The Massacre (TV story)

"Perhaps I should go home? Back to my own planet? But I can't..."

- The Doctor


 * "The Massacre" redirects here. For the novelisation by this title, see The Massacre (novelisation).

The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve was the fifth story of Season 3 of Doctor Who. It marks the first appearance of Jackie Lane as companion Dodo Chaplet, although she only appears in the last few minutes of "Bell of Doom".

The story is often given the abbreviated title The Massacre in reference books, due in part because this variation is used for the Target novelisation.

Synopsis
The TARDIS materializes in Paris in the year 1572 and the First Doctor decides to visit the famous apothecary Charles Preslin. Steven, meanwhile, is befriended by a group of Huguenots from the household of the Protestant Admiral de Coligny. Having rescued a young serving girl, Anne Chaplet, from some pursuing guards, the Huguenots gain their first inkling of a heinous plan being hatched at the command of the Catholic Queen Mother, Catherine de Medici...



Part One: War of God
The Doctor and Steven have landed in France, and from overhearing Nicholas Muss and Gaston de Leran talking about the keeping the peace even though the Catholics of Paris hate them, the Doctor places their landing in the middle of the 16th century. With their place and time figured, the Doctor decides that he must track down the apothecary Charles Preslin to talk germinology. Now at a nearby tavern, the Doctor convinces Steven that there is no need for him to also go find Preslin, and Steven convinces the Doctor to let him sightsee on his own.

They agree that they will meet back at the tavern come evening, before leaving for the TARDIS. As the Doctor leaves, a man, Roger Colbert, who was about to enter the tavern, stops as he recognizes the Doctor and then turns to follow. Steven notices this and makes to leave and follow the Doctor and his stalker, but the landlord stops him as Steven has not yet paid for his wine. Only having gold, which the Landlord can not turn into coin, Steven is unable to pay. Nicholas, seeing Steven's financial difficulties and recognizing him as a foreigner to Paris, pays Stevens bill of two sous. Having lost the opportunity to follow the Doctor, he asks Nicholas for help in finding Preslin's shop, but draws some suspicion by mentioning that the Doctor wants to talk science with Preslin. Dropping the subject, Nicholas says that he will show Steven the way, but that Steven should first have a drink with them. Gaston is extremely suspicious of Steven, and questions Steven as to his business in Paris and where he has traveled. Steven, surprising Nicholas by mentioning having traveled to Egypt, decides to leave to find the Doctor. As Steven leaves the Tavern, a servant girl, Anne Chaplet, runs into him before entering the tavern, and is quickly followed by 4 guards. In the tavern, the girl hides, and because of the guards as Catholics and the girl as a fellow Huguenot, Nicholas and his friends hide the girl from the guards, but only Steven is interested in why she was running. Because of Steven's interest, Nicholas questions Anne and they learn that Anne had over heard the guards mention Wassy and "it will happen again before the week is up," implying another Huguenot massacre perpetrated by the Catholics. Nicholas decides to hide Anne in the kitchen of his master the Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, while Steven decides that, as evening is nearing, he will simply wait for the Doctor instead of searching for him.

Meanwhile, the Doctor has located Preslin's shop, and not receiving an answer from his knocks, he lets himself in. At first Preslin maintains that Charles Preslin no longer occupies this shop, fearing that the Doctor has come from the Abbot of Amboise to find heretics. The Doctor convinces Preslin that he is not a servant of the Abbot, and is fact a fellow scientist. With Preslin no longer afraid, him and the Doctor discus Preslin's work, the Cardinal of Lorraine and the Abbot's hunt of scientists and protestants, and the development of the microscope in Germany. With the news of the microscope, Preslin is convinced by the Doctor to renew his work as the microscope would allow him to prove of the existence of germs.

