Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve

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The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve (sometimes called The Massacre) is the fifth serial of Doctor Who Season 3. It was originally broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 to 26 February 1966. It was written by John Lucarotti and directed by Paddy Russell. It stars William Hartnell as the Doctor (and the Abbot of Amboise), Peter Purves as Steven Taylor, and introduces Jackie Lane as Dodo Chaplet.

In Paris, 1572, the TARDIS arrives in a city split by bitter faith and sharp politics: the Doctor slips away to visit the apothecary Preslin, while Steven falls in with a Huguenot household and hears rumours of plots swirling around Admiral Coligny and the royal court. When a stern churchman (the Abbot) appears who looks exactly like the Doctor, fear and doubt take hold, and Steven must decide whom to trust as soldiers prowl the streets and the shadow of massacre lengthens.

All four episodes are currently missing, but audio recordings and telesnaps allow for reconstructions. The serial is notable for Hartnell’s dual role as the Doctor and the Abbot of Amboise, and for introducing new companion Dodo Chaplet.

Episode 1: War of God

The TARDIS lands in Paris. The Doctor and Steven step out into narrow streets and hear church bells. A sign and clothing tell the Doctor the year is 1572. He warns Steven that Catholics and Huguenots are close to fighting and says they must be careful. Curious about science in this age, the Doctor goes alone to find an apothecary named Preslin. He believes Preslin studies new ideas in secret.

Steven waits at a nearby tavern. Soldiers swagger in and question people. Two Huguenot gentlemen notice Steven is a stranger and quietly offer shelter. They say the city is tense, the Duke of Guise hates the Protestants, and priests call the struggle a “war of God.” Steven wants to rejoin the Doctor, but the streets are watched and curfews fall at night.

The Doctor finds Preslin hiding above a shop. They speak softly about herbs, lenses, and the danger of free thought. Preslin fears a powerful churchman, the Abbot of Amboise, who hunts “heretics.” The Doctor promises to return after learning more.

Back at the tavern, Steven sees a stern church leader pass in procession. He stares in shock: the man looks exactly like the Doctor. Guards bow to the “abbot” as he turns down a dark lane. Steven races after him, unsure if he has found his friend or a dangerous double.

Episode 2: The Sea Beggar

Paris grows tense. Steven follows the stern Abbot of Amboise, the man who looks exactly like the Doctor, and hears him plotting with powerful Catholics. They speak in code about striking a Huguenot leader called “the Sea Beggar.” Steven does not know the name means Admiral Coligny, but he understands a murder is being planned soon.

Back at a Huguenot house, Steven tells his new friend Nicolas what he heard. Nicolas believes him and says the Abbot is close to the Queen Mother and the Duke of Guise. If the “Sea Beggar” falls, war could follow. Steven fears the Abbot might actually be the Doctor working against him; Nicolas insists the Abbot is a dangerous churchman, not a friend.

A frightened serving-girl, Anne, slips out of a Catholic household and finds Steven. She says she overheard orders: a killer waits to shoot the “Sea Beggar,” and guards will seize any Huguenot who moves to warn him. Steven and Nicolas decide to try anyway.

Night closes in. Soldiers search the streets. The Abbot commands the watch to find the English “spy” and the girl. Steven and Anne dodge patrols and reach the Admiral’s quarters, but sentries bar the door. As dawn nears, a gunman takes position. Steven swears he will get a warning through before the first shot is fired.

Episode 3: Priest of Death

S Paris erupts after the shot at Admiral Coligny. Bells ring, soldiers run, and rumours spread. Steven hides with Nicolas and Anne. He says the Abbot of Amboise, who looks exactly like the Doctor, planned the attack. Nicolas warns that powerful men now move in secret and the Huguenots are in danger.

The Abbot meets with captains and urges a swift purge of “heretics.” He orders guards to find the Englishman and the girl. Steven decides to follow the Abbot and learn the truth. He slips through alleys to Preslin’s shuttered shop, hoping the Doctor might return there. The Abbot arrives with soldiers, searches the rooms, and sets a trap. Steven is spotted and flees over back stairs while Anne distracts the patrol.

At court, the Duke of Guise and Catherine whisper that the king must act. The Abbot presses harder, but his masters turn cold. On a narrow street, Guise’s men surround him and accuse him of failure. Blades flash. The Abbot falls dead.

Steven reaches the scene and stares, shocked. The face is the Doctor’s. He believes his friend is dead. Grief-stricken, he runs to Nicolas and Anne. Nicolas urges flight: Paris will drown in blood. As night closes in, they plan a desperate escape, while unseen hands set the final plan in motion.

Episode 4: Bell of Doom

Paris trembles on the edge of violence. Steven hides with Nicolas and Anne, hoping the Doctor will return. At last the Doctor appears. He says the dead Abbot was not him and warns that powerful men have fixed events. Steven begs him to stop the coming massacre. The Doctor says he cannot change history without risking worse disaster.

Night deepens. A bell tolls across the city; others answer. Doors burst open. Soldiers rush into Huguenot houses. Shouts and steel fill the streets. Nicolas fights to hold a lane so Steven and Anne can flee. The Doctor drags Steven away through alleys as the killing spreads. Steven tries to go back for Anne; the Doctor stops him, saying they can do no more.

They reach the TARDIS and leave Paris. When the ship lands on a quiet common in twentieth-century London, Steven explodes in anger. He says the Doctor values history over people and walks out, vowing never to travel with him again. Alone in the TARDIS, the Doctor grieves.

A moment later a breathless girl runs inside to use the “phone box.” A policeman approaches outside. Steven rushes back, ashamed of his words. The girl gives her name, Dodo Chaplet. Steven wonders if she could be Anne’s descendant. The Doctor smiles faintly and dematerialises with two friends once more.

Themes

Sober, adult, and unflinching, The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve stands near the summit of the First Doctor’s pure historicals. Across the four episodes, courtly intrigue and sectarian terror replace spectacle, while William Hartnell’s chilling double turn as the Abbot of Amboise sharpens the peril.

It lacks the adventurous sweep of The Daleks’ Master Plan, but for dramatic discipline it sits alongside The Aztecs and The Crusade, and well above the playful tilt of The Myth Makers: an upper-tier entry defined by human stakes over sci-fi devices.

Its threads bind past to future with precision. The Doctor’s long-held rule from The Aztecs about not rewriting history is tested to breaking, Steven’s crisis of faith explodes, and the Doctor’s solitary reflection bridges the era from cosmic tragedy to intimate consequence.

Dodo Chaplet’s sudden arrival pivots the team straight into The Ark, with a whispered link to Anne Chaplet lingering as a bittersweet echo. Even the doppelgänger motif prefigures later mirror tales such as The Enemy of the World. As a story, it earns a high rating for turning history’s inevitability into character truth: and for resetting the TARDIS on a new course without a single ray gun fired.

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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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