The Romans

OUT OF PRINT

It is Italy 64 AD and the Doctor is intent on a holiday. However, the atmosphere turns sour when he leaves for Rome with Vicki only to be mistaken for a murdered musician - Maximus Petullian. For Maximus is an enemy of Nero and the terrible fate that awaited him in Rome now awaits the Doctor. Meanwhile, Ian and Barbara have been abducted and sold as slaves. Are they doomed to spend the rest of their lives trapped in 64 AD?

Events reach a climax when the time travelers are caught in the Great Fire of Rome: an inferno which will either provide the cover necessary for their escape or which will, quite literally, be the death of them . . .

• One of the earliest Doctor Who stories to rely on humor, this story works on many levels.
   

• If you like this style of storytelling in Doctor Who then you might also enjoy "The Myth Makers" which is in much the same vein.  Another recommendation would be "The Time Meddler" which again relies heavily on humor.  All 3 of these stories are examples of the Hartnell era at its finest!  :)
   

• Watch for an amusing sequence where Barbara (a slave in Nero's court) and the Doctor continually miss each seeing each other by mere seconds as Nero chases Barbara from room to room in an attempt to seduce her. 
   

• Apparently, Nero gets the idea to burn Rome from the Doctor, who accidentally sets Nero's plans for a new Rome on fire.  "Should I call it...Neropolis... or just plain Nero?"
   

• This story leads directly into the next adventure, "The Web Planet."