Day 57: Inferno

This episode features one of the other absolutely major changes that has been made to Doctor Who due to the new script editor, Dennis Spooner. Given that this episode takes place in the court of Caesar Nero, it makes sense to base it around a major historical event, in this case the Great Fire of Rome. And it is here that we see the evolution of the series, given that prior to this episode, the general rule has been, the Doctor and co. do not interfere with historical events. They are observers, particularly active observers yes, but observers all the same. History cannot be changed, not one line, as we learnt in the Aztecs adventure. But from here, things change. The Doctor accidentally sets fire to Nero's plans for the new Rome. Nero sees this, and realises that he could implement these plans by burning down the old Rome. And so, in effect, the Doctor starts the Great Fire of Rome. The changes to the series are now monumental. The Doctor is no longer just an active observer, he is now a participator. They can now make a difference in how history turns out, and so now the historical adventures have an extra dimension to them. Before, if the viewer has a knowledge of the historical period in question, then they can know what will happen, why it will happen and how it will happen. Now, two of those points are not as true as they once were. We did not know that the Great Fire of Rome would occur thanks to the Doctor, and so an extra dimension of interest is found in the series. An extra element of the unknown, if you will.

And that's not even the most important thing here. The important thing is that the Doctor finds the prospect of his accidental participation in history amusing. The old Doctor would be horrified at this, and consider the ramifications of his actions. The new Doctor, though, he finds fun, and is able to laugh at the proceedings. And to make things go full circle, we see that Dennis Spooner has brought fun to the series. It's no longer your simple character based drama, with a helpful serving of adventure. It's lighter now, more enjoyable. Because we might as well have fun whilst travelling the universe.