Most people are no doubt familiar with the Doctor Who of the ‘70s and ‘80s starring Tom Baker – thanks to endless re-runs. Then in 2005 everyone was introduced to the revitalised Doctor Who series but did you know that the 2005 series was actually season number 27? This is following a movie in 1995 that is part of the canon too. So where did it all begin? Let me load you into an imaginary TARDIS as we travel back to the year... 1965.

Back then, you see, not only was television technology and acting quality more rudimentary than what we are used to today, but the BBC was even more strapped for cash. The end result is a wonderful ride back to the time of blissfully naive sci-fi, black and white reproductions and laughably unreal sets.

The Romans is the Doctor’s first visit to 64AD and the time of Rome and Nero. The Doctor and his four companions get separated and all make their own way to Rome and have adventures with slave traders, banquets and the Caesar himself. This episode has quite a bit of “humour” scattered throughout, interspersed with madness and brutality. At least, that’s what is attempted. It’s all tinted with 40 year-old production values, of course.

Make no bones about it – this is a low quality episode. Clearly they could only work with one camera, one sound boom, and limited editing tools. This gives us varying sound levels which can make the characters a little hard to understand at times, laughable set pieces, and even misspoken lines. Having said that though, these are the things that make an old classic like this so much fun!

The original Doctor, played by William Hartnell is played more as a ‘nutty professor’ as compared to the later incarnations. He appears to have misplaced his wits most of the time, but is able to tap into a vast knowledge and able to grab clarity just in time to see through the puzzle and save the day. The Doctor’s evolution throughout the years is fascinating and it’s great to see where it all began.

The special effects, such as Rome’s skyline (an obvious scale model) are what you can expect here. This is all augmented with cheesy settings, and fairly poor acting. You’ll get some chuckles from The Doctor’s “emperor’s new clothes” routine, and the “sword fighting” in the poorest representation of Circus Maximus ever screened.

The writing is passable, however, with some classic moments – such as the old hallway-with-many-doors-chase routine which has clearly been around since at least the 1960’s.

This four-part episode has very little sci-fi and is more of a history adventure, but it’s unlikely a modern audience is watching this for any science fiction anyway. You’ll need an appreciation of classic television, really, but if you do, it’s worth a few chuckles. There are no special features on this disc.