City of Death

A peaceful holiday in Paris takes a macabre turn for the Doctor and Romana as cracks start to appear in the fabric of time itself.  Uncovering a plot by the sinister Count (Julian Glover) to steal the Mona Lisa, the Doctor goes on a dangerous quest through history to Renaissance Italy.  There he discovers the chilling truth about the Count and his cataclysmic experiments with time.

The Count, alias Scaroth, is the last of the Jagaroth, a vicious war-like race whom he plans to restore to life by reversing time.  Imprisoned and at his mercy, the Doctor and Romana have the knowledge he needs.  Somehow they must chase Scaroth four hundred million years back in time to prevent his apocalyptic plan.  If they fail, the entire human race will never have existed.

• A classic among fans, "City of Death" was credited to David Agnew.  In reality that was the pseudonym for script editor Douglas Adams and producer Graham Williams.

• This story is one of the few filmed outside of the U.K. (in this case Paris, France).

• Watch for famous British actor Julian Glover to play the principle villain, Scaroth/Count Scarlioni/Captain Tancredi.  Glover also appeared as Richard the Lionheart in the 4 part historical adventure "The Crusade."

• Also watch for a guest appearance by Monty Python alumnist John Cleese.  Apparently a fan of the series, Cleese requested to do a cameo and got one.  He appears in a humorous scene in episode 4.

• This story very nearly made the top list in a recent poll conducted by Doctor Who Monthly.  The winning story in the poll would be released on DVD in 2004.  As it turns out "Pyramids of Mars" narrowly beat out "City of Death."