The Reign of Terror (Doctor Who)

] [ cite web
url= http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/h.html
title= The Reign Of Terror
publisher = A Brief History of Time Travel
last = Sullivan
first = Shannon
date = 2006-02-25
accessdate = 2008-08-30 ]

In a number of 1970s listing guides, the story was called "The French Revolution". This appears to derive from a promotional article in the BBC listings magazine "Radio Times" entitled "Dr Who and the French Revolution". "See Doctor Who story title controversy."

Director Henric Hirsch suffered from exhaustion during the making of this serial, and was unable to direct episode three. John Gorrie (who had previously directed "The Keys of Marinus") temporarily stepped in. As no director is credited on-screen for this episode, some sources have credited Verity Lambert as director, yet she firmly denied this. As William Russell was on a two-week holiday for some of this story (including the above episode), he appeared only in pre-filmed inserts in Episodes 2 and 3. Similarly, in the long shot of the Doctor walking along a country lane (incidentally, the first location footage filmed in the history of the show), a stuntman doubled for William Hartnell, as Hartnell was busy rehearsing for "The Sensorites".

Casting

Edward Brayshaw, later to feature as the War Chief in 1969's "The War Games" has a role as Léon Colbert, a counter-espionage agent allied with the Revolutionary government.

Missing episodes

All six episodes were lost in the BBC's stock clearance of the 1970s. However a copy of "Prisoners of Conciergerie" was returned by a private collector in 1982. In 1987, copies of "A Land of Fear", "Guests of Madame Guillotine" and "A Change of Identity", along with another copy of "Prisoners of Conciergerie", were found in Cyprus. As a result, only two episodes (parts 4 and 5, "The Tyrant of France" and "A Bargain of Necessity") remain missing.

Doctorwhobook
title=The Reign of Terror
series=Target novelisations
number=119
featuring=


writer=Ian Marter
publisher=Target Books
coverartist=Tony Masero
isbn=0 491 03702 3
set_between=
pages=
date=March 1987 (Hardback)
20 August 1987 (Paperback)
preceding=The Sensorites
following=The Romans|

Commercial releases

In October 2003, this story was released in the US on VHS, with linking narration by Carole Ann Ford, as part of a "collector's set" meant to celebrate the show's 40th Anniversary by releasing all previously unavailable serials. It was then released in the UK in November 2003.

In November 2004, existing clips from episodes 4 and 5 were released on Region 2 DVD in the three-disc "Lost in Time" set.

An audio-only version of this serial was released on CD by BBC Audio in 2005.

In print

A novelisation of this serial, written by Ian Marter (the actor who portrayed companion Harry Sullivan), was published posthumously by Target Books in March 1987, several months after Marter's death.

References

External links

*BBCCDW | id=reignofterror | title=The Reign of Terror
*Brief |id=h | title=The Reign of Terror
*Doctor Who RG | id=who_h | title=The Reign of Terror
*OG | id=h | title=The Reign of Terror
* [http://www.doctorwholocations.net/stories/reignofterror Doctor Who Locations] - The Reign of Terror

Reviews

*OG review | id=h | title=The Reign of Terror
*DWRG | id=reig | title=The Reign of Terror

Target novelisation

*OG review | id=h-book | title=The Reign of Terror | description=novelisation
* [http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~ecl6nb/OnTarget/1987/reign/87reign.htm On Target — "The Reign of Terror"]