The Doctor walks into a genocide and barely makes it out alive. Classic Hartnell chaos.
The TARDIS materialises in Paris in the year 1572 and the Doctor decides to visit the famous apothecary Charles Preslin. Steven, meanwhile, is befriended by a group of Huguenots from the household of the Protestant Admiral de Coligny. Having rescued a young serving girl, Anne Chaplet, from some pursuing guards, the Huguenots gain their first inkling of a heinous plan being hatched at the command of the Catholic Queen Mother, Catherine de Medici.
Acting
Hartnell playing dual roles with genuinely unsettling menace.
Writing
Donald Tosh's script refuses to let the Doctor save anyone.
Director
Paddy Russell
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This serial only exists as audio recordings and telesnaps—no footage survives, making it the most celebrated 'lost' Doctor Who story.
Paddy Russell was the first woman to direct Doctor Who, and she chose this bleak historical for her debut—establishing that female directors would helm some of the show's most brutal stories.
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