Doctor Who: The Massacre

by John Lucarotti, Donald Tosh, William Hartnell (Narrator)

The Tardis materializes in Paris in 1572, a time of great danger and religious strife. Whilst the Doctor pays a visit to famous apothecary Charles Preslin, Steven is befriended by a group of Protestants.

Genres: Doctor Who, Audiobook, Science Fiction

2 pages, Audio CD

First published February 26, 1966

About the author

John Vincent Lucarotti was a British-Canadian screenwriter and author who worked on The Avengers, The Troubleshooters and Doctor Who in the 1960s.

Reviews

[Hasselhh]

I not sure why it has a reputation for being a grim Doctor Who story, with stories such as The Myth Makers, The Reign of Terror and The Dalek invasion of Earth it isn't even in the top three of death-toll episodes.

Instead I found it a great story where Steven really gets to shine, and the Doctor being more of a secondary character. And though I love the 1st Doctor, I really enjoy it when his companions get to prove that they are more than just a mediator between the audience / humans in the show and the Doctor. Steven being one of my favourite companions I was bound to like this story, and he didn't let me down!

This story is for everyone, who enjoys companion-takeovers and a prober historical (what a shame they don't make them any more instead of sh** like Lets Kill Hitler!)

[Craig]

Sometimes the historical adventures bore me. They seem close to being the same plot (political / religious scandal) set in a different time period. This time it's Paris 1572 at the time of the Saint Barthlomew's Day Massacre. Here the Doctor and Steven meet Anne Chaplet, who is left behind just as the violence starts leaving Steven to fear she would not survive. There is a brief segment at the end where the Tardis lands in London 1966 and have a very rushed encounter with Dorothy "Dodo" Chaplet, Anne Chaplet's descendant and she joins the Dcotor and Steven.

[David Sutton]

In this Doctor Who Programme the TARDIS lands in Medeval France exploring an obscure historical conflict between prodistants and Catholics. For most of the adventure I felt as confused as the Doctor's companion Steven, but the dramatic ending did explain itself. Since this audiobook is the only way to experience this lost episode listen on....

[Melenia]

DNF @ 29% - I need to find a physical book for this one. I couldn't follow the audiobook.

[Tom Jones]

The Massacre has certainly gone up in the rating and ranking like The Myth Makers. Episode 1,2 and 3 are good episodes, I found them boring back in the day. Its a good way for Steven to work out things for himself, without the Doctor there and playing a distant role.

The famous Massacre speech is awesome, powerful and emotional and the events of The Massacre spark a very interesting character moment for the Doctor; time travel and the rules of time are harsh.

8/10. I don't think it's one of the best 1st Doctor stories, but it triggers a very important moment in the era. It makes me think The Doctor follows the laws of time, but at times deeply has internal battles about them. Future stories show this fact to be true.

[Jennifer]

This was only barely OK, its chief merit being raising awareness of past persecution (in this case, of the Hugenots in France) and opening the route for discussion of refugees and migration throughout the ages.

The Doctor and Stephen are pretty much irrelevant, the Doctor isn't even there for much of the time and of course they cannot change the course of history, but they really don't do anything on this outing.