Customer Reviews

Doctor Who: The Rescue / The Romans (Stories 11 & 12)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Season two.
Now then what have we here, well in my opinion we have two neglected little gems, that's what. Two stories from the always ignored (In fan polls.) Hartnell era.
These two stories are from Season two, a season which had the highest "overall" viewing figures in the shows history.
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The Rescue.(Two Episodes.)
A succinct and competently written two parter, who's sole purpose is to introduce the Granddaughter replacement Vicki.
And by doing so quickly rebalances the demographics of the group after the departure of Susan.
It's main plotline hinges on a murder mystery with Sci-fi overtones, which the Doctor solves, with the help of some prior knowledge of the indigenous civilisation he'd gained from a previous visit.
Originally planned as the first story of the second season it was put back into third place because of extra work required on, "The Dalek Invasion of Earth".
Ep.1~ The Powerful Enemy.(2/1/65)
Ep.2~ Desperate Measures.(9/1/65)
Overall opinion:~a pleasing little diversion from some of Season two's more facetious offerings.
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The Romans.(Four Episodes.)
Forgetting about the historical inaccuracies in some of the main characters. This story was unique for many years afterwards, as been deliberately done in a farcical fashion.(Input by the great Dennis Spooner.)
The Tardis crew via many convoluted reasons end up in Rome, but neither party (Vicki and the Doctor)(Barbara and Ian.) is aware of the others presence. The Doctor is mistaken for lyre player Maximus Pettulian, and finds himself embroiled in intrigue and murder in Nero's court.
Many of the situations are terribly contrived, but some are amusing.
- The Doctor using the, "Emperors New Clothes" syndrome to fool the snobs in Nero's court, whilst pretending to play the Lyre.
(He can't play a note.)
- The Doctor gives Nero an Idea to rebuild Rome.(Involving fire.)
On a religious note one of the characters turns out to be one of Rome's early Christians.
Anyone who's seen, "Spartacus", "Ben Hur" and "Carry on Cleo" will see at least one scene inspired from those classic films.
Ep.1~ The Slave Traders.(16/1/65)
Ep.2~ All Roads Lead to Rome.(23/1/65)
Ep.3~ Conspiracy.(30/1/65)
Ep.4~ Inferno.(6/2/65)
Overall opinion:~It was nice to actually see The Doctor meeting a historical figure for once, instead of just name dropping, like he does a lot during the Pertwee years.
This story shows Nero not fiddling while Rome burns, instead he "Lyred", much more believable.
(The fiddle hadn't been invented.)
The Romans is still even now an amusing treat, don't let the fact it's in Black and White put you off.
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DVD Extras.
The Rescue.
Commentary with actor William Russell, director Christopher Barry and designer Raymond Cusick, moderated by Toby Hadoke.
Mounting The Rescue - cast and crew look back on the making of the story in this feature from Steve Broster. With actors William Russell, Maureen O'Brien and Ray Barrett, director Christopher Barry, designer Raymond Cusick and 1960's viewer Ian McLachlan.
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The Romans.
Commentary with actors William Russell, Nick Evans and Barry Jackson, designer Raymond Cusick (episode four only) and director Christopher Barry, moderated by Toby Hadoke.
What Has `The Romans' Ever Done For Us? - actors, crew and historians look at both the reality and fantasy behind the story of `The Romans' in this fascinating feature from Steve Broster. With actors William Russell, Kay Patrick, Barry Jackson, Anthony Andrews and Christopher Biggins, director Christopher Barry, designer Raymond Cusick, historian Dr. Mark Bradley, writer James Moran, Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury and 1960's viewer Ian McLachlan. Narrated by John Bowe.
Roma Parva - (Latin: 'Little Rome') Director Christopher Barry demonstrates the use of a model of the studio set in the planning of camera positions and moves during recording in this short feature from John Kelly.
Dennis Spooner - Wanna Write a Television Series? - Robert Fairclough's first feature for the range looks at writer Dennis Spooner's work on Doctor Who. With actors William Russell and Peter Purves, script editor Donald Tosh, writers Brian Clemens and Rob Shearman, and Spooner's friend Jane Clemens. Narrated by Anna Hope.
Blue Peter - The Blue Peter team hold a Roman banquet in the studio.
Girls! Girls! Girls! - The 1960's - an affectionate look back at the sixties Who-Girls from producer Robert Fairclough. With actors Carole Ann Ford, William Russell, Peter Purves, Anneke Wills, Deborah Watling, Frazer Hines, Jean Marsh and Honor Blackman, script editor Donald Tosh and director Christopher Barry. Narrated by Dona Croll.
Plus- Photo Galleries, Coming Soon trailer, Radio Times Billings PDF, Programme subtitles and Subtitle Production Notes.
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Trivia~ According to research Nero died in his thirties. A lot younger then the middle aged Derek Francis, who plays him here.

