9. The Crusade
Another epic historical. Doctor Who does these so well and for me one of the biggest loss with these missing episodes is the inability of modern audiences, myself included, to see the massive amount detailed work given to bring these historical settings and characters to life. This time we have a fantastic reconstruction of 12th Century Palestine. Why this story? Well, quite simply, its another story by the brilliant writer, of
Marco Polo and
The Aztecs. And quite frankly, a story involving The Doctor being caught up in the political machinations of Richard The Lionheart and Saracen ruler Saladin sounds like too good an opportunity to miss up. Barbara goes through the ringer, even more so that
The Aztecs (her crowning story); captured by the vicious Saracen emir El Alkir. The Doctor and Vicki come into conflict with King Richards advisor, the Earl of Leicester and end up on the run. King Richard plans to end the war with a planned marriage of his sister Joanna to Salidins brother Saphadin, only she is not too happy with this proposal. There are lot of plot lines bubbling on through this tale and it all takes on a very Shakespearian quality, with Ian quoting the bard on two occasions. Only two stories out of the four remain. It would be another 50th anniversary present to see this story in its entirety once more.