Synopsis:
The Doctor arrives at the home of Jules Renan, and everyone is shocked to see that he has brought Lemaitre with him...
The Official informs them all that he is the man they have been searching for - James Stirling. The Doctor explains that he has been forced to bring him here in return for his help in freeing Susan.
Ian gives him the message from Webster - that he has vital information and should return to England immediately. When forced to remember anything else the dying man said, Ian recalls something about a "Sinking Ship". Jules recognises this as an inn on the Calais road.
Stirling strikes a deal with the Doctor and his companions. He has heard of a plot by Paul Barrass which is brewing against Robespierre, which could take place any moment. They must go to the inn and report what they see and hear there, and he will have Susan freed on their return. Only Ian and Barbara will go, as the Doctor must remain in Paris with Stirling should Robespierre summon them again.
Jules takes the two teachers to the inn where the owner is locked up in the cellars. Ian and Barbara then pretend to be friends filling in for him. Once the last guest has gone Barrass arrives and is shown into a private room which he has booked. Ian had earlier drilled a spyhole in the wall, however, so that he could eavesdrop. Barrass announces that he is expecting only one more person. This proves to be the army officer Napoleon Bonaparte. If he can promise support, the soldier will be given a role in the new government once Robespierre is deposed and executed.
The next morning Ian and Barbara report back to Stirling. The Doctor goes to fetch Susan from the prison whilst Ian and Stirling witness Robespierre's arrest - the tyrant being shot in the jaw as the soldiers seize him. The Doctor and Susan see him being brought into the prison as they hurriedly leave it.
Stirling must flee Paris back to England with his information, and agrees to accompany the TARDIS crew as far as the farmhouse near to where the TARDIS landed. Jules will remain in the city to see what happens next. He scoffs at Ian's suggestion that Napoleon might be the next ruler of France...
Safely back in the TARDIS, the Doctor's companions discuss what would have happened had they warned Napoleon of his future. Would they have changed history? Susan suggests that the future Emperor would have dismissed them as crazy, or forgotten all about their predictions, and history would still take the course they were familiar with. The Doctor indicates that they have their own destinies to fulfil - and theirs lie in the stars...
Next episode: Planet of Giants
Written by: Dennis Spooner
Recorded: Friday 14th August 1964 - Television Centre Studio TC4
First broadcast: 5:30pm, Saturday 12th September 1964
Ratings: 6.4 million / AI 55
Designer: Roderick Laing
Director: Henric Hirsch
Additional cast: John Law (Paul Barrass), Tony Wall (Napoleon), Patrick Marley (Soldier)
This episode brings the first season of Doctor Who to a close.
At one point the season was to have ended sooner, with The Sensorites, but they decided to continue with this story. Thoughts also went the other way - to extending Season One further - but a late decision was made to end it here with Prisoners of Conciergerie. The end sequence in the TARDIS, with the Doctor's speech about their destiny lying in the stars - his words spoken over a starscape - was a last minute addition to the script.
This discussion suggests that Time has some "proper" course - a sequence which it is always destined to follow. Any attempt to meddle with this will be undermined by various circumstances, which would intervene to make sure History followed its intended path. Dennis Spooner would come to adopt a totally different view on History once he took over from David Whitaker.
Originally Verity Lambert and Whitaker were informed that they would be responsible for devising the series that would plug the gap between Seasons One and Two. Before they gave this any serious thought, however, it was agreed that the comedy series The Valiant Varneys, starring Reg Varney, would fill the break. (The future On The Buses star played various ancestors of his through history).
The episode revolves round the fall of Robespierre, and introduces his later replacement as de facto ruler of France - Napoleon Bonaparte.
The meeting between Barrass and Napoleon depicted here is a total fiction.
