"Bell of Doom"

Hello everyone, the Historian here with the final episode in this historical story. Joining me this week were Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, MisterMother, Photobug and Cz. Big climax this week, so let's get to the summary!


Episode summary: First aired 26 February 1966. In Preslin's shop, Anne is awakened by a pounding on the door. At first, she tries to hide, but then she hears Steven's voice asking her to let him in. She let him in, relieved that the guards hadn't caught him the night before. Steven tells her they nearly did; he'd hid after the curfew bell. He tells her that, although he'd gotten a warning to Nicholas, it came too late. Anne asks Steven whether he will go back to his friend, the Doctor. Steven tells her sadly that he can't; the Doctor is dead. She is shocked, but Steven confirms, "I saw his body lying in the street by the Abbot's house. Before I could do anything Roger Colbert saw me and sent the guards after me again. Heaven knows what I'll do now." Will he go back to England, Anne asks, but Steven says he must find the key to the TARDIS. He explains that without it, he can't leave, but he doesn't know where it is. "If the Doctor had it with him then I'm lost," he says. Steven decides that searching the shop again is their best bet. The two begin to search.

In the Louvre, Simon is reporting to Marshal Tavannes. They are discussing the king's reaction to Admiral de Teligny's shooting. "But by blaming the death of the Abbot on the Huguenots we may be able to cover our tracks," says the Marshal. Simon asks if the king is paying attention to the Abbot's death, but Tavannes isn't sure. "Fortunately the Admiral himself is helping us," he says. "He doesn't want the inquiry yet so that may give us a little time." "Therefore the Englishman must be caught," says Simon. And killed, confirms the Marshal. "He must be found tonight," he says. "Tomorrow is St. Bartholomew's Day and it will be all too easy for him to evade us in the revelry." There is a knock on the door and a messenger hands Tavannes a note. "The Queen Mother," he says. "She commands me to go to her. No doubt she has thought of some further scheme to protect her good name." He turns to Simon and tells him to wait and leaves. Simon, curious, picks up the note and begins to read.

In Prelin's shop, Steven and Anne are still searching. Steven is about to give up until Anne brings him what she's found--the Doctor's stick! But she has found no clothes. "Then why the stick?" wonders Steven. "He...he couldn't have pretended to be the Abbot dressed as he was. So he must have changed somewhere. But where?" Anne suggests he might have gone away with Preslin, but Steven says that's impossible, "Because Preslin is either dead or in prison." "He is not!" says a firm and familiar voice behind them. Steven whips around--it is the Doctor!

At the Admiral's house, Gaston has come to visit the wounded man. He is very agitated, trying to convince de Coligny that he is in great danger; the Catholics want him dead. The Admiral tells his young colleague that he is too impetuous and Teligny (who is there as well, along with Nicholas) reminds Gaston that the king wants to protect de Coligny--he has even set a guard on the house. "A Catholic guard under a Catholic commander!" replies Gaston. "The Admiral could hardly be in the care of a greater enemy." "He is under the protection of the King," says Teligny, but Gaston adds, "And the Queen Mother." Nicholas suggests that Gaston return to the Louvre to attend Navarre; he is tiring the Admiral. But Gaston, still agitated, tells the Admiral it would be better for everyone if he left Paris. Nicholas says the surgeon told them de Coligny is too weak to be moved. "Then may God protect you," says Gaston and leaves. "I hope Henri of Navarre realises how dangerous it is to have such a hothead in his service," says the Admiral. Teligny is still shocked at the idea that the guards would disobey the king and turn on the Admiral. "Is there anything you need, Admiral?" asks Nicholas. "Stay with me," says his master. "We must be grateful that the wounds are not poisoned," says Teligny. "So that there is no fear of you dying." "I do fear death," says Admiral de Coligny. "I only hope that we have nothing to fear from my staying alive."

