Episode 55 (M2): All Roads Lead to Rome

December 1964: The cast take a week off for Christmas between recording The Slave Traders and rehearsing for All Roads Lead to Rome, but to be honest none of them were looking tired so early in the block anyway and this doesn't affect our viewing experience. Indeed, William Hartnell seems to be struggling more after the break than before.

January 1965: The Canadian Broadcasting Company starts showing the program on the same day this episode was shown in the UK, and the new Gerry Anderson comic, TV 21, begins a strip which will eventually come to be know as The Dalek Chronicles. Written in the main by David Whitaker and illustrated by Richard Jennings, I will be covering this - but you'll have to wait a while.

Meanwhile, 1,900.6 years earlier, someone is trying to kill the Doctor. And this leads into probably the most unexpected fight scene of the show so far, as the old man runs rings around his opponent! This is still more evidence that something has happened to the Doctor since Susan left. OK, so we know (from a later-penned book) that he has had the opportunity to learn Venusian Aikido; but he has shown no inclination to use it before now. He seems invigorated, somehow (in fact, my daughter commented that he didn't seem like himself at all).

There's more overt comedy in this episode than the last - the Doctor and Vicki repeatedly just missing Barbara, for instance, as well as the discussion following the fight above. But it really comes to the fore once the Doctor meets Nero. I've mentioned before that Hartnell enjoyed playing comedy, and in Derek Francis he finds a very willing collaborator. I'll have more to say about their interaction in a later review (if my memory of the serial serves me), but they do get right down to the business of being funny straight away.

The thing about the comedy is that it is so brutally contrasted with Barbara and Ian's stories. She is put in some very unpleasant situations, and behaves compassionately and graciously even while showing her distaste for the ambiguous Tavius. Her fellow teacher, meanwhile, is tested more physically. There's good use of stock footage combining with a fine set to give the feel of a galley, even if there is one bit of unintentional comedy when buckets of water are thrown into shot to represent the foundering of the ship. Ian's determination to reach Barbara is touching, though the fact that he doesn't pause to come up with a better plan seems a little out of character.

All the historicals to date except for The Aztecs have used still shots to show location - the map in Marco Polo, the photo of Paris in The Reign of Terror - but here they go a step further with an actual model of Roma. It looks pretty good, though you can tell it's a model; and in general Ray Cusick's design work (and Daphne Dare's costumes) have so far done the serial proud.

This episode has more action than the last and yet I didn't enjoy it quite as much; so maybe my idea about preferring action doesn't hold up. Or perhaps it's that there's more dodgy acting in this one - not just Hartnell's fluffs, but also a couple of members of the guest cast who don't really convince. Still, the Doctor/Vicki/Nero storyline is working for me, and the mystery is building up nicely. I look forward to watching the next episode when I get a working TV again...

Broadcast:
Date: Saturday, 23rd January 1965
Viewers: 11.5 million
Chart Position: 15
Appreciation Index: 51

Rating:
5/10.

Next Time:
Conspiracy.