The Massacre

You are an extraordinary man Tavannes. You see shadows where there is no sun

Admiral de Coligny

Synopsis

The TARDIS materalises in Paris in 1572, where the Doctor quickly gets pulled away by the scientist Charles Preslin. Steven, meanwhile, befriends the Huguenots as the Catholics plot against them.

Review

As someone who loves history, when Doctor Who goes back in time I do generally enjoy it quite a lot. The Massacre, or to give it its full title The Massacre of Saint Bartholomew’s Eve goes back to a point in history which is possibly not well known within history. It’s perhaps not the logical choice for the show to revisit but that almost makes it all the more interesting.

It feels as though the story has backtracked on the more comedic approaches that say The Romans or The Myth Makers took towards historical stories. The Massacre is dialogue-heavy and has a lot of characters appear within its run time and even more mentioned who are not seen. The events of the story take place in the lead-up to the marriage of Henry of Navarre and Marguerite, King Charles IX’s sister, but neither of these characters actually appear in the story. The French Wars of Religion are quite a weighty topic for Doctor Who to attempt to tackle, and the story can feel dense, even to those who are interested in history, and even drag in its early parts. There is little to offer much intrigue and the story comes off as rather vanilla. It’s difficult to imagine many children citing The Massacre as being one of their favourite episodes of Doctor Who. Then you consider that only features the Doctor in its first and final episodes, which makes this the first Doctor-lite story.

That’s not to say that Peter Purves doesn’t carry this story off well as Steven falls into the lead role and is no doubt capable of handling the role. In Purves’ hands, it is on occasion possible to forget that Hartnell is not present, but the story’s insistence that the Doctor’s doppelganger, the villainous Abbot of Ambois is actually the Doctor in disguise pays neither the character nor the story any credit. The Abbot and the Doctor feel so distinct from each other that the fact that the story tries to convince the audience otherwise feels disingenuous.

It is strange, Father Abbot, that since you came everything that has been so carefully planned has gone wrong.

Marshal Tavannes

As stated above, the story what feels like a sizeable guest cast, and with the story being lost to the BBC’s wiping policy, it is difficult to really get a feel for many of them. One that does stand out is Barry Justice as King Charles IX, who feels utterly infantilised. More interested in showing off his new tennis racquet than the prospect of war with Spain, and utterly powerless against the Queen Mother. It’s a marvellous performance and a highlight of the later parts of the episodes.

With Hartnell playing double duty, Purves does admirably as the sole protagonist. The story does something rather unusual for television and Doctor Who in this period, by making Steven’s feelings about the death and destruction he witnessed at the end of The Daleks’ Master Plan come into this story. When the Doctor disappears for most of the story and, on reappearing, wants to rapidly disappear without saving Anne Chaplet, seemingly dooming her to death at the hands of the rampaging Catholics. This attitude understandably frustrates Steven and leads him to temporarily leave the TARDIS until he returns to warn the Doctor that the police are heading for the TARDIS, but not before one of Anne Chaplet’s apparent descendants stumbles in and becomes the latest in a long line of stowaways in the shape of Dodo. Steven’s temporary departure does lead to one of the show’s best moments in these early years, the Doctor’s speech about how none of his companions could understand him and the fact that he is unable to go back home. It’s an intriguing glimpse into a history that didn’t really exist at this point but was developed upon in the years ahead.

Verdict: The Massacre is a bit of a mixed bag. A solid if not spectacular historical story, it is dense in places and some of the story choices do not work as well as they should. 6/10

Cast: William Hartnell (The Doctor), Peter Purves (Steven Taylor), Jackie Lane (Dodo Chaplet), Barry Justice (King Charles IX), Joan Young (Queen Mother), Leonard Sachs (Admiral de Coligny), André Morell (Marshal Tavannes), Michael Bilton (Charles de Teligny), Erik Chitty (Charles Preslin), Eric Thompson (Gaston, Viscount de Lerans), David Weston (Nicholas Muss), John Tillinger (Simon Duval), Christopher Tranchell (Roger Colbert), Annette Robertson (Anne Chaplet), Cynthia Etherington (Old Woman), Edwin Finn (Landlord), Clive Cazes (Captain of the Guard), Reginald Jessup (Servant), Norman Claridge (Priest), John Slavid (Officer), Will Stampe (1st Man), Ernest Smith (2nd Man), Jack Tarran (1st Guard) & Leslie Bates (2nd Guard).

Writer: John Lucarotti and Donald Tosh (for Bell of Doom only)

Director: Paddy Russell

Producer: John Wiles

Parts: 4 (War of God, The Sea Beggar, Priest of Death & Bell of Doom).

Original Broadcast Dates: 5th – 26th February 1966

Behind the Scenes

• Working titles for this story were The God of War and The Massacre of Saint Bartholomew.
• The first story in which the actor playing the Doctor appears playing a different character.
• No episodes exist in the BBC Archives, and there are no telesnaps or even production photographs surviving from this story. It is one of only three stories where only audio exists.
• This is the first story to be directed by a woman, Paddy Russell. Russell would go on to direct stories featuring the Third and Fourth Doctors.
• Peter Purves describes this story as being his favourite and described it as heartbreaking that not a single frame of it still exists.

Cast Notes

• Leonard Sachs would go on to play Lord President Borusa in Arc of Infinity.
• Michael Bilton would go on to play Collins in Pyramids of Mars and a Time Lord in The Deadly Assassin.
• Erik Chitty played Engin in The Deadly Assassin.
• David Weston would go on to appear in the Fourth Doctor story Warrior’s Gate, playing Biroc.
• Christopher Tranchell played Steven Jenkins in The Faceless Ones and Andred in The Invasion of Time.
• Reginald Jessup played Savar in The Invasion of Time.
• John Slavid would go on to appear in The War Machines.
• Leslie Bates had previously appeared in Marco Polo.

Best Moment

Even though no pictures exist, the assassination attempt on de Coligny is a gripping piece of narration and would likely have been similar on television.

Best Quote

My dear Steven, history sometimes gives us a terrible shock, and that is because we don’t quite fully understand. Why should we? After all, we’re too small to realise its final pattern. Therefore don’t try and judge it from where you stand. I was right to do as I did. Yes, that I firmly believe. Steven… Even after all this time, he cannot understand. I dare not change the course of history. Well, at least I taught him to take some precautions; he did remember to look at the scanner before he opened the doors. And now, they’re all gone. All gone. None of them could understand. Not even my little Susan. Or Vicki. And as for Barbara and Chatterton — Chesterton — they were all too impatient to get back to their own time. And now, Steven. Perhaps I should go home. Back to my own planet. But I can’t… I can’t…

The First Doctor

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