Product Description

First century Rome is the setting for this classic TV soundtrack adventure starring William Hartnell as the Doctor, with linking narration by William Russell. 'They wouldn't let me build my new Rome...But if the old one is burnt...Brilliant! Brilliant!' The year is 64 AD, and the TARDIS travellers are enjoying a restful time in a villa close to Rome. Their peace and quiet is shattered when a visit to the city sees the Doctor mistaken for a lyre player, and him and Vicki subsequently pursued by an assassin.Meanwhile, Ian and Barbara are kidnapped and sold as slaves: Ian on a galley in the Mediterranean Sea,and Barbara to serve in the court of Nero himself. Using all his ingenuity to gain the freedom of Nero's court, the Doctor inadvertently inspires the Emperor's plans to completely rebuild Rome. Can the Doctor, Vicki, Ian and Barbara escape with their lives before the city becomes a cinder? William Russell, who played Ian Chesterton in the series, provides additional linking narration, and a selection of bonus archive radio items looks at the real-life Nero, and the life and career of William Hartnell.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #243422 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-22
• Released on: 2008-05-08
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Binding: Audio CD

Customer Reviews

'Oh, I think I've poisoned Nero!'
Barcode: 9781405687614

The Romans is a classic example from Who's early days of a historical done well. From unnasuming begins, this story develops into a kind of 'holiday gone wrong'. The TARDIS team are relaxing at a Roman villa when Ian and Barbara are kidnapped and enslaved while the Doctor and Vicki try and delve into the intrigue of Nero's palace.

William Hartnell is his usual fantastic self here, really shining in the scenes where he's up against Nero, convinving him and his court that he is in fact a skilled lyre player. Nero himself is another highlight, starting out as a rather comical character as he is instantly infatuated with Barbara and dubiously chases her around the palace. Later in the story he develops into something far more sinister though and with lines like 'If you succeed, you will be rewarded. If you fail, you will die', his ruthlessness makes for classic Who villain stuff.

However, i think it is Ian who comes off strongest in this story, his chivalry and determination to get back to Barbara really shining through. He is the everyman up against the odds and the story has some surprisingly grim moments such as when he is forced to fight his friend in the arena. He equally has some fantastic comical moments with Barbara too that really develop the relationship between the two.

Vicki is sadly underused in this story, mainly acting as a tag along for the Doctor. On the whole though, this is a surprisingly consistent and entertaining story, with great cliffhangers. William Russell (who plays Ian) does a great job of doing the linking narration here and you also get a few extras at the end featuring a historical documentary looking round the ruins of Nero's palace, a radio discussion on Nero's life and an interview with William Hartnell's granddaughter.

A Fair Release
The Romans is another of the BBCs release of soundtracks of the early Doctor Who stories with linking narration (generally provided by one of the companions in the story). All in all this is a fair example, a pleasant historical with a good plot. Sadly though the lack of any visual aspect does detract from the story (unlike the Reign of Terror or the Crusade which work perfectly as audio) - however the Romans I feel needed that visual side.
It further begs the question why this was released, when (as all the film is in existence) a DVD release will no doubt be coming soon. I'm discouraged to think that the BBC are trying to convince fans to by these releases and then the DVD releases later on (I don't know if the Romans is expecting a DVD release soon, but that certainly happened with the War Machines!)

I hope not, but either way, this is a fair enough release, worth listening to if you haven't got a video copy of the story or haven't seen it before. But I certainly await more when this story gets released onto DVD