"half-baked royalist adventure". Retrospective reviews of the serial were mixed. In The Discontinuity Guide (1995), Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping enjoyed the serial's dialogue and the "uncompromising nature of the story", citing the vicious soldiers, dirty cells, and off-screen murders. In The Television Companion (1998), David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker wrote that characterisation was one of Spooner's strengths as a writer, particularly praising that of Lemaitre, Robespierre, and Napoleon; they also enjoyed the production values and cast performances, noting particular praise for Anderson and Wall, though they criticised Myers's score. In A Critical History of Doctor Who (1999), John Kenneth Muir identified that later historical stories would borrow elements established in The Reign of Terror, though felt that they should have done so with The Aztecs instead. In 2008, Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times wrote positively of the humour and Hartnell's increased role, but felt that Susan was "at her weakest". In 2013, SFXs Ian Berriman felt that the serial is "really rather dull" after the first episode, noting that it assumes the audience is aware of the history of the French Revolution. Christopher Bahn of The A.V. Club stated, after a compelling beginning, the serial "[stretches] too little story over too many episodes", criticising the plot for "retreading the same basic plot". Commercial releases In print A novelisation of this serial, written by Ian Marter, was published in hardback by W. H. Allen in March 1987, with artwork by Tony Masero. The paperback version was published by Target Books in August 1987. An audio version of this serial was released on CD by BBC Audio in February 2006, with Ford providing linking narration and an interview. This was later included in The Lost TV Episodes: Collection 1 box set in August 2010, alongside an additional CD with interviews and original camera scripts. Home media The serial was released on VHS by BBC Video in November 2003, containing the four existing episodes of The Reign of Terror alongside unreleased episodes of The Faceless Ones and The Web of Fear. 2 Entertain released the serial on DVD in January 2013, with animation of the missing episodes by Theta Sigma and Big Finish Productions; the release featured several special features, including audio commentary and documentaries. Ian Jane of DVD Talk praised the detail of the animation. Notes References Bibliography External links 1964 British television episodes Cultural depictions of