The War Games
| 050 – The War Games | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor Who serial | |||
| File:War Games.jpg The Doctor and his friends are caught in the middle of World War I... or are they? | |||
| Cast | |||
Others
| |||
| Production | |||
| Directed by | David Maloney | ||
| Written by | Malcolm Hulke Terrance Dicks | ||
| Script editor | Terrance Dicks (uncredited) | ||
| Produced by | Derrick Sherwin | ||
| Executive producer(s) | None | ||
| Production code | ZZ | ||
| Series | Season 6 | ||
| Running time | 10 episodes, 25 minutes each | ||
| First broadcast | April 19–June 21, 1969 | ||
| Chronology | |||
| |||
The War Games is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June, 1969. It was the last regular appearance of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, and of Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines as companions Zoe Heriot and Jamie McCrimmon. It is the 50th story of the series, and the last Doctor Who serial to be recorded in black and white.
Plot
Synopsis
On an alien planet the Doctor uncovers a diabolic plot to conquer the universe, with brainwashed soldiers abducted from Earth forced to fight in simulated environments, reflecting the periods in history from whence they were taken. The alien's aim is to produce a super army from the survivors; to this end, they have been aided by a renegade from the Doctor's own race: the Time Lords.
Joining forces with rebel soldiers, who have broken their conditioning, the Doctor and his companions foil the plan and stop the fighting. But the Doctor admits he needs the help of the Time Lords to return the soldiers to their own times, but in asking risks capture for his own past crimes including the theft of the TARDIS. After sending the message he and his companions attempt to evade capture, but are caught.
Having returned the soldiers to Earth, the Time Lords erase Zoe and Jamie's memories of travelling with the Doctor, and return them to the point in time just before they entered the TARDIS. They then place the Doctor on trial for stealing the TARDIS and breaking the rule of non-interference. The Doctor presents a spirited defence citing his many battles against the evils of the universe. Accepting this defence the Time Lords announce his punishment is exile to Earth. In addition the operation of the TARDIS is wiped from his memory and his next regeneration is imposed.
Continuity
- Patrick Troughton later reprised the role of the Second Doctor in The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors and The Two Doctors. In The Five Doctors he expresses knowledge of events of the final episode of this serial, on the face of it a chronological impossibility. In The Two Doctors he is on an assignment for the Time Lords, which is incompatible with the events seen here. These facts gave rise to the Season 6B theory, enabled by the aforementioned lack of on-screen depiction of the regeneration.
- The Doctor again faces trial in The Trial of a Time Lord, the beginning of which refers to this previous trial.
- The time machines designed by the War Chief and used by the War Lords are called SIDRATs, an inversion of the name TARDIS. Though this name is used only once, and then merely in passing, on-screen during the serial (and pronounced "side-rat")[1], the expanded acronym is revealed to stand for "Space and Inter-Dimensional Robot All-purpose Transporter" in the 1979 novelisation by Malcolm Hulke. It is repeated in the Virgin New Adventures novel Timewyrm: Exodus by Terrance Dicks, which forms a sequel to The War Games.
- The Doctor struggles to make himself understood to a French-speaking soldier. This is in contrast to (much) later episodes where it is explained that the TARDIS acts as a 'translator' enabling easy communication between races/species. It also contradicts the events of The Reign of Terror, where the Doctor spoke perfect French.
- The Second Doctor's appearance in Terrance Dicks' BBC Books Eighth Doctor Adventures novel, The Eight Doctors, occurs during this story.
- A flashback in Terrance Dick's BBC books Past Doctor Adventures novel Players depicts the Second Doctor during season 6B encountering Carstairs and Lady Jennifer during the real First World War with their memories of this serial erased by the Time Lords.
Firsts
- For the first time, this serial names the Doctor's race as the "Time Lords". Although his home planet (Gallifrey) is seen, it would not be referenced by name until The Time Warrior (1973). His reasons for leaving Gallifrey, and the fact that he stole the TARDIS, are also revealed (although other aspects of his backstory remain a mystery).
- Aside from the Doctor and Susan, the War Chief is the second person of the Doctor's race (after the Meddling Monk) to appear in the television series. It is also established here that Time Lords instinctively recognise each other despite the regeneration.
- Again the concept of regeneration is presented but not named in this serial, following The Tenth Planet/The Power of the Daleks. The Time Lords refer to the process as a change of appearance. The process was eventually named in Planet of the Spiders, then retroactively attributed to the earlier two changes of actors.
- While Troughton's Doctor is sentenced to a forced regeneration at the end of this serial, we do not actually see him regenerate into the Third Doctor (who first appears — briefly wearing the Troughton costume — in the next serial, Spearhead from Space). The only other Doctor not to receive an on-screen regeneration is the Eighth Doctor, who has already regenerated into the Ninth Doctor at the start of the 2005 series.
- In the first Episode, the Second Doctor kisses Zoe on the forehead.[2] This display of platonic affection is the first time that the Doctor kisses one of his companions.
Lasts
- In the final episode, the Time Lords wipe Zoe's mind and return her to the Wheel, where she encounters Tanya Lernov, a character from The Wheel in Space. A set from The Wheel in Space was rebuilt and actress Clare Jenkins (Tanya) rehired for this one scene.[3] The Big Finish Productions audio drama Fear of the Daleks shows an older Zoe having detailed dreams of her adventures with the Doctor, suspecting that something is blocking her memory, and seeing a psychiatric counsellor in an effort to understand the "dreams".
- This marks the last appearance of the TARDIS Control Room until The Claws of Axos in 1971, though the removed TARDIS console would be seen in the Doctor's UNIT headquarters laboratory in The Ambassadors of Death, and in a hut on the grounds of the titular project in Inferno.
- Episode 10 is the last episode of the original series to be produced in black and white.
Production
Template:Doctor Who episode head
Commercial releases
This serial was released in the UK February 1990 in a two-tape set in episodic form. It was re-released in remastered format in September 2002. Since this VHS re-release, better quality film prints of the story have been located at the BFI, and were used for the DVD release.[4] The DVD was released on July 6 2009 and is a 3 disc set,[4] with a commentary provided by Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Philip Madoc, Graham Weston, Jane Sherwin, Terrance Dicks and Derrick Sherwin.
In print
A novelisation of this serial, written by Malcolm Hulke, was published by Target Books in September 1979, entitled Doctor Who and The War Games. Despite the length of the serial, Hulke was allotted only 143 pages in which to adapt the 10-episode script, the third longest Doctor Who serial. By comparison, the later novelisation of the second longest serial, the 12-episode The Daleks' Master Plan, was published in two volumes, each of which were much longer than Hulke's book, while four books were used to novelise the longest serial, the 14-episode The Trial of a Time Lord.
References
- ^ Cornell, Paul, Martin Day, & Keith Topping, Doctor Who: The Discontinuity Guide, Virgin Books, 1995, p. 104; episode 7 timecode 3:05 "...While the Sidrat is still moving..."
- ^ "Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide". Retrieved 2010-01-10.
- ^ Wood, Tat (2006). About Time 2: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who: 1966–1969, Seasons 4 to 6. Des Moines, Iowa: Mad Norwegian Press. ISBN 0-9759446-1-4.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b http://www.purpleville.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/rtwebsite/TheWarGamesDVD.htm
External links
- The War Games at BBC Online
- Template:Brief
- Template:Doctor Who RG
- Doctor Who Locations - The War Games
- Doctor Who Restoration Team - The War Games