The Massacre

The Doctor is not the Abbot! He's only pretending!

I've said it before about some recons, but it is a real shame this one does not exist. I must admit that I cheated a little and read a historical summary of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day, but it did help a bit with my understanding of the story.

Plot Summary

The Doctor and Steven land in Paris a few days before the massacre. The Doctor leaves Steven at a tavern as he wishes to go see a scientific mind of the time. He promises to meet Steven that evening. Steven then falls in with a group of Huguenot nobility who offer him a place to spend the night when the Doctor fails to return after curfew. Meanwhile, a young girl named Anne Chaplet runs into them and is rescued from a group of guards sent by the Abbot of Amboise. She tells them that she overheard a group of people talking about what sounded like a Catholic plot. Steven continues to be concerned for the Doctor but thinks he recognizes him when he sees the Abbot the next day. His recognition of the Abbot arouses suspicions of the Huguenots and Steven eventually flees when they refuse to take him to the Abbot's house. There he overhears a murder plot but doesn't know who the target is. He tries to warn the Huguenots but he is turned out without listening to him.

The target is the Admiral de Coligny who is a close friend of King Charles IX. Steven and Anne go back to the Abbot's house to learn more and figure out who the target is. They flee once again to the Huguenots and this time one listens to him. He runs to warn the Admiral, who is returning from a council meeting, but the Admiral is shot and wounded anyway. The Marshal, angry that the Abbot's plan failed, orders him killed. The locals think the Abbot was murdered by Huguenots and Steven is distraught as he believes the Doctor has been killed (convinced that the Doctor has been impersonating the Abbot). Steven flees back to the shop where the Doctor had originally gone and Anne is hiding. They search the place looking for the TARDIS key to allow Steven to escape when the Doctor reappears. He had been searching for Steven who never returned to the tavern after the first morning. The Doctor soon realizes what is about to happen and sends Anne away, ordering her to hide at a relative's house. He and Steven then run back to the TARDIS and take off as soldiers begin pounding on the Admiral's door. The Doctor relates to Steven what happens and notes that he cannot change the past. Steven becomes angry that the Doctor left Anne to her presumed death and demands to be let off when they stop again. He walks out and the Doctor contemplates what to do next. Dodo (a descendant of Anne's) walks in to the TARDIS thinking it was a real police box. Steven charges in shortly after her warning the Doctor to take off as the police are approaching the TARDIS. The Doctor takes off and welcomes Dodo to the team.

Analysis

This is a real cloak and dagger story. It does a pretty good job explaining the history of what happened but with it already being a recon, I think I was better off reading the historical summary first. It allowed me to concentrate on the story rather than have to juggle the historical facts in addition to the story (which is fairly complex).

This story is a showcase for Steven. The Doctor is only in episodes one and four and the Abbot is only given lines in episode three (suggesting that William Hartnell was on holiday during episode two). Steven meanwhile does all the heavy lifting except for the scenes involving the royal council. I'm not familiar with the British acting corp of the 1960's but these scenes are very well acted with folks who are probably experienced with period drama. I enjoyed Steven's scenes a great deal, but I could have easily watched a full episode of political machinations between the Admiral, the Marshal and Catherine de' Medici.

It is that depth of talent that does point out a few of the shortcomings. Steven does a good job but he seems to equate intense emotion with shouting and that can actually decrease his believability at times. There is another character, Gaston, who is also a bit shouty and there is a scene between the two (including a sword fight) where there is a lot of shouting back and forth at each other. I get they are trying to show intensity, but it felt a bit amateurish, especially when compared to the depth shown in other scenes.

My other small complaint is that this story could have used a little levity. It was dour throughout and that did provide a nice intensity, but a little joke here and there would have been nice. Granted that might have taken away from the gloom that was building throughout the episode, but a little pun or a touch of gallows humor scattered here and there would have kept things moving during the few slow spots.

I would definitely watch this one again if it was found in some capacity. I'd be very interested to see how William Hartnell played the Abbot versus the Doctor. They sound rather similar but I'd be curious to see how he made them look different. The ending is a bit weak and rushed as I would have liked a better introduction for Dodo, but it did have a nice quiet moment of the Doctor reflecting on the past and his future. Quality that should only improve with a return to motion.

Overall personal score: 3.5 out of 5