Some consider this the best pure historical episode and one cant find many reasons to say otherwise. The Massacre of St Bartholomews Eve may not have the humour of The Romans, the fine Shakespearean acting of The Crusade or the action scenes of the aforementioned Highlanders. However, the subject matter alone makes this one very important piece of Doctor Who... well, history. While the actual massacre isnt shown, you constantly feel the danger that the Doctor and companion Steven are in as they try to escape one of mankinds darkest hours. Lots of points are being made against religious fanaticism, a problem society still faces some 48 years later. For all its worth, this truly is an educational episode. Fans witness some interesting character dynamics as Steven and the Doctor are very angry with each other by the end of the last part. However, this was quite common during Hartnell's era, so keep this in mind when you decide to rewatch Clara's rant at the end of the recent Kill the Moon. The Massacre also marks the debut of Jackie Lane as companion Dodo Chaplet. This couldve been higher up the list, if it werent for one thing - the doppelganger. That is, the Abbot of Amboise (also played by William Hartnell) looks exactly like the Doctor and silly quid pro quos ensue from this. While any actor able to perform a double role should be admired (Troughton would also do this in the recently found The Enemy of the World), the idea of unexplained doppelgangers is just lazy and an example of implausible writing. It wouldve only required a few sciency words from the Doctor - like "spatial genetic multiplicity" or something - to suspend our disbelief.
Adrian Serban lives in Bucharest, Romania where he has studied screenwriting and film criticism. But it's not all about artsy European dramas for him, as he's also a fan of horrors, kung-fu flicks and sci-fi films of all eras. Monty Python and Doctor Who are two British institutions that changed his life for the better. Or so he thinks.