The previous reviews have already offered summaries of the stories, so I won't bother.

The Rescue is a pleasant, if unenthralling 2 parter, serving mostly to introduce a new companion, the charming and sweet faced Vicki.

The Romans is the series' first excursion into comedy. And, unlike some later attempts (can you say Season 17...) it works very well. A nice mix of humor and drama and, as an historical, no dodgy special effects to worry about. I've always been a fan of the historicals .. now I'm just waiting for them to release "Reign of Terror," and I'll be a happy fan.

Some pleasant extras as well, detailed 'making of' documentaries about each episode, commentary tracks, and some fun stuff like the Roman Banquet. (Anyone know when that dates from? Being in color, it obviously wasnt' contemporary with the Dr. Who story.)

My one complaint with the set is that disc one is over half empty. There is barely an hour's worth of material on it! (One 20 minute documentary and a 2 part, 45 minute story.) By contrast, disc two has almost 3 hours. Couldn't they have found something to fill the space? Like... maybe "Planet of Giants"? (A 3 parter that comes from the same season ... would have been a perfect fit.)

This double-pack is occasioned only by the fact that these two stories were made back-to-back. However, it's a neat little window on "Doctor Who"'s radical early days -- a two-episode outer-space character piece set 500 years in the future, followed by a 4-episode romp through Ancient Rome. "Doctor Who"'s genius then and now is its willingness to try absolutely any form of drama, making it up as it goes along and succeeding most of the time.

"The Rescue" is basically a filler episode designed to introduce a replacement character for original companion Susan. Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) is a teenage orphan from the 25th Century. Marooned on the planet Dido, Vicki finds herself menaced by a reptilian biped with the unlikely name of Koquilion. There's a mystery in the middle of all this, which the Doctor solves without breaking a sweat. It helps that he's been to Dido before... The script hasn't held up very well, but director Christopher Barry (previously seen helming "The Daleks") adds some inventive directorial flourishes.

This is one of the restoration team's "lite" releases so there's not a whole lot going on in the extra features. Maureen O'Brien, who played Vicki for parts of two seasons (before the character went off to help found the city of Rome) pops up very briefly in the making-of documentary, but not in the commentary track.

Speaking of Rome, the other episode in the case has held up shockingly well. "The Romans" was "Doctor Who"'s first foray into farce. William Hartnell's Doctor gets to play comedy for the first time, and kicks into overdrive -- palling around with Caesar Nero, unsuccessfuly learning how to play the lyre, and demonstrating the fine art of fisticuffs (which, we learn, he once taught to the Mountain Mauler of Montana). He gets to deliver some comedic zingers, and even his line-readin fluffs add to the charm. The main guest character, Nero, also gets a slew of terrific lines ("I'll have you killed over and over again!") and plenty of wonderful character moments (not the least of which is his creative disposal of an overzealous cup-bearer).

The story itself has a huge scope; each individual half-hour seems to have its own mini-plot and unique settings. From the rural marketplace to the slave galley to gladiators in the arena to the burning of Rome, "The Romans" moves along at a breakneck pace more befitting the 2005 revival of "Doctor Who" than something from 45 years ago.

The extras on the "Romans" disk are of the deluxe variety. The making-of featurette is over half an hour long and puts the story in its historical context. "Doctor Who" in its first two years was an extremely radical program, and if it all looks slow and dull and black-&-white today, this documentary will quickly disabuse you of that viewpoint. Also charming is a featurette on Dennis Spooner, the writer of the story and "Doctor Who"'s second script editor; the MVP of this extra is current "Who" writer Rob Shearman, who makes a far-reaching but convincing argument that the show wouldn't have survived this long without Spooner's creativity and risk-taking. There's also an overview on "Who"'s female companions throughout the 1960s decade (demonstrated in this story by the strong-willed schoolteacher Barbara, and the sweet but innocent future-girl Vicki). Finally there's a crowded commentary booth, moderated by British comedian Toby Hadoke, who's much more lively that previous Hartnell-episode-commentary-track moderators.

Two classic adventures from the William Hartnell era.

The Rescue:

This is a two-part story introducing new companion Vicki. The TARDIS lands on the planet Dido where the Doctor and his companions discover a crashed spaceship. The only survivors are a young orphaned girl named Vicki and an injured man named Bennett who both live in fear of a hideous alien named Koquillion. Who is this strange creature that they fear, and will they remain safe long enough to be rescued?

This is a nice little adventure, and made an enjoyable two-parter. The only thing that disappoints is the crappy-looking spaceship, and although Koquillion looks rather frightening, once you hear him speak for the first time in that squeaky little voice, the frightening effect is lost rather quickly. But still the plot is good, the story is rather moody, it has a great surprise ending, and although the spaceship wasn't that impressive, the rest of the sets and special effects were pretty good. In all, I wouldn't consider this one of the best "Dr. Who" stories of all time, but it was still worthy and enjoyable. Three stars.

The Romans:

The Doctor and his companions take a holiday in ancient Italy. But trouble soon comes calling when the Doctor takes Vicki to Rome and finds himself being mistaken for the musician Maximus Pettulian, and forced to play for the Emperor Nero, or face execution while Ian and Barbara are kidnapped and sold into slavery. Barbara becomes a handmaiden for Nero and Ian is forced to fight as a gladiator in the arena. Can they escape and find the Doctor before all of Rome is consumed by fire?

Some consider this four-part "Dr. Who" to be the best of all time while others consider this one to be the worst. In fact, it's both. The first half of the story was boring as hell. No real excitement and not a lot of comedy, but the second half... boy was that good! Lots of funny comedy and lots of excitement! Sets and performances are great, and although this one was a cheap story to make, it looks like a million bucks due to the production reusing old reusable sets and due to a brilliant director. In all, like "The Rescue", this might not have been the best "Dr. Who" ever made, but it was still worthy and enjoyable too. Three stars.

This was a real twist as I expected from Doctor Who marathon behind the scenes clips that The Romans would be the better of the two. However I found upon watching it that while The Romans was a interesting story where Barbara is sold as a slave and has to escape on her own as doctor learns nothing about it I find The Rescue that first introduces character Vicki to be much more enjoyable story.

It's fitting that these two stories are released as a double CD set, as that is how the VHS version was released in the states. The Rescue basically serves as an introductory tale for new companion, Vickie, not short for Victoria, just Vickie, V-I-C-K-I-E. The Doctor clearly misses his granddaughter Susan who, at the end of the last story left The TARDIS crew to be with freedom fighter David Campbell to start a new life and rebuild an Earth ravaged by the Daleks. Vickie was cast to be a replacement for Susan, someone on whom the Doctor can exercise his grandfather instincts. The story is fairly decent, a tale of cover-up and betrayal, with someone Vickie trusts implicitly acting as the villain trying save himself from a murder charge.

The real greatness lies in The Romans, a story evidently played out as a comedy, with plenty of witty dialogue and merry mishaps, though not without more serious, dramatic moments. The subplot of Ian and Barbara sold into slavery certainly is not funny, and is given proper attention, with the viciousness of the Romans clearly conveyed. The plot in which the Doctor is mistaken for lyre player Maximus Pettulius is one of the highlights of the 60s, played for laughs, and William Hartnell gives a standout performance in this role. His interplay with Derek Francis (Nero) is tremendous, both actors very adept at the comedic role. There is plenty of play on words with the pun Lyre/Liar, and Maureen O'Brien's facial expressions as she understands the Doctor's hidden jokes are priceless. In the end, as we have seen with other later stories of the world of Doctor Who influencing real-world history, it is implied by Vickie that it was the Doctor who gave Nero the idea to burn Rome, and admonishing him for breaking his own rules of not interfering. At first the Doctor is indignant. "You can't possibly accuse me of all this", he rages pointing to the burning city. Then after second thought, has a change of heart, and accepts the possibility with a sly chuckle.

Perhaps the most poignant, moving scene in The Romans occurs at the end, when Barbara's benefactor, Tavius, who seems to have ulterior motives for wanting to help, reveals the true reason of his kindness. As Ian and Barbara make their escape, he eencourages them, clutching to his concealed cross, which he dares not reveal in Nero's palace for fear of becoming ferocious-feline fodder. Tavius is a Christian and that motivates him to help our heroine in distress.

It really is a shame that Who producers did away with the historic episodes. The original intent of the show was to alternate historic episodes with "regular" episodes. And some of the histpric episodes done are just top notch, as if the writers on these preferred the stories to the sci fi stuff. The best example of this is probably the Aztecs, whcih is one of Hartnell's finest episodes. The Romans is also quite a good watch, although it doesn't quite rise to the level of the Aztecs. The actors seems to be having a lot of fun here, and there is a bit of comedy woven into the Doctor's performance that wasn't present in other episodes. I for one prefer Hartnell and serious, even scary. When you never knew what he was going to do next, including tossing you off of his "ship," he was incredible. Still, the Romans delivers. As for the rescue, it is alos very entertaining and a good example of why theseries caught on as it did

The Doctor had little time to grieve over the departure of Susan at the conclusion of The Dalek Invasion of Earth as the first of these two stories, The Rescue, was transmitted only a week after the conclusion of the earlier story. Apparently concerned that the absence of a young cast member might lose the series a valuable audience demographic, the decision was made to cast Maureen O'Brien to replace Carol Ann Ford. By the time of the second story, The Romans, Vicki has essentially become a surrogate grand-daughter.
The Rescue is basically a vehicle for the introduction of Vicki as a character, though the ingenious plot device that reveals Koquillion to be Bennett in disguise is quite effective. Vicki's eventual decision to join the Doctor and company is all the more convincing, given her initial reluctance, and this helps to endear her to the viewer.
The Romans will seem either hopelessly silly or delightfully amusing, depending on your receptivity to the over-the-top portrayal of the Emperor Nero. It helps to remember that the series was conceived to be at least partly educational, with a target audience of 8-to-14-year-olds. The historical component, despite the usual bargain-basement production values, is remarkably accurate, though allowances must be made for the exaggerated portrayal of Nero himself. The relationship between Barbara and Ian becomes more relaxed and good humored, and it's easy to believe that they have become closer due to their travels with the Doctor.
William Hartnell's performance is one of his better ones--he even engages in a pretty convincing fight with a would-be assassin--though he blows several of his lines. It's a measure of the parsimony of the BBC in the '60s that these miscues would have been easily corrected if the stories were being recorded now. It does give the series that almost-live sensation, though.
With the departure of Ian and Barbara at the end of The Chase (due in July), the First Doctor's era deteriorates, unfortunately coinciding with Hartnell's deteriorating health. These relatively early stories retain the freshness of the series' infancy, and I recommend them.

The first story wasn't worth the time at all. It had nothing to it; only was there to introduce Vikki. Was episodes 10 and 11 from season 2.

And then story 12 was just dragged out, where nothing was solved or accomplished, so seemed kind of pointless. Episodes 12-15 of season two.

After both of these, I almost considered skipping the rest of the Hartnell years.

The Rescue is great!
It explains how Vicki happens to be in the Doctor Who Troop of Companions.

The Romans is GREAT!
It has the group vacationing in Italy and the adventures that happen to them.
They are there for more than just a few days!

It has the Doctor interacting with Nero.
Of course, the story is a bit of a stretch....
.... but it is the Whoniverse and that is ALLOWED!

You have gotta see the reason Rome burned! HA!
I love how they threw in a Christian!
We Christians have been & are treated very hard in the world...
... I love that this Christian was working the system with honor!

Such EXCELLENT Stories... Doctor WHO!