Season 2, Episode 4 | 4 parts | First broadcast: 16 January – 6 February 1965 | Writer: Dennis Spooner | Director: Christopher Barry
Cast
- William Hartnell as the Doctor
- William Russell as Ian Chesterton
- Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright
- Maureen O’Brien as Vicki
- Derek Francis as Emperor Nero
Summary
While enjoying a holiday at a villa near Rome in 64 AD, the Doctor and Vicki set off for the capital and are mistaken for a famous lyre player and his assistant, drawing them into the court of the unhinged Emperor Nero. Meanwhile, Ian and Barbara are captured by slave traders, and their efforts to escape and reunite with the Doctor become entangled in the events leading up to the Great Fire of Rome.
Interesting Facts
- This serial marked a deliberate shift toward broad comedy for the historical stories, and is fondly remembered for William Hartnell’s comic performance opposite Derek Francis’s Nero.
- The story mischievously implies that the Doctor himself accidentally inspires Nero to burn Rome, a irreverent twist on the real historical event.
- It was the first Doctor Who serial in which the regular cast was split into two entirely separate, intercut storylines for most of its runtime.
- All four episodes survive in the BBC archive.
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