N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!

Notable not only for being Jamie’s first serial, but also for being the last of Doctor Who‘s pure historical adventures, it’s clear there was also still a bit of thrashing about going on with the Doctor’s characterisation.

“Who is this extraordinary rogue?”

Solicitor Grey, The Highlanders: Episode 1

With what might be classed as the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, I felt that Patrick Troughton had already nailed the part of the Doctor first time out, but over the course of The Highlanders, the Doctor appears almost flippant in the face of terrible violence, affecting dodgy disguises and even dodgier accents in a story that once again walks the plank treads the line between comedy and horror that these historical stories have done since the first season.

As much as I like the pseudo-historical template created by The Time Meddler, I’m going to miss these “true” historicals. To date, just over a third of the stories have used a historical context or character(s) as a major narrative driving force (with the Doctor, his time-travelling companions and the TARDIS being the only science fiction elements) and these (Marco Polo, The Aztecs, The Gunfighters, for example) have been some of my favourite stories.

The Highlanders might not be up with the best of them – as a historical romance it possibly suffers in comparison from coming so soon after the similarly comedic/violent The Smugglers – but it does have a lot going for it, with excellent performances all-round, even the scenery-chewing Trask – or should that be Trarrrrrrrsk!

And of course, without it, there’d be no Jamie – and where would the Second Doctor be without Jamie. ‘Creag an tuire!’