Sometime around 1978 I was channel surfing the way we used to in the days before Cable: (We turned the knob) and on Channel 12 in Rhodie Island I found a strange TV show with a fellow with a long scarf traveling in a blue box.
I thought it was cool but didn’t note the time but several months later on another Saturday I turned on the TV and found the very same episode on the very same channel. Shortly after that I discovered Channel 2 and I was hooked.
I was big into history and that episode not only took place in the past but took place in 15th century Italy. You couldn’t find a combination more likely to attract me. If I had managed to find the episode before or the episode afterward I might not have been so excited, but the Masque of Mandragora started me off and the rest was history.
It’s a good episode but not my favorite, it’s not even my favorite episode of season 14 (The Deadly Assassin) but because it was my first experience of the character it holds a special place to me.
Imagiane my surprise and delight when I discovered that BBC Worldwide has all four episodes available for free viewing online. They don’t allow an embed but the direct link is here if you want to give it a shot.
You will have to set up an English Proxy Server if you want to watch it.
