The Massacre

GASTON: She's just a servant.

...

GASTON: You're too kind to these nothings

(Arse)

ANNE: Because he's kind, Monsieur, and gentle.

(Aww)

STEVEN: Listen, where is Nicholas? I have some important news.
GASTON: I'm sure you have. And I've got some for you too. Get out of here!

(The silliest line by a long way)

CATHERINE DE MEDICI: Innocent? Heresy can have no innocents. France will breath of pure air after tomorrow.

TAVANNES: Not mercy, Madame. Policy.

• It's Paddy Russell's first directing job on Doctor Who (and Who's first female director), and she does one hell of a casting job. Good as the script is, it needed top actors to really bring the best out of it. Lucarotti and Tosh between them did an exceptional job with the scripting. 
• I like recons, and I think they do the job of telling the story as well as it's possible to, but I often find them a little slow. This one, not a bit of it. It's totally absorbing. Every time we get to a cliffhanger I'm shocked that it's been 25 minutes already. 
• An amazing number of this cast go on to play Time Lords. Erik Chitty, Christopher Tranchell, Leonard Sachs and Michael Bilton all do. 
• Steven not knowing anything about what's going on is a well-handled way of informing the viewers about France in 1572 without the need for a heavy-handed info dump. And, though obviously we're more sympathetic to the Huguenots, it's nice that it's not presented as a straightforward "these are the goodies, those are the baddies" situation. Gaston is really just as bad as any of the Catholics. 
• The way Tavannes says that ever since the Abbot showed up everything had started to go wrong is a nice way of making us think that, just possibly, it might be the Doctor in surprise. Which makes him being slaughtered just minutes later all the more effective. 
• Um... Steven's idea of a foolproof disguise is to put on a hat and a different cloak? Really?? In an amazingly surprising turn of events, the disguise doesn't work. There's a shock. 
  
• The way the Doctor instantly takes control when he returns in episode four from whatever on earth he's been doing is fantastic. Hartnell's energy in that scene is superb, especially when he finds out the date. Shame he didn't decent to bring Anne along. She'd have made for a fun companion. 
• Dodo's desperate to get to the police box because "a little boy's been hurt and I've got to phone the police". Well, putting aside phoning the police rather than for an ambulance, whatever becomes of that little boy who just gets left without any help? To be fair on Dodo, it's not really her fault. The Doctor essentially abducts her just because she apparently looks a bit like Susan. 
• Daft though it is, it is funny to imagine that Dodo is a descendant of Steven and Anne. And, much as I do like Dodo, I wish Anne had come aboard instead.

Verdict

Has Doctor Who ever been this grown up? It's rather grim. The "weep tears of blood" scene between Tavannes and de Medici is terrific, but really pushing Doctor Who to its limits. Normally it would be too far for my liking, but it's such an electrifying script and so well performed by everybody. With Russell directing I'm sure it looks pretty good, too. When historicals can be like this or like the Romans, it just goes to show what a valuable type of story they are. This is the missing story I want found most of all, because I think it might just, just become my number one story. As it is it's top of the range. Full marks.