Welcome to The First Eight – The Roarbots’ classic Doctor Who watchthrough. We’re going through the 50+ year history of the Doctor Who franchise in chronological order. This is not a “rewatch”; I’m watching these shows fresh. For the first time. I’ll do my best to leave preconceptions at the door, but I have no baggage at all that pertains to pre-Ninth Doctor reboot.

Want to watch along or catch up on classic Who on your own terms? Check out BritBox, which has nearly every existing episode available for instant streaming.

I’m not here to write an authoritative history or connect all the dots among the characters, planets, and eras of the franchise. I’m simply here to correct one of my most flagrant Geeky Blind Spots. And I hope you’ll join me on the journey. There’s only 26 seasons and 8 Doctors to catch up on. Easy peasy.

Here we are at the end of the first season. Only 25 more to go! Seriously, though, it’s hard to believe we’re already at the end of an entire season. I’ve said it before, but the First Doctor is ROUGH viewing nowadays. Especially if you’re coming to classic Doctor Who through the lens of the new series and the 9th through 13th Doctors.

We ended the last story (“The Sensorites”), which solidly confirmed Doctor Who as a work of science fiction, on a bit of a downer. Out of nowhere, The Doctor threatened to abandon Ian and Barbara at their next location. And he might just get his wish.

“The Reign of Terror” (First Doctor, First Season, Story 8) is composed of the following episodes:

• “A Land of Fear” (August 8, 1964)
• “Guests of Madame Guillotine” (August 15, 1964)
• “A Change of Identity” (August 22, 1964)
• “The Tyrant of France” (August 29, 1964)
• “A Bargain of Necessity” (September 5, 1964)
• “Prisoners of Conciergerie” (September 12, 1964)

I’d say the most notable aspect of this story is that it’s another of the incomplete serials with episodes that went AWOL. Whereas every episode of “Marco Polo” is missing, only two of the six episodes here have been lost to time. So you have a few different options for how to experience “The Reign of Terror.”

The DVD release includes the four extant episodes along with the two missing episodes, which have been animated and set to the audio track (which still exists). The animation is rough, and it’s not exactly easy viewing, but it gives you a sense for what the shows looked like. This is probably your best bet.

Alternatively, you could read the novelization or listen to the BBC audiobook, which uses the episodes’ original soundtracks stitched together with new narration from Carole Ann Ford (who played Susan).

At the beginning of this story (which, spoiler alert, turns out to be a historical – rather than sci-fi – episode), The Doctor claims to have brought Ian and Barbara home. He very clearly wants them off the TARDIS, so he shows them trees outside, which is apparently supposed to be proof that they’re in the right time and place.

Ian and Barbara are – rightfully – skeptical. The Doctor, for his part, is totally arrogant and adamant that he’s brought them home. “I’m getting tired of your insinuations that I’m not master of this craft.”

I’d say those insinuations are earned. If there’s one thing we’ve learned during the first season, it’s that the dude has no idea what’s he’s doing.

And? Well, it turns out they’re not in 1960s Britain but 18th century France during Robespierre’s Reign of Terror. Oops.

I should also point out that the Reign of Terror happens to be The Doctor’s favorite period of Earth history, according to Susan. So it’s only fitting that he is almost immediately clocked on the head, knocked out, and left for dead in a burning house. Karma’s a bitch.

The ensuing six episodes just sort of plod along. There are long stretches of silence that alternate with interminable scenes of endless dialogue. Despite all that dialogue, the plot doesn’t cover enough ground to justify six episodes. This could’ve been a compelling story if condensed into three or four. As it is, the story retreads familiar ground numerous times and just sort of goes in circles.

If you can’t tell, I wasn’t a fan of this one at all. Supporting characters appear and disappear at random, none of the characters’ actions make any sense, things just sort of happen for no reason, there are far too many coincidences, and The Doctor and his companions repeatedly get into and out of trouble (with little or no stakes).

And even though this is one of the historical adventures, it does very little in the way of educating the audience about the actual history of the French Revolution. It assumes the viewer is already familiar with the issues, the competing sides, Robespierre, and everyone/everything else. Even when Napoleon makes a cameo, there’s no attempt to explain who he is or the role he plays. I doubt all of the children watching this show in 1964 were intimately aware of the French Revolution.

And for a modern audience? Forget about it.

Is there anything good I can say about “The Reign of Terror”? Well, they actually filmed a few scenes on location, so we get some scenes of The Doctor walking down a dirt road through the woods. They’re not exactly thrilling scenes, but they are noticeable in that this is the first time we’ve been off a sound stage.

These six episodes also bring us to the end of the first season. Which is a big milestone for us here at The First Eight! We hope you’ll continue on this journey with us as we forge ahead to the second season. Onward and upward!