The Reign of Terror is the eighth serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts from 8 August to 12 September 1964. It was written by Dennis Spooner and directed by Henric Hirsch. In the serial, the First Doctor (William Hartnell), his granddaughter Susan (Carole Ann Ford), and teachers Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) arrive in France during the period of the French Revolution known as the Reign of Terror, where they become involved with prisoners and English spies. Initially interested in writing a science fiction story, Spooner was asked to write a historical serial by script editor David Whitaker. He eventually decided to focus on the French Revolution, a setting first suggested by Russell. Hirsch underwent great stress during the serial's production; he collapsed during filming of the third episode, and was replaced until the following week. The serial premiered with 6.9 million viewers, maintaining audience figures throughout the six weeks. Response for the serial was mixed, with criticism aimed at the story and historical inaccuracies. Two of the six episodes remain missing after the BBC wiped them from archives. It later received several print adaptations and home media releases, with animated versions of the missing episodes constructed using off-air recordings. Plot The First Doctor (William Hartnell), his granddaughter Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford) and her teachers Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) arrive outside Paris in 18th-century France and venture to a nearby farmhouse. They find it is being used as a staging post in an escape chain for counter-revolutionaries during the Reign of Terror. They are discovered by two counter-revolutionaries, D'Argenson (Neville Smith) and Rouvray (Laidlaw Dalling), who knock the Doctor unconscious and hold the others at gunpoint. A band of revolutionary soldiers surrounds the house and both D'Argenson and Rouvray are killed during the siege. The soldiers capture Ian, Barbara, and Susan and march them to Paris to be guillotined. The soldiers set fire to the farmhouse, and the Doctor is saved by a young boy (Peter Walker), who tells him that his friends have been taken to the Conciergerie Prison in Paris. He sets off after them. Ian, Barbara, and Susan are all sentenced to death as traitors. Ian is confined in one cell, while the women are taken to another. Ian's cellmate is an Englishman