Steven has finished telling the Doctor about everything that has happened to him. "Oh, my dear boy, had you stayed at the tavern all this mix-up could have been avoided," he says. Steven snaps that he did wait in the tavern; the Doctor never showed up! "Yes, well, I was unavoidably delayed," admits the Doctor. "Never mind that now." He tells Steven that they must go, but Anne reminds him that the curfew bell has rung. "It'd be easy to leave Paris in the morning, monsieur," she says. "Tomorrow is St. Bartholomew's Day and everyone will be celebrating." "Huh!" says Steven. "With all the trouble that's going on I can't see what they've got to celebrate." The Doctor again wishes that Steven hadn't gotten involved, but Steven says, "Look, I tried not to but the Abbot did look like you. If I hadn't found out about Admiral de Coligny being the 'Sea Beggar' then..." The Doctor is suddenly attentive. "I tried to tell you before," Steven says. "Admiral de Coligny is one of the Huguenot leaders. The Catholics tried to shoot him." The Doctor turns to Anne and asks her if she said tomorrow was St. Bartholomew's Day. He then turns to Steven and asks what year this is. "I don't know," Steven says. "What difference does it make?" The Doctor turns back to Anne and asks for the date. August the twenty-third, she says. But what year? presses the Doctor. "1572, monsieur. But surely you know that?" After a moment to digest this information, the Doctor tells Anne to leave at once. But she says she has nowhere to go! He suggests she returns to the Abbot's house, but she says she can't; if she does, they will kill her! Steven tries to ask what is going on, but the Doctor ignores him, asking Anne if there is anywhere she can stay. She mentions her aunt's place, but still believes they will kill her if she goes there. The Doctor tells her to go anyway, even through the curfew. "Then you know how to avoid the patrols," the Doctor says. "You go back to your aunt; you'll be quite safe. And you take my advice and stay indoors tomorrow. Now do you understand? It's too dangerous for you to stay here. Now off you go, child." Steven again tries to break in, but the Doctor shushes him. Anne turns to Steven. "Goodbye then, Steven. Safe journey," she says and, despite Steven's doubts, she leaves. Steven turns to the Doctor. "Look, are you sure she'll be all right?" he asks. "The guards are waiting for her." "My dear Steven, the Catholics will have other things on their minds tonight," the Doctor replies. "She will be quite safe. Now then, you and I must leave Paris at once. Come!" "Look, Doctor, what is going on?" asks Steven. "There is no time for me to explain," says the Doctor. "Come along, boy. Come along!"

In the Louvre, Marshal Tavannes is surprised by the Queen Mother. "I have it here," she says. "The order signed by the King. Our plans for tomorrow can go ahead." "Thank God!" says the Marshal, but Catherine answers that God had very little to do with it. Tavannes passes her a paper, telling her it is "the list." "When those Huguenots are killed we need have no further fear of a Protestant France," he says. But the Queen Mother is dismissive. "We have no need of lists, Marshal," she says. "The good people of Paris know their enemies. They will take care of them." The Marshal is shocked. "Madam, if you rouse the mob the innocent will perish with the guilty," he says. "Innocent?" asks Catherine. "Heresy can have no innocence. France will breath a pure air after tomorrow." And what about Navarre? asks Tavannes. "Tomorrow Henri of Navarre will pay for his pretensions to the Crown," she says. We cannot kill Navarre, says the Marshal firmly. "Protestant Europe will merely shed a pious tear over the death of a few thousand Huguenots," he explains. "The death of a prince will launch a Holy War." "If one Huguenot life escapes me tomorrow, we may both regret this act of mercy," says the Queen Mother. Not mercy, replies the Marshal. Policy. Catherine accedes to this logic, but tells Tavannes that he is in charge of getting Henri out of Paris. "And, Marshall," she adds before she leaves, "Close the gates of the city now." After a moment, Simon enters. "The order has been given," Tavannes tells him. "You may begin." An excited Simon asks for the list, but the Marshal says, "We are to unleash the wolves of Paris. None are to be spared." Simon has the excitement of a fanatic, believing that this is good news. The Marshal tells Simon he has a special task: Henri of Navarre. "I am to have the honour?" Simon asks. "Yes," says Tavannes. "But not of killing him. You will escort him out of Paris." Simon is unhappy, but the Marshal is disgusted with his subordinate's fanaticism. "Did you not hear me?" he snaps. "You will be responsible for his safety. You will have to leave tomorrow's work to others. Now get out." Simon leaves and the Marshal sits, wondering what he has set in motion. At dawn tomorrow, this city will weep tears of blood," he says...

