French Revolution

The French Revolution was a series of political and social upheavals in the late 18th century. This was the First Doctor's favourite period of Earth history: "all the turbulence of the age crammed into five years in one tiny country," as he put it. (PROSE: The Man in the Velvet Mask) It was an age which he visited on several occasions.

Revolutionary-era France was the site of the First Doctor and Susan Foreman's first-ever visit to Earth. (PROSE: Just War) Later, while attending Coal Hill School in 1963, Barbara Wright lent Susan a book called The French Revolution, in which Susan noted several historical inaccuracies. (TV: An Unearthly Child)

The Sixth Doctor's companion Jason was a young aristocrat living in France at the time of the Revolution. He was sentenced to death by guillotine in 1789 but was rescued by the Doctor. Later, the meddling of a Dalek caused the TARDIS to return to revolutionary France. Jason was arrested once more and his sentence was almost carried out but he managed to escape again. (AUDIO: The Ultimate Adventure)

The Doctor and Susan visited Revolutionary-era France again, specifically July 1794, this time with Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright accompanying them, not long after departing 1963. (TV: The Reign of Terror)

The Doctor and Dodo Chaplet later visited an alternate timeline, in which the Revolution continued longer than it did in N-Space. (PROSE: The Man in the Velvet Mask)

Behind the scenes

 * The French Revolution was also a working title for The Reign of Terror.