Back at the Tavern, Simon Duval question the Landlord as to why his guards were unable to capture Anne, and is informed that Steven, still present, was amongst Nicholas and Gaston. He then politely strikes up a conversation with Steven about the approaching curfew hour, in order to learn who Steven is. With little success he turns back to the landlord, instructing him to watch for the friend that steven is waiting for, and then ducks out of sight as Nicholas enters. Nicholas is surprised that Steven is still there and convinces Steven to stay the night at de Coligny's house. Steven accepts as the bell tolls, marking the curfew, and they instruct the landlord to inform the landlord that the Englishman is staying at de Coligny's house. Simon then reports the happenings to the the Abbot who has the exact appearance and voice of the Doctor.

Part Two: The Sea Beggar
The next morning, Steven returns to the tavern to find word of the Doctor. The landlord informs steven that no one has come and harshly shows Steven away due to Steven's association with the Huguenots. At de Coligny's house, Gaston is enragd by his master, Henry of Navarre, not taking the possible threat to his life seriously.

The marriage of the Protestant prince Henry, to the King's Catholic sister had increased tensions between the Catholics and the Huguenots.

Gaston and Henry precede to argue if in fact what Anne heard implied another massacre as Wassy may not refer to the previous massacre, and the "it" may refer to something else entirely. Steven returns, asking for Nicholas' aid to find Preslin's shop in hopes of finding the Doctor. Before the two can set out, Colbert comes to question Nicholas about Anne's whereabouts, but Nicholas now maintains that Anne is not present, and that the girl Roger thinks is there is a long time serving girl named Genevieve. After Roger leaves, Steven identifies him as the man who followed the Doctor. Gaston, looking out the window, is surprised to find that the Abbot himself came to find a serving girl, and when Steven looks out the window, he is surprised to see the Doctor. Steven then makes to go to the Doctor, but Nicholas and Gaston stop him, believing that if that man is Steven's friend, then Steven is working in the service of the Abbot, and thus a Catholic spy. Steven convinces Nicholas to let him try and prove his innocence by taking Nicholas to Preslin's shop, so that Nicholas can see the resemblance between the Abbot and the Doctor.

Later, Simon reports the incident with Anne and the Abbot's personal search for her to the Marshal Tavannes, who believes that the Abbot's presence will have only aroused suspicion within the Huguenots. Simon also informs the Marshal that an Englishman was lodging at de Coligny's house, which makes Tavannes suspicious of the Admiral conspiring with the English. As Simon leaves, the Marshal tells him to inform that Abbot that he will send word later concerning "the Sea Beggar." Hearing "the Sea Beggar" as he enters, de Coligny takes his reference to be towards the Dutch, who are requesting France's military aid against Spain. De Coligny is happy at the notion that the Marshal is finally considering the claim for France's aid, but the Marshal is suspicious that the only reason the Admiral wants to side with the Dutch is due to them being a Protestant country. The Marshal then leaves for an audience with the Queen.

At the same time Steven and Nicholas locate Preslin's shop. Steven pounds on the door to the shop without any response. An old woman who is passing by stops the two, complaining that they are disturbing the whole neighborhood over an empty house. She informs Steven and Nicholas that the shop has been vacant for some time because Preslin had been arrested for heresy. Nicholas is now even more suspicious of Steven, and refuses Steven's request to go to the Abbot to validate his new theory that the Doctor, for some reason of his own, is impersonating the Abbot. Nicholas decides to take Steven back so that the Huguenots can decide what to do with Steven, but on the way back, Steven trips Nicholas and escapes. Nicholas returns as Gaston finishes questioning Anne about Steven, who does not believe that Steven is working for the Abbot. Gaston informs Nicholas that Henry of Navarre has decided to increase his guards, but Steven's escape cements his guilt as a Catholic spy for Gaston.

