52. The Slave Traders


Doctor Who, season 2 continued …

TheSlaveTraders1For a story that’s become renown for its humour, The Romans has some very dark elements in it.

On the one hand we have much humour from the sparkling performance by William Hartnell (with the excellent “Chesterfield”, to which Barbara corrects to “Chesterton,” leading to the Doctor’s punchline “Barbara’s calling you”), to the wordplay by the others – the use of the word “London” and the French language.

On the other hand we have the slave traders and the very real fear of being attacked on the road to Rome.

To call it a comedy would be wrong, because it uses humour in just the right places (between friends) while keeping the story and the environment dark and scary.  That’s why it works for me.

A great start to this four-parter.

Next time … All Roads Lead To Rome