Time Stream #22 - The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve

          Another story in this run of reconstructions, “The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve” (simply “The Massacre” from here on out), is a story that surprised me on a few levels. First off, this is one I had NEVER seen. I’ve heard the audio, but had never watched a reconstruction of it before now. There are some publicity photos that are repurposed here and there, as well as what I can only presume to be telesnaps for the majority of the story, but it’s one of the more static recons I’ve experienced. I’m sure a lot of this is to do with the story itself. It’s not a lot of action and is very “talky”, with loads of secret meetings and nefarious goings-on. This leads to the second surprising thing for me.

 

Doctor Who has never really shied away from politics, even if in allegorical form, so all of the political intrigue here wasn’t jarring. The matter of religion, on the other hand, well that’s an entirely different thing. It can be said that “faith” as a concept – whether religious or not – has been a keystone of Doctor Who throughout its history, but religion, as presented in “The Massacre” is quite different. The divide between Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots) in 16^th Century France was simply massive and the show is taking sides in no uncertain terms. It’s as if an episode written today was set during “The Troubles” in Ireland and chose a side. The recent Series 9 two-parter “The Zygon Invasion”/”The Zygon Inversion” showed how to have such a discussion without turning into an “‘X’ is right, ‘Y’ is wrong” argument. Compared to a story like “The Aztecs” which presented things a little bit more balanced, “The Massacre” makes no pretense as to which denomination it supports.

As to the story itself, it’s quite a good one, if a bit rote by Doctor Who standards. As is common, the TARDIS crew splits up early in the story, although there is the new wrinkle that the Doctor is currently traveling with just one companion, Steven. There are the usual intrigues with the goodies and the baddies, Steven befriends a young girl, Anne Chaplette who seems like good companion material but is left behind, presumably to be killed in, well, The Massacre. Then we are given something new, and it’s here that the loss of actual footage is most keenly felt. The “main” bad guy is the Abbot of Amboise, a double for the Doctor. However, unlike other stories <coughTheChasecough>, the double here is actually played by William Hartnell. There are very few stills of Hartnell as the Abbot, and no moving footage, but judging by audio alone his performance is miles away from his acting as the Doctor. There are no line fluffs, no “hmm”-ing, just a quietly sinister character.

There are two other things that stick out from this story, and both are from the last episode. The Doctor’s speech at the end when it seems that Steven has stormed out of the TARDIS for good is simply magnificent. It was recreated in “An Adventure in Space and Time” but listening to the original was touching in a way I never expected. As the Doctor reminisces about the companions who have left him, there is a hint (and this is played up more in AAISAT) that Hartnell himself is sad that so many of his co-stars have left the series. It’s a rare insight into the Doctor’s psyche.

Secondly the end of the episode brings us the introduction, such as it is, of Jackie Lane as Dodo Chaplet. She randomly shows up in the TARDIS, mistaking it for a real police box, and shows no real wonder or incredulity at the “bigger on the inside” timeship. Steven returns, and Dodo’s appearance and last name makes him think she must be descended from Anne Chaplette. I feel Steven is really grasping at straws, although stranger things have happened.

“The Massacre” is a story that on paper has a lot going for it: historical with great dramatic implications, a double for the Doctor, a new companion. Judging it by the recon seems harsh, and I frankly haven’t read the novelization in 20+ years. There’s a lot going on that a recon can’t capture and it’s not a bad story overall. This is one that I would love to have even one episode found just so we can see and give “The Massacre” its proper due. Until then, it’s a story that I appreciate and one which deserves to be seen, but never really becomes as good as the sum of its parts.

NEXT EPISODE: The Ark

"The Massacre" novelization cover, courtesy The TARDIS Data Core at tardis.wikia.com