Meanwhile, Steven has made his way to the Abbots house where, he stays outside to listen in on a conversation between Simon, Roger, and the Marshal, who has returned from his meeting with the Queen. The Marshal is annoyed that the Abbot has disappeared, but informs Simon and Roger that the Queen has given the order to have the Sea Beggar killed the next day, as he returns from a meeting at the Louvre. Steven then hurries back to tell Nicholas about the planned assassination of the Sea Beggar. Steven finds that Nicholas is away, so he tries to find paper so that he may leave a note instead. While rummaging through Nicholas's desk in search of paper, Gaston enters the room and presumes that Steven is attempting to steal information for the Abbot. Gaston engages Steven in a sword fight, but annoyed that Steven wont fight back forces Steven to leave. When Gaston tells Nicholas of the incident, Nicholas does not believe that Steven was spying, and that Steven had found crucial information out and had returned as he said he would. As curfew approaches, Steven discovers Anne following him through the streets, hoping that Steven will help her as she no longer has any place to go. They decide the safest place is Preslin's abandoned shop, and they head for it. De Coligny returns to Nicholas, informing him that the King has finally decided to aid the Dutch, and that the King said to him, "If we do ally ourselves with the Dutch, you, de Coligny, will go down in history as 'the Sea Beggar.' "

Part Three: Priest of Death
to be added

Part Four: Bell of Doom
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor / The Abbot of Amboise — William Hartnell
 * Steven Taylor — Peter Purves
 * Dodo Chaplet — Jackie Lane
 * King Charles IX — Barry Justice
 * Catherine de Medici — Joan Young
 * Admiral de Coligny — Leonard Sachs
 * Marshal Tavannes — André Morell
 * Charles de Teligny — Michael Bilton
 * Charles Preslin — Erik Chitty
 * Gaston, Viscount de Lerans — Eric Thompson
 * Nicholas Muss — David Weston
 * Simon Duval — John Tillinger
 * Roger Colbert — Christopher Tranchell
 * Anne Chaplet — Annette Robertson
 * Old Woman — Cynthia Etherington
 * Landlord — Edwin Finn
 * Captain of the Guard — Clive Cazes
 * Servant — Reginald Jessup
 * Priest — Norman Claridge
 * Officer — John Slavid
 * 1st Man — Will Stampe,
 * 2nd Man Ernest Smith
 * 1st Guard — Jack Tarran
 * 2nd guard — Leslie Bates

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Fiona Cumming
 * Assistant Floor Manager - Richard Valentine
 * Costumes - Daphne Dare
 * Designer - Michael Young
 * Film Cameraman - Tony Leggo
 * Film Editor - Bob Rymer
 * Make-Up - Sonia Markham
 * Producer - John Wiles
 * Production Assistant - Gerry Mill
 * Script Editor - Donald Tosh
 * Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
 * Studio Lighting - Dennis Channon
 * Studio Sound - Gordon Mackie
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer

Story Notes

 * This story is listed in some programme guides as simply, The Massacre.
 * Some original production documents state the name of the serial as The Massacre of St Barthlomew's Eve, although this is historically a misnomer, as the actual massacre took place on St Bartholomew's Day. Some have noted that as the original French name for the event (Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy) lacks a day, the title actually refers to the lead up to the massacre itself — that is, the Eve of the Massacre of St Bartholomew.
 * William Hartnell is credited as Dr. Who for War of God and Bell of Doom, and as Abbot of Amboise for The Sea Beggar and Priest of Death. He also appears as the Abbot towards the end of Priest of Death, but is credited only as Dr. Who. Radio Times credits 'William Hartnell as Dr. Who' for all four episodes, but omits the character from its actual cast lists for The Sea Beggar and Priest of Death.
 * The last episode of this serial introduces Dodo Chaplet, played by Jackie Lane. The BBC Past Doctor Adventures novel Salvation gives a more detailed though somewhat contradictory account of events which led Dodo to enter the TARDIS, thinking it was an actual police box.
 * The part of 1st Man was originally to have been played by Roy Denton, but he had to drop out the day before recording due to illness and was replaced at short notice by Will Stampe. Denton was still credited in Radio Times as it was too late for this to be corrected.
 * Guest star André Morell was one of the actors to play the BBC's other famous science-fiction hero, Professor Bernard Quatermass. He is the only one of them to appear in Doctor Who on television, although Scottish actor Andrew Keir, who portrayed Quatermass on film, also played a role in the film Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD. Reportedly, Morell was at one point to have appeared in the film as well, but had to pull out due to his commitments to filming this TV serial.
 * According to the book Doctor Who: Companions by David J. Howe and Mark Stammers, the final episode of the serial was to have included a cameo appearance by William Russell and Jacqueline Hill reprising their roles as former companions Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright. The scene — which was scheduled to be filmed but was cancelled — had Ian and Barbara witnessing the dematerialisation of the TARDIS after Dodo enters.
 * This serial is notable as being one of the very few in which the Doctor does not meet the villain(s) in person. Another such example is DW: Planet of Giants.
 * Production of The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve occurred concurrently with that of the film spinoff Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD.