Outside of de Coligny's house, two guards are complaining to each other about having to guard the Huguenot. Just out of sight, Steven and the Doctor wait, realizing they must get past the guards to get to the gate behind which sits the TARDIS. Suddenly, a troop of guards come up to the two who are waiting. An officer tells the two guards they are relieved. The two guards leave just as the Tocsin bell, indicating the end of the curfew. The Doctor and Steven manage to run past as the guards begin to hammer on de Coligny's door. "Open up! In the King's name! Open this door!" the officer calls...

The TARDIS dematerializes as the mob begins to boil over...the great Massacre has begun as various scenes of horror appear...

In the TARDIS control room, Steven and the Doctor stand in silence, a silence Steven finally breaks. "Surely there was something we could have done?" he asks. "No, nothing," says the Doctor sadly. "Nothing. In any case, I cannot change the course of history, you know that. The Massacre continued for several days in Paris, then...then spread itself to other parts of France. Oh the senseless waste. What a terrible page of the past." Steven asks if everyone died. "Yes. Most of them. About ten thousand in Paris alone." The Admiral? "Yes," says the Doctor. Nicholas? "Probably," says the Doctor, almost in a whisper. "You had to leave Anne Chaplet, there to die!" Steven says. The Doctor is at a loss. "The girl! The girl who was with me! If you'd brought her with us she needn't have died. But no, you had to leave her there to be slaughtered," Steven yells. "Well, it is possible of course she didn't die, then I was right to leave her," the Doctor says, somewhat lamely. "Possible!" snaps Steven. "Look, how possible! That girl was already hunted by the Catholic guards. If they killed ten thousand how did they spare her? No, you don't know, do you? You can't say for certain that you weren't responsible for that girl's death." "I was not responsible," insists the Doctor. "Oh no!" responds Steven. "You just sent her back to her aunt's house where the guards were waiting to catch her. I tell you this much, Doctor, wherever this machine of yours lands next I'm getting off. If your... 'researches' have so little regard for human life then I want no part of it." An awkward silence falls between the two men. And then the control console stops moving. "We've landed," the Doctor says, and asks his friend if his mind is really made up. Steven looks at the control console, checking to make sure the atmosphere is safe. He activates the scanner and sees a pastoral scene. He opens the TARDIS doors. Before he can leave, the Doctor says, "My dear Steven, history sometimes gives us a terrible shock. That is because we don't quite fully understand. Why should we? After all, we're all too small to realise its final pattern. Therefore, don't try and judge it from where you stand. I was right to do as I did. Yes, that I firmly believe." Without another word, without looking back, Steven leaves the TARDIS. The Doctor is alone, totally alone for the first time since we've known him. He sits in the chair. "Even after all this time he cannot understand," he says to himself. "I dare not change the course of history. Well, at least I taught him to take some precautions. He did remember to look at the scanner before he opened the doors. Now... they're all gone. All gone. None of them could understand. Not even...my little Susan...or Vicki...and yes... Barbara and Chatterton--Chesterton! They were all too impatient to get back to their own time. And now... Steven. Perhaps I should go home, back to my own planet. But I can't. I can't."

Outside the TARDIS, on Wimbledon Common, a teenage girl sees the "Police Box" and, passing a watching woman, runs inside to find...

