“When in Rome, do as the Romans do… which apparently involves murder plots, mistaken identities, and setting the entire city on fire.”
Short Synopsis
The Doctor and his companions decide to take a vacation in ancient Rome. Naturally, the Doctor is mistaken for a famous musician, Ian and Barbara get kidnapped (again), and Nero himself turns up for some drunken slapstick. History takes a left turn as the Doctor accidentally inspires the Great Fire of Rome. Oops.
Extended Storyline
After the grimness of The Rescue, the TARDIS crew need a breather. Lucky for them, they land in a villa just outside ancient Rome. Even luckier, the actual villa’s owners are out of town. So naturally, the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and their new recruit Vicki move in like squatters on vacation. Cue several episodes of lounging, bantering, and — in the Doctor’s case — getting a bit too smug about Roman wine.
But of course, nothing in Doctor Who stays peaceful for long. Ian and Barbara, attempting to enjoy a nice Roman stroll, are immediately kidnapped by slavers. (At this point, being abducted is practically Barbara’s brand.) Ian gets chained up on a galley ship in full Ben-Hur fashion, while Barbara ends up on the auction block and sold into servitude in Nero’s palace. Because obviously.
Meanwhile, the Doctor and Vicki get their own sitcom plot. While pretending to be on holiday, the Doctor stumbles into a case of mistaken identity: he’s assumed to be Maximus Pettulian, a renowned lyre player summoned to perform for Emperor Nero himself. The real Maximus was recently assassinated, but why let a little thing like murder stop the Doctor from winging it? Confident he can fake his way through a lyre recital, the Doctor proceeds to bluff, banter, and improvise his way through the Roman court. (Spoiler: it works, mostly because Hartnell absolutely nails the “smug old man trolling the Emperor” routine.)
Nero, played as part villain and part drunken vaudeville act, quickly develops a thing for Barbara. She spends most of the story trying to dodge both his advances and the lethal jealousy of his wife, Poppaea. Cue classic sitcom farce: Barbara sneaks around corridors, Ian storms in at the wrong moments, and the Doctor blunders past without realizing half the drama going on.
The highlight comes when the Doctor is forced to “perform” his lyre skills before Nero. Instead of actually playing, he announces that he’s performing in the “style of modern music.” Translation: he strums silently, gestures dramatically, and lets Nero’s sycophantic court burst into applause. Honestly, it’s one of the best early Doctor moments, proving Hartnell’s Doctor can do comedy as well as gravitas.
Eventually, Ian escapes the galley after a spectacular fight, tracks Barbara down, and together they flee the palace. The Doctor and Vicki, meanwhile, accidentally give Nero the idea of setting fire to the city when they joke about urban redevelopment. Nero, delighted by this suggestion, gleefully sets his capital ablaze, fiddle in hand. The Doctor, realizing his casual remark sparked the Great Fire of Rome, decides maybe it’s time to leave before history books start blaming him.
The four companions regroup, exhausted, and stumble back into the TARDIS. Vacation over, history accidentally set on fire, and Barbara probably wondering why she ever signed up for this trip in the first place.