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
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| 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 | 19 April 1969 | ||
| Last broadcast | 21 June 1969 | ||
| Chronology | |||
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The War Games is the seventh and final serial of the sixth season of 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
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 whence they were taken. The aliens' 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 of the Time Lords, calling himself the War Chief.
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. 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 being 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 (and pronounced "side-rat") an inversion of the name TARDIS. This name is used only once on-screen during the serial, and then merely in passing,[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 Second Doctor's appearance in Terrance Dicks' BBC Books Eighth Doctor Adventures novel, The Eight Doctors, occurs during this story.
- A flashback in Terrance Dicks' 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. The subsequent novel World Game elaborates on this flashback by looking at the circumstances that lead to the Time Lords offering the Doctor a pardon and his known sentence of regeneration and exile in exchange for helping them deal with various problems that they could not be officially involved in (His original sentence would have been execution).
Firsts
- For the first time, this serial names the Doctor's race as the "Time Lords". His reasons for leaving and the fact that he stole the TARDIS are also revealed (although other aspects of his backstory remain a mystery).
- 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.
- 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 is further explored in the later audio Legend of the Cybermen, where Zoe carries out tests and learns that she has aged two years, concluding that she spent that time with the Doctor.
- Episode 10 is the last episode of the original series to be produced in black and white.
Production
Template:Doctor Who episode head
As the TARDIS crew try to escape the Time Lords in episode 10, brief clips from The Web of Fear, Fury from the Deep and The Wheel in Space are used to show the TARDIS in locations supposedly out of the Time Lords' reach.[4]
Cast notes
- Terence Bayler had previously played Yendom in The Ark.
- Hubert Rees had previously appeared in Fury from the Deep and would return for The Seeds of Doom.
- Edward Brayshaw had previously played Leon Colbert in The Reign of Terror.
- James Bree later played Nefred in Full Circle and the Keeper of the Matrix in The Ultimate Foe.
- Vernon Dobtcheff later played Shamur in the Fifth Doctor audio drama The Children of Seth.[5]
- Leslie Schofield later played Calib in The Face of Evil.
- Peter Craze had previously played Dako in The Space Museum and would appear again as Costa in Nightmare of Eden.
- David Savile would later appear as Winser in The Claws of Axos and as Colonel Crichton in The Five Doctors.
- Bernard Horsfall (First Time Lord) had previously appeared as Lemuel Gulliver in The Mind Robber, and would subsequently play Taron in Planet of the Daleks and Chancellor Goth in The Deadly Assassin. In 2003 he appeared in Davros, a Doctor Who audio drama produced by Big Finish Productions.
- Philip Madoc had previously appeared in The Krotons as Eelek, and the film Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD as Dalek collaborator, Brockley. He would go on to play Doctor Solon in The Brain of Morbius and Fenner in The Power of Kroll.
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.
In February 2011, an audiobook of the novelisation was released, read by David Troughton.[6] Template:Doctor Who book
VHS and DVD 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 were located at the BFI, and were used for the DVD release which occurred on 6 July 2009.[7]
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 10 January 2010.
- ^ 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) - ^ Howe, David J.; Walker, Stephen James (1998). "The War Games: Things to watch out for...". Doctor Who: The Television Companion. London: BBC Worldwide. p. 173. ISBN 0-563-40588-0.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) - ^ "Doctor Who: The Lost Stories - The Children of Seth". Big Finish. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
- ^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Games-Classic-Novels/dp/1408468336/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1301941357&sr=8-2
- ^ 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
Reviews
Target novelisation