Ratings

 * War of God - 8.0 million viewers
 * The Sea Beggar - 6.0 million viewers
 * Priest of Death - 5.9 million viewers
 * Bell of Doom - 5.8 million viewers

Myths

 * Donald Tosh was credited as co-writer on Bell of Doom because he supplied the final scene introducing Dodo. (Tosh wrote the final draft scripts of all four episodes, amending John Lucarotti's originals extensively. He was credited only on "Bell of Doom" because during production of the first three episodes he was still on BBC staff as Doctor Who's story editor.)

Filming Locations

 * Ealing Television Film Studios
 * Windmill Lane near Wimbledon Common
 * Riverside Studios (Studio 1), Crisp Road, Hammersmith, London

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * The story suggests that Dodo might be a descendant of Anne Chaplet; however, it has often been pointed out that this would only be possible if Anne married someone who shared her surname or if she had a male illegitimate child. Or perhaps her time with The Doctor and Steven fostered a progressive attitude in her, and she kept her name when she got married.  Of course, the fact Anne and Dodo look identical is certainly cause for much raising of eyebrows.
 * The actual massacre occurred on St Bartholomew's Day, not St Bartholomew's Eve.

Continuity

 * PDA: Salvation attempts to explain why Dodo is where she is at the end of this story.
 * The Doctor faces another double of himself in DW: The Enemy of the World (and in some sense DW: Meglos and DW: Arc of Infinity). His companions meet natural doubles (as opposed to androids or shape-shifters) of themselves on three other occasions: Romana in DW: The Androids of Tara; Nyssa, in DW: Black Orchid; and Peri, in BFA: The Church and the Crown.

Timeline

 * The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve occurs after ST: White on White
 * The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve occurs before: PDA: Salvation

DVD, Video and Other Releases

 * No telerecordings exist in the BBC archives. No telesnaps or clips exist. Loose Cannon Productions have created a reconstruction from a fan-recorded off-air audio soundtrack and several composite images created from various sources.
 * This is one of only three serials, along with Marco Polo and Mission to the Unknown, of which not a second of footage survives. However, a fan-recorded off-air soundtrack, with linking narration provided by Peter Purves, was released by the BBC Radio Collection on both audio CD and cassette in 1999.
 * The BBC Radio Collection release gives the title as, variously, The Massacre and The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve. The packaging uses the title The Massacre, but the accompanying booklet uses both titles. The CDs have The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve printed on them and this is also the title announced by Peter Purves on the discs themselves. (see also disputed story titles).
 * This audio has also been released as part of the Adventures in History CD Set in August 2003.

Novelisation

 * Main article: The Massacre (novelisation)


 * John Lucarotti's 1987 The Massacre of this serial for Target Books, entitled simply The Massacre, returned the story to a previous draft before Bill Hartnell's health forced a number of rewrites (allowing Hartnell to not have to be present during filming of the third episode). As a result, the novelisation differs greatly from the broadcast version.