Doctor Who Retro Review: Serial 012—The Romans
By T. Scott Edwards
The Romans is a courageous episode, for a number of reasons –
principally, it is a comedy. It works solely based on the idea that humour is
milked out of every possible scene. Added to this the rather grim subplots
involving Ian and Barbara, and it is tremendously brave – balancing humour with
such gritty realism is a hard task, but Spooner does it with aplomb. As
prompted by Verity Lambert, who wished for the series to broaden its dramatic
range further still, she approached Spooner to write an overtly comical story. What
is so magnificent about the comedy in this serial is the very "Carry On..."ness
of it all. From the cast, most had since, or had before, appeared in the
infamous series of British films, and much of the humour and performances would
be right at home in Carry On Cleo or the like. The combination of visual gags
and word play, mixed with some slapstick physical comedy, all combine to make
this a very successful comedy.
From the opening
of the first episode, the tempo has changed enormously, and we can see the
disappointment in Vicki's face from the outset – following on from her joining
the TARDIS crew in the previous serial, she has been presented with a month of
relaxation in ancient Rome instead. The scenes of the crew nonchalantly lying
around, quaffing wine and grapes is brilliant. What this rather effectively
does, though, is to cement Vicki's place with the crew – we haven't had
adventures where they have bonded, but rather they have become a united front –
that family group again, by simply enjoying each others' company. Soon, though,
the Doctor has decided to take Vicki on a little adventure, leaving Ian and
Barbara to continue their relaxation, and outrageous flirting. The action
starts almost immediately, of course, as the Doctor and Vicki discover the body
of murdered Maximus Pettulian, and the Doctor very quickly adopts his guise to
ensure adventure in the city of Rome. Maximus had been assassinated by a mute
killer on the road to Rome, due to his involvement in a plot to assassinate
Nero himself. The Doctor does not realise that yet, and so it inevitably leads
to many instances of humour arising from mistaken identities.
Whilst the
Doctor and Vicki are given the humorous storyline, though, Ian and Barbara's
subplot about slavers and court intrigue is gritty and grim – kidnapped from
the villa, they are forced to walk towards Rome before being separated and sold
to different groups; Ian is sent to work on a galley ship whilst Barbara is
bought for 10,000 sestertia and sent to Nero's court to be a handmaiden for his
wife Poppaea. Despite the grimness of this storyline, there is still the
occasional chance for humour – the fight sequence leading to their kidnap
includes Barbara accidentally smashing a jug over Ian's head, rendering him
unconscious.
Education is
once again in the forefront here, but subtly dropped in – the scenes with
Barbara and Vicki discussing bartering, as well as the Doctor's discussions of
pipes and aqueducts, all provide ample educational stimuli without feeling
awkwardly shoehorned into the dialogue, and the entire serial, with its
presentation of ancient Rome, the burning of the city for rebuilding purposes,
and the discussions about court conventions are all accurately discussed.
The first ends
with the Doctor, now pretending to be Maximus, and escorted by Vicki who "watches
all the lyres", being taken to Rome with a Centurion. The wordplay in this
scene is exquisitely constructed, and it is almost impossible not to cackle
with glee at the dialogue. Once in Rome, the mute assassin is seen to be
creeping up on the Doctor, alone in his room, vulnerable. Barry Jackson is not
given a great deal to do in this serial, merely grunting and weaselling his way
around the cast – yet he obviously impressed enough to be later recast as the
principal actor in Mission to the Unknown,
as well as the Time Lord Drax in The
Armageddon Factor.
Episode 2 opens
with the Doctor dealing with Ascaris, promptly beating him in a physical fight,
before he jumps out of a window to his death. It is fantastic to see Hartnell
enjoying himself so much – not only does he get to thrive on the sumptuous
dialogue, he also gets to get his hands dirty bashing the assassin around.
Whilst the
Doctor is having a whale of a time, showing off to Vicki, Ian is getting a far
rougher deal – William Russell's performance is admirable as an exhausted
slave, and his friendship with Peter Diamond's Delos is lovely. Diamond isn't
the greatest actor in the world by any means – as a stunt coordinator by trade
he is far better suited to the fight sequences in episodes 3 and 4 – but the
balance is perfect between the modern day man and the ancient Roman. When they
are saved, washed away by water as the ship is torn in two, it is genuinely
nerve-racking – not for Ian, but for sweet innocent Delos. We know that Ian
will be alright; companions are always safe, aren't they?