...The control room of the TARDIS! She stares around her and is startled when the Doctor sharply asks her who she is. Recovering, she asks where the telephone is. "Oh, pull yourself together, child," the Doctor says. "I... I think you've made a mistake." She asks him if he is the police. The Doctor is amused at the thought. "Well, this is a police box," she says. "It says so outside." "Yes, yes. I, I know," he says. "But it isn't, if you know what I mean. Now run along and find another police box. In any case, child, what do you want to do with the police?" "There's been an accident. A little boy's been hurt and I've got to phone the police," she says. The Doctor tells her he can't help her and suggests she find another police box. Suddenly, the girl really seems to see her surroundings. "Wait a minute, if this isn't a police box, what is it?" she asks. "And who are you?" "Well, my dear, er, I'm a doctor of science, and this machine is for travelling through time and relative dimensions in space," he tells her, and tries to get her to leave. "There's something odd going on..." she says. Suddenly, Steven runs into the ship, telling the Doctor they have to take off. "Oh, so you've come back, my boy!" says the Doctor delightedly. Steven says yes, but there isn't time--two policemen are coming towards the TARDIS! "Policemen?" says the Doctor. "Coming here? Good gracious me! They'll want to use the telephone or, or something like it." He closes the doors and dematerializes the ship, then turns to Steven and asks the astronaut why he came back. Before Steven can answer, he notices the girl. "How did you get in here?" he asks. "On me feet, the same as you did," she replies. "Look, do you realise what's happening?" Steven asks. "We've taken off! We could land anywhere!" The girl sounds more excited than frightened, even when Steven explains, "We're travelling in time and space. We're not on Earth any more. We could land anywhere in any age." She laughs, disbelieving. Steven turns to the Doctor. "Doctor, how could you?" he asks. "What else could I do, dear boy?" says the Doctor. "You don't want a couple of policemen aboard the TARDIS do you? You know you're the most inconsistent young man? Just now you were telling me off for not having that Chaplet girl aboard!" This is different, insists Steven, and tells the girl this "isn't a joyride." The girl doesn't care; she tells them she has no parents and lives with a great-aunt who "won't care if she never sees me again." The Doctor is delighted. "Don't you think she looks rather like my grandchild Susan?" he asks, but Steven reminds the Doctor that he never met Susan. "Oh, no, no, no," the Doctor says. "No, of course not! No. Yes, but she does you know." He asks the girl her name, and both he and Steven are a little surprised when she replies, "Dodo." "It's Dorothea really," she explains. "Dorothea Chaplet." Steven is astonished. "Chaplet?" he gasps. "Yes, but you're not French are you?" "Don't be daft!" Dodo says. "Me granddad was though." Steven turns to the Doctor. "Doctor, it's not possible is it?" he asks. "Chaplet? Anne's great great..." The Doctor smiles. "Yes, yes, it is possible, my boy," he says. "Very possible. Welcome aboard the TARDIS, Miss Dorothea Chaplet." "Dodo!" she corrects him. "Ah, my dear! My dear!" says the Doctor and he laughs in delight....

---
WHEW!

Ketina's VERY Paraphasey Transcript Thing

H: Historian
K: Ketina
R: Ronelyn
Sc: Schmallturm
S: Spoo
M: MisterMother
P: Photobug
C: Cz

H: So, Massacre, huh?

S: Massacre, I didn’t even know her! Well, it sure didn’t take long for things to go downhill.

H: Plot wise or story wise?
Sp: Not quality wise. Downwards into the gaping maw of history.

M: Story wise it seemed like a cop out. Oh, we’ve got to go. Now!

S: As opposed to parking on a hill and eating some popcorn?

H: As opposed to "The Fires of Pompeii"?

M: The disappointing part was the way they go to the climax of the story, the Doctor pops out with no explanation, and then they just pop off.

H: Obviously the Doctor set up some kind of plan with Preslin. Yet we never go the pay off. They’d written themselves into a corner, because they couldn’t have really done anything during the actual massacre.

S: And that’s kind of the point.

H: The Doctor can’t change history, and as he says it’s difficult to understand why things happen, even he can’t see the full scope of history.

M: Yet, anyway.

S: Spoilers!

H: Sweetie…

Sc: I thought the Doctor’s monologue at the end was revealing. It’s the first time I remember them saying he’s from another planet.

H: They did say that in the first episode, but this is the first time we see him completely alone.

Sc: And it’s interesting that he says that he doesn’t dare change history, not that he can’t change history.

M: And he talks about how he can’t go back to his home planet. It’s the first time we see the private thoughts of the Doctor. He’s more than just a doddering old man.

H: It lays out the whole philosophical part of the Doctor and the show here.

P: It lays a giant seed here. It shows that he really does need the companions. It’s not an optional thing. And it lays out that there is a moral dilemma going on with him that we hadn’t seen until now, and he lays it out in one go that he really feels the burden of history. This is really the ah-ha moment to me.

S: Which is why it really works story wise for the Doctor to just up and leave the moment that he understands the date. When he knows the massacre is the next day, he has to avoid the avalanche and up and leave. Anything he was doing off screen for the last two days is just gone. Drop and run.

H: And get Steven out.

M: Steven was pissed off that he abandoned Anne. But as far as the Doctor’s concerned, Anne’s fate was sealed. But if Steven died that would be all the Doctor’s fault.

S: All of that makes the Doctor a more interesting hero.

