TEXT: THE ROMANS DENNIS SPOONER 5:40pm - 6:05pm [SCENE_BREAK] 1: INT. ROME. CELLS IAN: The arena? DELOS: Well, it sounds as if we're going to be trained as gladiators? IAN: Yes, but to fight what? (They hear a roaring sound from outside the barred window.) IAN: Listen! (IAN rushes to the window. The WOMAN SLAVE who BARBARA helped earlier watches them from the cage next to theirs. Outside the window, IAN sees several cages containing pacing, ravenous Lions. IAN looks at DELOS and walks away from the window with a grim look on his face.) [SCENE_BREAK] 2: INT. PALACE CORRIDOR (NERO walks down one of the many corridors of the place, strumming his lyre. TIGILINUS accompanies him, noting down the "composition" as they go. Another slave follows. NERO looks at what has been written, takes the quill pen out of TIGILINUS'S hand, scribbles out what he has written and finally thrusts the lyre over TIGILINUS'S head and storms off. The two slaves hurry after NERO.) [SCENE_BREAK] 3: INT. ANOTHER PALACE CORRIDOR (Elsewhere, VICKI walks along another corridor. At a junction, she meets the DOCTOR.) DOCTOR: Oh, good morning, my dear. Did you sleep well? VICKI: Yes, thanks. Did you? DOCTOR: Oh, so, so. I must confess, I've been giving a great deal of thought to that business of yesterday and, er... (TAVIUS appears round a pillar and hisses at the DOCTOR.) DOCTOR: Oh, there's our hissing friend again! (He leaves VICKI alone and follows TAVIUS round a corner.) DOCTOR: Well? Well? TAVIUS: I haven't got long.
SUMMARY:
Landing in Rome, A.D. 64 the travellers take a rare holiday. While Ian and Barbara are happy to relax, the Doctor and Vicki set off to pursue adventure. However, adventure soon finds Ian and Barbara too as they are kidnapped by slave traders, and the Doctor's imitation of Maximus Pettulian sees him taken to the court of Emperor Nero where he inadvertently plays a part in deciding the course of history...