Title: The Reign of Terror
Writer: Dennis Spooner
Original Broadcast Date: 8 August 1964 - 12 September 1964
The Reign of Terror, without a doubt, is Dennis Spooner's worst script. But considering the quality of the episode, that says a lot more about the high standards Spooner set than it does about this fantastic historical finale to Doctor Who's first ever season!
The Reign of Terror starts off with the TARDIS landing in a middle of a forest. The Doctor, thinking he has managed to direct the ship back to England, 1963 kicks Ian and Barbara out, angry at their 'ungrateful attitude towards him.' But they come across a boy in strange clothes, clothes that would be right at the home in the middle of the French revolution...
Maybe it was me just glad to be out of the six episode atrocity that was The Sensorites, but I really enjoyed this story much, much more than I remembered after I rewatched it as apart of my Classic Who marathon. It is a brilliant example of amazing set and costume design in early Doctor Who, with wonderfully vivid clothes and lush sets of revolutionary France streets and beyond.
Beyond visuals, The Reign of Terror still has a lot to offer, namely a gripping plot, great charecterisation of existing and brand new characters and top notch performances from Hartnell, which all add together to make this one great story in need of watching. The episode also keeps throwing new ideas at you, whilst managed to develop the relationships of characters and the main plot on the screen at perfect pacing. That is all except for the final episode where one aspect is a little fleetingly mentioned, the only real flaw of this gorgeous historical.
Overall after a mixed start to Doctor Who, this was story fans needed, a story ending the season that kept you engaged throughout, to assure fans how good the show could be. And The Reign of Terror couldn't have done it better!
9/10
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