Inferno (The Romans Episode 4)

The one where the Doctor inadvertently inspires a major historical event...

No, not that Inferno, not yet. This Inferno refers to the Great Fire of Rome, and there are no planet-boring drills to be seen anywhere.

After episode 3's out-and-out comedy, the tone settles down a bit here, and gets on with the job of resolving the loose ends and getting the Doctor and his friends out of strife and back to safety. The Doctor aka Maximus Pettulian risks being eaten by lions in the circus, Ian is on the run from Nero's guards, and Barbara is constantly at risk of being murdered by a jealous Poppaea. Only Vicki seems to have escaped any direct danger in The Romans!

Ian and Delos make a valiant escape from Nero's arena at the start of the episode, but Christopher Barry falls for that age-old Doctor Who cliche of allowing people to get away too easily. As soon as Ian and Delos are through the door, Nero's guards simply give up. That's it, they've escaped, oh well. In reality, if they just chased after them, they'd probably catch them, but that doesn't serve Dennis Spooner's plans. I know The Romans is a very different beast to Spooner's previous Doctor Who work, but I can't help seeing him as something of a lazy writer. I had plenty to say about his misogynistic, lazy writing on The Reign of Terror, and while in The Romans his writing is adequate, it's his plotting which falls short.

Everything is resolved just that little too easily. The Doctor waving his spectacles around and setting fire to Nero's Nova Roma plans ultimately leads to the emperor being inspired to burn down the city, and in the melee the Doctor, Vicki, Ian and Barbara can make their unhindered escape back to the villa. It's pretty much that easy, although Barbara does have the help of Tavius to be reunited with Ian.

Ah, Tavius. He's my favourite character in The Romans, played with easy-going composure by Michael Peake, who sadly died at the age of 49 in 1967, making him one of the first Doctor Who actors to pass away. I love how the character is resolutely a good man, after all those encounters Barbara has had with similar men who seem to have one eye on her more womanly attractions (Ganatus, Vasor, Leon Colbert etc). Exactly why Tavius is such a good man, and has proven so helpful to Barbara, is because he is a Christian, as shown in his very final appearance where he clutches a crucifix and wishes the fleeing Barbara good luck. In making Tavius a Christian, Spooner perhaps pulls off his cleverest and ingeniously hidden twist yet, because in the wake of the great fire of Rome, it is Christians who Emperor Nero blamed for the devastation.

Contemporary accounts of what happened to the Christians of Rome in 64 AD don't bode well for our saintly Tavius. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote: "To stop the rumour [that he had set Rome on fire], he [Nero] falsely charged with guilt, and punished with the most fearful tortures, the persons commonly called Christians. Accordingly first those were arrested who confessed they were Christians; next on their information, a vast multitude were convicted, not so much on the charge of burning the city, as of 'hating the human race'. In their very deaths they were made the subjects of sport, for they were covered with the hides of wild beasts, and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set fire to, and when the day waned, burned to serve for the evening lights."

There's much more meat in Inferno than first thought:

• Ian gives a wonderful description of the Doctor which could still stand today: "I've got a friend who specialises in trouble. He dives in and usually finds a way."
• Derek Francis might infantilise Nero in his performance, but the writing maintains the emperor's bloodthirsty side, as seen when he turns his back to camera and appears to stab Barbara (who cries out in shock), but in fact murders a guard for not fighting well enough (some clever camera trickery on Christopher Barry's part there).
• The reason why Tavius thinks the Doctor is part of a grand scheme becomes clear when it transpires Maximus Pettulian was visiting Rome in order to assassinate Nero. Somehow I can't quite imagine decrepit old Bart Allison managing to murder a tune on his lyre, never mind Caesar Nero himself!
• At 12m 01s there's a totally unexpected wipe across the screen from right to left which definitely counts as Doctor Who's first, and undoubtedly last for a very, very long time (anybody know?).
• When Nero sends his slaves out to burn the city, Delos shoves a flaming torch in Sevcheria's face! I mean, ouch!

As the Doctor and Vicki sit on a hill and watch Rome burn, we witness a realisation dawn in our time travelling hero's mind - that he can, despite his earlier protestations to both Vicki and Barbara, have an effect on the course of history. He might be right that Nero would've been inspired somehow to burn Rome, but the fact is, it was his presence which did, and that places him centre stage in one of history's greatest fixed points. He might not be able to change history, but he can become a part of it, and from now on he is far less troubled by the effect he might have as he treads his way through time. The transition from outrage to glee on Hartnell's face is classic.

Back at the villa Ian and Barbara seem to get over their troubles very quickly and get back to where they were before they were rudely abducted. That is, flirting outrageously! Ian gets his own back on Barbara by bringing up the fridge joke again, and then threatens to playfully dunk her head in the fountain. And there are tiny moments (illustrated below) where their eyes meet and a kiss is surely just a thought away.

The fact the Doctor and Vicki never have any idea Barbara and Ian were in Rome too during their visit is a rewarding little twist, allowing the viewer to share in the joke with the school teachers (this storytelling trope was reused, to a lesser extent, by Russell T Davies in Partners in Crime).

Overall, The Romans is not as good as it could have been. I would have preferred it to be a more solid, straight historical in the vein of John Lucarotti's work in Season 1, and while the lighter tone is welcome, it becomes too overwhelming and swamps out the plot. Derek Francis makes for a memorable Nero, but overacts to distraction at times, and the best performances are from those not dabbling in comedy - Michael Peake (Tavius), Kay Patrick (Poppaea) and Ann Tirard (Locusta). The exception is William Hartnell, who takes the humorous material and flies with it, but without losing his sense of character.

First broadcast: February 6th, 1965

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: In among the comedy and the hooting, that tiny scene with Tavius clutching his crucifix is worth ten of Nero camping it up.
The Bad: Our heroes extricate themselves from their previously tricky predicaments rather too easily.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (story average: 7.5 out of 10)

NEXT TIME: The Web Planet (gulp!)...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: The Slave Traders (episode 1); All Roads Lead to Rome (episode 2); Conspiracy (episode 3)

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: http://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/the-romans.html

The Romans is available in a DVD box set with The Rescue. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/99t/Doctor-Who-Rescue-Romans-DVD-William-Hartnell/B001MYKYOU