H: The companions who he has had a choice with – Vicki and Steven, were both people in situations he knew there wouldn’t be repercussions for taking them into the TARDIS. Katarina, who he didn't have a choice about, died, and likely would have died in Troy. Ian and Barbara, he returned home. It was telling that the Doctor went off with Dodo because he had to, but also he noted that she looked like his granddaughter. That’s interesting and shows that, like Vicki, he really sees her as sort of a "granddaughter substitute;" something that really continues through the history of the series.

S: The companions were rather interchangeable here. “This cat looked like our old cat! Let’s keep her.”

P: He’s got granddaughter time complex.

H: He wants someone to take care of.

Sc: I kind of have a problem with the Doctor… not that he’s against altering the course of history, but altering history in the past. In the future he can run around killing Daleks. But from about Rome to the present day he can’t alter history.

P: He’s careful about altering the history of Earth. But it’s important to him to prevent outside forces from interfering.

H: There are two historical story types. The first type, as in "The Aztecs", he tries to keep history from being changed. The second type is where the Doctor becomes the agent of history, like in "The Romans" where he accidentally gives Nero the idea to burn Rome, and in "The Myth Makers" where he gives them the idea of the Trojan Horse. He is what brings history about. But so far we haven’t seen him intentionally try to change history.

M: Basically he changes it by accident when he doesn’t know the history, or avoids changing it when he does.

Sc: What about the future episodes where he is involved doing stuff? From this Doctor Who I’m seeing an inconsistency.

M: The Daleks may not be part of his history. Might be in his future.

P: It’s the arrogance of the Time Lords.

H: The idea of the Time Lords hasn’t been introduced yet, though. But we can talk about the difference between the Doctor and the Monk.

S: It’s about intention. How comfortable he is. He’s doing what he can, and he understands the time of the Daleks better. It’s a stretch.

Sc: That’s sort of what I’m saying. We can come up with explanations, but there’s an inconsistency in the story.

M: It’s not an inconsistency if it’s not his history.

H: In the historicals he tried not to change history. In the science fiction stories it doesn’t matter.

S: That’s cheating, Historian.

P: What was the “Chatterton” bit?

H: He always gets Ian Chesterton’s name wrong. It started as a “Billy Fluff” but it became a running gag.

K: It didn’t look like a fluff this time.

H: He might have done it on purpose.

R: Chatterton really summed up a lot of the Doctor’s feeling about Ian. That was nice.

H: That final speech is just amazing.

M: I think that’s a little of Hartnell missing…

S: Better actors?

H: William Russell. But it was made clear that William Hartnell did miss the original cast and crew. He was upset that they left. From what everybody says, he did not deal well with change.

P: Neither would I be at that age.

H: Actually, he was only 55 when he took the role.

P: He looks older. Was he wearing makeup?

H: Just the wig.

S: I thought the dialogue, before everybody died, was really cool. As things rushed into the massacre, it was impressive. “You don’t need a list. Just set everybody on fire!”

M: It sure made Catherine Di Medici very, very evil.

H: The interesting question that this doesn’t address is how did she persuade the king to sign the order?

M: She sat on him.

P: She nagged him until he did it. My point was that this is probably fulfilling the kid’s education aspect of the show more than anything else. I think it’s pretty powerful in this story line.

Sc: The actual massacre we saw was these gruesome woodcut things. Is that was they showed in the original episode, or was that the recon?

H: Yeah, that is what they showed. I knew that kind of thing was coming, but I didn’t realize it would be as graphic as it was.

Sc: Would they have had problems getting that past the censors?

H: I’m pretty sure that the woodcuts were part of the original plan. It’s more effective and a lot cheaper.

Sc: It’s interesting that it could get past the censors, but real pictures of that sort of violence certainly would not have.

H: Historical documents.

R: And it’s for the kiddies.

C: I got nothing to say. Yes, I did enjoy it. But no comment!

H: Okay then. How about the Doctor leaving Anne? The Doctor had no idea who she was…

P: Who was she? Historically?

H: She’s a fictional character. But I can totally understand why Steven just thought it was stone cold to leave her.

R: But I can see the Doctor pointing out that the last one [Historical companion, that is...] we had went so well…

H: Well, at least Anne knows what a key is.

M: The last time the Doctor rescued someone from a massacre it didn’t turn out so well for the person they rescued.

P: Okay, but look at it from Katarina’s view point. Before she died, she got to travel with a god!

H: True. But getting back to Anne for a second, at least the Doctor told her to “Stay indoors tomorrow! Don’t go out!” So it’s not like he abandoned her completely.