Barbara has once
again pulled the short straw though, and once more the threat of sexual assault
dangles over her – frequently a victim of the threat of rape, Barbara is
pursued endlessly throughout this serial, desperately fighting off the advances
of friends, Romans and countrymen alike. The ultimate pursuer, of course, is
Nero himself – and when he is first introduced in a scene with Hartnell, the
pair sparkle. Derek Francis is phenomenal, trudging though and burping with
disdain at the musician, before elatedly being told that he is a man of genius;
the scene where he calls for a stool to rest his foot on, but Hartnell misinterprets
is magnificent, as is the moment Nero calls forward a slave with a ledger,
apparently ready to take a note, but instead simply uses him as a walking
napkin. His childish strops are spectacular. Unlike in earlier serials where
genuine Historical characters have been treated with a solemn and dignified
respect – as Spooner himself had to do with Robespierre in The Reign of Terror, here Nero is presented as a buffoon,
distasteful and sullen when he isn't getting his own way, and delightfully camp
and overt when he is.
The rape subplot
of episode 3 is horrific and wonderful at the same time – Nero's pursuit of
Barbara through the corridors of his palace are almost Benny Hill in
presentation, casually covering up the serious physical threat to Barbara. What
is fantastic about this serial is the use of separate plot threads – where the
crew are often separated, they do not tend to meet up again until the very end
of the serial, as in The Dalek Invasion
of Earth. Here, though, they are always a few feet from each other, yet
always unaware. Hartnell tries to walk in on Nero with Barbara, and even stands
outside the room in which he can hear her screaming, but does not interfere. Likewise,
by chance Vicki saves Barbara's life, unaware that it is her that she is
protecting. In episode 4, Barbara likewise inadvertently saves the Doctor from
being mauled by lions in the gladiatorial arena, unaware that he is pretending
to be the musician Maximus. They are always so close to each other, yet
oblivious – which is what makes the final scenes of episode 4 so brilliant.
The banquet, and
the Doctor's performance on the lyre, are magnificently scripted and shot, with
just the right length of silence during the Doctor's "Emperor's New Tune"
routine, interrupted by Tavius' sneezing fit. Nero's retort to Poppaea that "He's
alright, but he's not all that good" is hilarious, as is his soliloquy
direct to camera as he plots the Doctor's fate. When he takes Barbara to the
gladiatorial arena, inadvertently reuniting Ian and Barbara, the sword fight is
magnificent – Diamond's choreography is spectacular, and the struggle between
his Delos and Russell's Ian is great to watch. Ian's character is a fascinating
one – having grown up during the wars, becoming a teacher in the 60s, he is an
educated man always willing to fight – from his battle with Ixta in The Aztecs to this struggle with Delos,
he is a smart and cunning fighter.
The fourth
episode is predominantly about the Doctor and his dangerous relationship with
Nero though – with Hartnell still mining some comedy gold out of the dialogue
and performance. Derek Francis' elaborate over-acting, threatening to throw the
Doctor and Vicki onto an island surround by alligators, is fantastic, and the
dawning realisation in his eyes as he rants, before proclaiming them geniuses
for the idea of burning Rome to the ground. And this is one of the most
interesting moments in Doctor Who's
history. Vicki's comment that the Doctor has interfered with history is a valid
one, and supports his arguments with Barbara and the Aztecs, for one thing. However,
it begs the question of whether the Doctor has actually interfered – in July
64AD, it is a known fact that Rome was burnt to the ground. So, maybe – just
maybe – the Doctor had always been predestined to prompt Nero to burn the city.
Had he not accidentally set fire to
the plans, could history have been altered forever? The moment in which he
maniacally cackles to himself, cross-faded to Nero playing his lyre surrounded
by the burning city, is brilliant.
Of course, Ian
and Barbara are saved thanks to the courage of Delos and the assistance of
Tavius, and return to the villa to eat, drink and rest after their exhausting
few days. When the Doctor and Vicki arrive home, their presumption that Ian and
Barbara have simply been lying around, flirting outrageously for the entire
duration of their adventure, is
marvellous.
Scott Edwards is a teacher of English and Theatre Studies at Barnard Castle School in the North East of England, with a BAHons in English Literature and Film Studies. He is also a self-professed ‘ming-mong,' and in addition to http://timelordapprentice.blogspot.co.uk/ he also runs http://www.facebook.com/Classic.Doctor.Who. You can also follow him on Twitter: @TimelordTSE.
Labels: Doctor Who, review, T. Scott Edwards
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home