Paul Francois Jean Nicolas, Vicomte de Barrass, was born in 1755. President of the National Assembly he later became Member then President of the National Directory. This body governed France between the fall of Robespierre and the rise of Napoleon. He voted for the execution of Louis XVI, but spent most of the Revolution working outside Paris. He never led on the overthrow of Robespierre, but did join the faction who did. Later he was placed in command of the defence of Paris when it came under attack by disillusioned National Guardsmen. He employed Napoleon, who ruthlessly put down the insurrection. The two men had met during the siege of Toulon in 1793. Barras lived right through the Empire, dying in 1829.
Napoleone Buonaparte, as he was born, was of Italian descent. His father had fought for the independence of Corsica, and later acted as governor of the island under Louis XVI. Napoleon was born in 1769, and joined the Paris Military Academy in 1784. By the age of 24 he was already a brigadier general in the republican army.
When Robespierre fell, the future Emperor was actually placed under house arrest, as one of his biggest supporters was the tyrant's brother Augustin.
In the episode it is implied that Robespierre is shot in the jaw to prevent him from talking the soldiers out of arresting him. It is generally thought that it was really a botched suicide attempt. He was executed the very next day - Monday 28th July 1794. It is claimed that when the bandage was taken off his face whilst on the scaffold, his whole jaw came away with it.
For the third time this story, the four regulars were taken out of rehearsals for filming at Ealing for Planet of Giants. In this instance, it was because reshoots were needed.
Carole Ann Ford's daughter Miranda visited the studio on the afternoon of camera rehearsals.
A new set was that for The Sinking Ship, which was a two room linked set. A second hole - much bigger than the one Ian drills - was made in the wall between the two rooms for the camera to view through.
Strangely, we never heard anything about "the sinking ship" in the second episode, where Webster spoke to Ian in the prison cell - and Ian never mentioned it when he first met Jules. Some fans claim that this is a mistake - the Chien Gris being replaced with The Sinking Ship, but it is really an addition rather than a replacement piece of dialogue. The Chien Gris was an entirely different inn - the one where Ian was to seek out Jules.
We ought to question why one inn is named in French, whilst the other is named in English.
It is noticeable that the stock footage of the coach at the end of the episode is shown twice, but the second time in reverse.
As mentioned under the first episode, this story saw the sole contributions to Doctor Who by some of the key crew members. Henric Hirsch did not stay with the BBC for much longer. He went freelance, then worked a great deal with ITV companies. Frazer Hines would have encountered him on Emmerdale Farm in the mid-1970's. He died in March 1999.
Composer Stanley Myers went on to have considerable success in TV and cinematic music. His work can be heard in My Beautiful Launderette, Prick Up Your Ears and the original film version of The Witches. Amongst his TV themes is the music for the BBC's Question Time, still used today. Beyond doubt his most famous piece is Cavatina, which was the theme from The Deer Hunter. His guitar piece had words added, to become He Was Beautiful. Both versions were Top 20 hits in the UK.
Myers died in 1993.
- This story had replaced an intended six part adventure from David Whitaker known as "The New Armada", which would have been set at the time of the historical Spanish Armada. This was still under consideration for Season Two.
- The Napoleon I Society wrote to the production office following broadcast of this episode, complaining about the historical inaccuracy of the Napoleon / Barrass meeting. A Mr Oborski, the society's honorary secretary, was unhappy that children were being taught bad history.
- Another letter a couple of days later addressed the fact that everyone in the programme spoke English - an old chestnut when it comes to TV drama. David Whitaker wrote back to say that no-one wanted to hear actors doing dodgy Fronch accents, nor could they have everyone speaking your actual French - so some middle ground had to be followed.
- Patrick Marley is the speaking role soldier who arrests Robespierre. Hartnell's double Brian Proudfoot returns as a non-speaking soldier.
- The audience numbers drop by half a million on the previous week yet again, though the appreciation index rises from 53 to 55.
- In late October 1964, regular cast and producer attended a function in the Bridge Lounge at the BBC to celebrate the overseas sales of the first season episodes. Had the series not sold abroad, we would have very few of these episodes to enjoy today.
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