lions, Roman banquets, the Doctor having a Roman bath, the poisoner.
- The rules of time-travel are re-stated. Now, rather than not rewriting history, you “must not interfere with progress”. The Doctor gives Nero the idea for the Great Fire of Rome. Also, quite the adventurer before “An Unearthly Child” saying that he taught the Mountain Mauler of Montana and gave story ideas to Hans Christian Andersen (Of course, he says these things to Vicki. Accepting that he is telling the truth, it’s possible they could be untelevised adventures he’s had with Ian and Barbara. Which would explain why they keep describing the Doctor’s character as contrary to what we’ve witnessed).
- The Doctor playing the lyre at the banquet is genius. Genius.
Between You and Me:
This is great, and it’s brilliant that the series did this at least once. If more people saw The Rescue and The Romans before they saw An Unearthly Child and The Daleks, the fandom’s perception of Hartnell’s Doctor as irascible and cantankerous would be different: Here is is whimsical, generous, charming and fun.
Totally worth checking out as well is the novelisation: It’s very slight but an enjoyable read. It takes massive liberties with the source material but incorporates scenes inconceivable for the original, such as the Doctor accidentally letting lions loose in Rome.
Further / Recommended Reading: