William Hartnell

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Doctor Who: The Massacre

a sophisticated and intelligent piece of Doctor Who performed by two of its best ever regulars and a sparkling guest cast

The TARDIS materialises in Paris in 1572, a time of great danger and religious strife. Whilst the Doctor pays a visit to famous apothecary Charles Preslin, Steven is befriended by a group of Protestants who come from the household of Admiral de Coligny.   Meanwhile, the Catholic Queen Mother, Catherine de Medici, aided by the hated dignitary the Abbot of Amboise, is hatching a plot to kill all French Protestants - starting with de Coligney. Worryingly for Steven, the Abbot bears an uncanny resemblance to the Doctor. And when the plot fails and the Abbot is condemned to death, he is even more alarmed. Was that the Doctor being killed? Or does the Abbot just look like him?   The four episodes of this 1966 story no longer exist in the BBC television archives. This audio exclusive has taken the soundtrack and, with linking narration by Peter Purves, the whole thrilling adventure is brought back to life.

William Hartnell is the original Doctor in this exclusive audio recording of a 'lost' BBC television soundtrack, with linking narration by Peter Purves.

THE PROGRAMME: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve is credited to John Lucarotti, though in fact the original idea came from the BBC's Donald Tosh and it was he who wrote the final versions of all four scripts. Lucarotti was a master of the historical adventure and this was the last in a series of three that he contributed to Doctor Who. He was unhappy with the final versions of the scripts produced by Tosh, having originally envisaged the Doctor playing a much larger role in the story. As it is, he disappears halfway through the first episode and does not reappear until the fourth. It would seem though that Tosh's idea of having William Hartnell play only the Abbot for most of the story worked better. Firstly the limited editing facilities available would have made it tricky to show Hartnell constantly in his double role. Secondly the fact that the Doctor isn't around leaves the viewer guessing - is the Abbot the Doctor in disguise or does he have a physical double? Thirdly, the Doctor's prolonged absence allows Steven to play a more central role than usual - this was the first time in the series' history that a companion had taken centre stage. A second objection that Lucarotti had to Tosh's idea was that the historical events depicted were relatively unknown. Again, though, this worked in the story's favour. As Steven is swept up in events, neither he nor the audience know what is going to happen, so the atmosphere is more intense and the ending has far more impact. It could also be said that by taking a piece of slightly obscure history Tosh was fulfilling the original educational purpose of the series, as conceived by Syndney Newman. A slightly grimmer story than usual, The Massacre contained some fine performances. So popular was the character of Anne Chaplet, in fact, that the producers considered making her a regular companion. However, it was eventually decided that taking a companion from the past would cause too many difficulties - the Doctor would have to explain many things that the viewer would already be aware of. Instead a descendant of Anne, Dodo Chaplet, came into the series - although it's often been pointed out that Anne would have had to have married someone with the same surname as her own in order for Dodo to be her descendant! This was also a story that silenced some of William Hartnell's critics. His intense performance as the Abbot showed that his eccentric, doddery Doctor was not just an extension of his own character; it was a character Hartnell had created.

Doctor Who: The Massacre

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