That Your Excellency Would Be An Impossibissity!

Transcript of the Back2theWhoture team livetweeting The Romans for inclusion in TTZ9

Right. Togas on folks, doormice and honey for snack food at the ready. We're about to begin our livetweeting on The Romans #doctorwho

The Slave Traders!

Ian lounging in the villa is reminiscent of the fantasy in The Keys of Marinus

Vicki scampering along looks very happy to be in ancient Rome

The design work on the Roman market is fantastic

Ohhh look at that harp playing old geezer, he looks a bit like Hartnell...

Scenes of the TARDIS crew in the villa are so lovely, the crew all getting along fantastically

The First Doctor loves his food doesn't he? nom nom nom

"What do you think I am? A goldfish!"

Haha the Doctor calls Ian "Chesterfield", Barbara corrects with "Chesterton" and the Doc repies "There you are boy Barbara's calling you"!

Ohhhhhhhhhh Ian and Barbara are sooooo in love!

Oh no! Barbara hits Ian!

The Doctor disarms the Roman Centurion with wit and bluster FTW!

"She keeps an eye on all the lyres!" hahahaha

Oh, that ended a bit suddenly!

All Roads Lead to Rome

Hahaha Hartnell kicks ass!!

ROMA! Yeah that doesn't look like a model.

Ok I take it back, the Roman Galleon is impressive!

It's the oldest trick in the book.... and that's why the Roman slave master doesn't fall for it!

Haha I bet the stage hand who got to throw the bucket of water over them had fun!

It's interesting how it plays with the comedic conventions of farce despite the somewhate brutal setting

Hahaha Hartnell and Nero are a hoot together!

"That your excellency would be an impossibissity!" #billyfluffs

Stock footage lion montage as cliffhanger!

Conspiracy!

Boom mic in shot when Nero and Poppea are discussing the banquet

Is that Nero trying to hide his boner?! That's a bit risque for kids TV!

The Doctor naked in a sauna! Alas for the fangirls it's Hartnell not Tennant!

Is the Doctor going to be poisoned? Time for the HARVEY WALLBANGER!

Would Vicki really be so naive as to risk such a massive alteration to the timeline?

Priceless moment at Nero poisons his hapless slave!

So actually Vicki is responsible for Locusta's death?

Fantastic scene as the Doctor plays the lyre for everybody. "He's alright but he's not all that good!"

Now that Ian's seen Barbara he's determined to fight for his freedom but he still has that basic decency that he can't bring himself to kill

Pausing for tea and birthday cake before we go on to Inferno (Ep 4 of the Romans if you're just tuning in, not the Pertwee one)

Right on we go

Huzzah, Ian and Delos both escape!

"I've got a friend who specialises in trouble. He just dives in and usually finds a way"

Ohhh the Doctor has his specs! Didn't realise this was a Hartnell thing

Haha Hartnell is clearly having a whale of a time in this story! "I'll make it a roaring success!"

"I'll have you killed over and over again!"

Did the Doctor set fire to the plans on purpose?

So Tavius was a Christian all along!

Vicki's enjoyment of seeing history come alive is a delight

The Doctor's protestations about interferring with history seems to be a rule he constantly breaks anyway!

So what do you all think of The Romans? #doctorwho

The Editor was expecting it to be hilarious based on reputation and wasn't prepared for the quite strong brutality

Its an interesting juxtoposition between high farce and the darker elements, particularly Ian & Barbara's subplots

Al notes that Doctor Who always has such imagination and the few b&w ones he's seen are just as good as the color

Huzzah for Hartnell!

Right in a few minutes we're going to time travel 15 years in to the future and visit Pompeii in 79AD

RT @m_robertson_UK Without the veneer of comedy, stories of slavery, torture, rape, murder and sadistic violence could never be shown