Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror

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The Reign of Terror is the eighth serial of the classic Doctor Who television series. It was first broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts from 8 August to 12 September 1964. It was written by Dennis Spooner and directed by Henric Hirsch. It stars William Hartnell as the Doctor, Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman, William Russell as Ian Chesterton, and Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright.

This historical adventure, featuring the First Doctor (William Hartnell), Susan, Ian, and Barbara, is set during the French Revolution, specifically the Reign of Terror in 1794 Paris, a period marked by political upheaval, paranoia, and mass executions.

The story blends suspense, political intrigue, and historical drama, while offering insights into the TARDIS crew’s evolving relationships.

Episode 1: A Land of Fear

The TARDIS lands in the French countryside. The travellers find a farmhouse with hidden papers and fine clothes. A frightened boy spies on them and runs to fetch soldiers. When troops arrive, Barbara, Ian, and Susan are arrested as suspected traitors. The farmhouse is set on fire, and the Doctor is knocked unconscious and left for dead. He survives and learns that his friends have been taken to Paris, so he sets out after them on foot along the hot, dusty road.

Episode 2: Guests of Madame Guillotine

Barbara and Susan are thrown into the Conciergerie prison, where the shadow of the guillotine hangs over every conversation. Ian is jailed separately and questioned about a British agent. In the streets, the Doctor is pressed into a chain gang but outwits his guards and escapes. Barbara and Susan share a cell with strangers who fear the morning carts. Ian hears the name of “James Stirling,” a spy who may hold the key to freedom, while the Doctor plots a bold rescue.

Episode 3: A Change of Identity

The Doctor visits a tailor, acquires a splendid uniform, and passes himself off as a Regional Officer of the Provinces. With new authority, he marches into official rooms and demands information about the prisoners. Ian is released to act as bait and told to make contact with the mysterious Stirling. Barbara and Susan are sent to execution, but a group of underground rescuers led by Jules Renan ambush the guards and whisk them away. Barbara is safe—for now—but Susan is weak and ill, and the nets around the travellers are tightening.

Episode 4: The Tyrant of France

The Doctor is summoned before Robespierre, the feared leader of the Committee of Public Safety. He keeps his disguise and survives the interview, but an observant official, Citizen Lemaitre, grows suspicious of him. Ian meets Leon Colbert, who claims to be an ally of the resistance; Leon is charming but dangerous, and he leads Ian into a trap. Barbara and Susan remain in hiding with Jules, while Paris shakes under arrests, denunciations, and the constant rattle of tumbrils.

Episode 5: A Bargain of Necessity

Ian escapes the trap in a fierce fight in which Leon is killed, leaving Barbara shocked and sorrowful. Lemaitre forces the Doctor to accompany him and hints that he knows the “officer” is an impostor. Barbara nurses Susan and argues that not everyone in Paris is cruel; fear has twisted people on all sides. Jules and his comrade Jean keep the group moving between safe houses. Lemaitre’s motives remain unclear, but he seems to be steering the Doctor toward a meeting that could change everything.

Episode 6: Prisoners of Conciergerie

Lemaitre reveals the truth: he is James Stirling, a British agent working under deep cover. He needs the Doctor’s help to learn what is being plotted against Robespierre by Barras and a young Napoleon Bonaparte.

Ian and Barbara infiltrate a secret meeting at an inn, overhear the plans, and pass the information back. Events move quickly: Robespierre is arrested and shot in the jaw, and the Reign of Terror begins to falter. With Paris turning its page, the travellers reunite, slip out of the city, and return to the TARDIS.

The serial closes with the team reflecting on how history is shaped by human choices, both kind and cruel. They did not come to change the Revolution, only to survive it, but their courage saved lives along the way. The Doctor, amused and a little proud of his own theatrics, sets the controls for their next journey, and the ship fades from the age of tumbrils to the unknown.

Themes

As drama, The Reign of Terror is a thoughtful, steady tale that builds tension through politics and character rather than spectacle. It is not as iconic as The Daleks or as tightly argued as The Aztecs, yet it stands high among the early historicals for its lively dialogue, sly humour, and sense of place.

The Doctor’s bluff as a “Regional Officer” is one of William Hartnell’s most enjoyable turns, while Barbara’s compassion and Ian’s resolve anchor the story’s heart. The slower middle chapters are balanced by a strong finish, and many viewers rate it as a worthy, sometimes underrated, finale to Season 1.

It also threads the programme’s past and future. Coming after the gentle world-building of The Sensorites, it returns to the rule the Doctor voiced in Mexico: you can’t rewrite history. Here that rule is tested amid real terror, and the travellers learn to act with care without trying to steer events.

The brief meeting with Napoleon points forward across centuries of Earth stories, while the team’s renewed trust carries into the next adventure. As the wheeze-groan fades, the doors will open on a very different puzzle in Planet of Giants, where danger shrinks small but stakes remain human.

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This is a chapter from Craig Hill’s book “Doctor Who – The First Doctor”, chronicling every episode featuring the First Doctor. It is available on Amazon.

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To view the list of other Doctor Who serials, please click this link

Doctor Who Episode Guides for Sale on Amazon

Step aboard the TARDIS and journey across the universe with every incarnation of The Doctor in this series of unofficial Doctor Who episode companions.

This collection of twelve books explores every televised adventure of the Time Lord’s lives.

Each volume in the series delves into a different Doctor’s era, offering detailed episode guides, behind-the-scenes insights, character profiles, and story synopses.

Once you have clicked the link, choose which book you want, and then whether you want to buy the Kindle (eBook) or Paperback versions.

Previews are available before you buy.

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