S: But he did meddle. Because then she produced a Dodo eventually.

H: When Steven asked if she died, the Doctor said probably. But, if Dodo’s last name is Chaplet, what does it say if Anne had a child. Why wouldn’t Anne’s child have her father’s name?

K: Who’s the dad?

H: The implication is that Anne had a bastard child, not that the father of the child was someone specific. Dodo’s cockney accent is awful.

M: Certainly in her initial appearance, Dodo lives up to her name.

H: Jackie Lane is so abused!

S: Flashing some very British teeth there. [In one of the stills used in the recon, Ms. Lane's smile is...not the best.]

R: And classic Steven slack jawed look.

H: So, final thoughts?

S: Slow to start, but ended up being pretty gripping, profound, insightful, and fun.

M: The story in general was about how religion can be dangerous and how Machiavellian use can result in violence. In this era it was used as a political tool more than anything else.

H: But I don’t see that from the Protestant side. We more talked about it than any actual..

M: The two religious camps were synonymous with political camps at this point in history. The founding of the Church of England was a political act.

R: And the king wanting to get in someone’s pants.

H: There was a real religious reason for the Church of England too. [MisterMother and I began an argument about the English Reformation, but let's leave that.] But anyway, we’re going off topic here.

M: Anyway, as I said earlier, Dodo sure does live up to her name.

P: It’s a deep well to dive into religion. Call it brave, if you will. I thought the story was slow in points this episode especially. It was uncaffeinated actors.

S: Works for me.

P: We haven’t heard music.

K: There was music in the woodcuts scene.

R: The kettledrum that’s showed up so much.

P: I also thought that the royalty aspect laid out the evil of the situation. That insight shaped the perception for me.

R: “What of the innocent?” “What of them?” “Okay then…”

Sc: I think this episode was about the Doctor, and I was surprised that he left Anne behind. That was a mean thing. And the actual massacre was just something that happened in the background. That’s what I thought was going on. But I liked this arc, although I knew the historical background, which made it more interesting.

R: I had various witty comments at the start which fled when I became engrossed in the story. I thought it worked very well, I liked the Doctor’s speech a lot. And I was impressed with the woodcuts. Lots of little British kids watching the TV with their minds blown. Cannot un-see that! That would have made an impression if I saw it when I was a kid.

K: History was boring.

H: Did it finally start working for you at all?

K: I did like the Doctor’s speech, Steven’s rant and march out of the TARDIS… I couldn’t remember if he was in the next story, so I wasn’t sure if he was coming back.

S: It was a mild cheat that he came back. That was a good exit.

R: But it worked. He took a principled stand, but he’s loyal to the Doctor. He’s angry, but he recognized the good things that the Doctor had done, and he was still his friend.

S: I like Steven the hothead better.

K: I agree with Spoo. I think most of the time Steven is an idiot. And it was cool to see him badass, even for only 30 seconds. Dodo is random.

P: As someone who didn’t know what’s next, I was under the impression that she wasn’t saying. I thought she was too simple for the Doctor.

S: Not too simple for the vacuum of space! “Quick test lass, use this key, ere not the inside of this TARDIS you see.”

H: Well, I’m going to have a wrap up post, so I won't say too much here. But this episode gave us, which we haven’t had so much before, was a philosophy for the show. Both from the companion or Steven’s point of view, and the Doctor’s point of view.

K: Steven’s stuff reminded me a lot of Ian’s stuff too.

H: It gives you a bigger scope of not just history. For the first time you see the scope of the companion and the Doctor, which made it really interesting. The Doctor understands the responsibility, but a human can’t. This story lived up to the high expectations I had for it. I’d been waiting to see this last episode because of the two speeches, and they did not disappoint.

K: Too bad they had to follow the speeches with the horrible Dodo scene.

Sp: *singing* Doe, doe, doe-doe, doe…

---

And there you have it, "The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve." I hope I've been able to give you some idea of the story in my summaries, but I'd very much recommend visiting Loose Cannon Productions and finding out how to get a copy of the recon to watch yourself. I'll have a lot more to say in my wrapup post, but for now I'll just say that I'm looking forward to seeing some moving pictures next week! Yes, a complete story! Until then, I remain

THE HISTORIAN

NEXT WEEK: "THE STEEL SKY"