The War Games

Companion Exit, Regeneration, Series Finale

Runtime

250 minutes

Story Type

Time Travel

Future

Tropes (Potential Spoilers!)

Court Trial, The Doctor Falls, The Doctor’s Name, War

Inventory (Potential Spoilers!)

Hypercube, Recorder

Location (Potential Spoilers!)

Gallifrey

Synopsis

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrive on an unnamed planet. At first believing themselves to be in the midst of World War I, they realise it is one of many War Zones overseen by the War Lords, who have kidnapped large numbers of human soldiers in order to create an army to conquer the galaxy. Infiltrating the control base, the Doctor discovers that the War Chief is also a member of his own race. The creeping realisation sets in that the Doctor cannot solve this problem alone, and that his days of wandering may be at an end...

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10 Episodes

Episode One

First aired

Saturday, April 19, 1969

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

5.5 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe realise they have arrived in the trenches of the First World War, where the sinister General Smythe accuses them of espionage.

Episode Two

First aired

Saturday, April 26, 1969

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

6.3 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor and Zoe manage to escape from Ransom and attempt to rescue Jamie from the military prison.

Episode Three

First aired

Saturday, May 3, 1969

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

5.1 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor and his friends realise the area is divided into different time zones and decide to return to the château to obtain a map from Smythe.

Episode Four

First aired

Saturday, May 10, 1969

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

5.7 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor and Zoe are transported to the control centre of the war games while Jamie and Lady Jennifer fall foul of American Revolution soldiers.

Episode Five

First aired

Saturday, May 17, 1969

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

5.1 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor attempts to rescue Zoe and Carstairs while Jamie and Lady Jennifer try to convince the resistance of the true nature of Von Weich and the others.

Episode Six

First aired

Saturday, May 24, 1969

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

.42 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The scientist examines the captured resistance fighters and realises Jamie is a new arrival on the planet while the Doctor, Zoe and Carstairs try to rescue their friends.

Episode Seven

First aired

Saturday, May 31, 1969

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

4.9 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor, Jamie and Carstairs manage to return to the 1917 zone only to be captured by Smythe, who orders the Doctor executed.

Episode Eight

First aired

Saturday, June 7, 1969

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

3.5 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor and the processing machine have been taken by the Aliens but the resistance are making plans to attack the control centre.

Episode Nine

First aired

Saturday, June 14, 1969

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

4.1 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

To prove his loyalty to the Aliens, the Doctor is ordered to reprocess his friends while the Security Chief finally uncovers evidence of the War Chief's treachery.

Episode Ten

First aired

Saturday, June 21, 1969

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

5 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The TARDIS is drawn to the planet of the Time Lords where both the Doctor and the War Lord are placed on trial.

Characters

Second Doctor

Patrick Troughton

Jamie McCrimmon

Frazer Hines

How to watch The War Games:

Watch on iPlayer

DVD

Regeneration

DVD

The War Games

VHS

The War Games (VHS) (Part 1)

VHS

The War Games (VHS) (Part 2)

VHS

The Time Lord Collection (VHS)

Reviews
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13 reviews

This review contains spoilers!

The War Games is one of those well-regarded serials that turns out to be just as good as everyone says it is. It's paced really well - even though there's 10 episodes they never seem to drag or waste time

The War Lord is a fantastic villain, he's understated but still menacing. I also enjoyed the way the arrival of the Time Lords was played for horror, that worked really well. I'm going to miss the Second Doctor

greenLetterT

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Review last edited on 26-04-25

An epic finale for the Second Doctor and this era of the TV show. This really plays into the strengths of the era and what makes it so great. I have my complaints with this era, I'm so glad to have watched it.

A+.

Azurillkirby

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Review last edited on 27-03-25

This review contains spoilers!

The best story of the show so far. Despite being 10 episodes this doesn't drag at all. Soldiers from different time zones being used by the villains who wish to create a superior army. One of the villains being another Time Lord. This being Troughton's last outing makes it all the more sad when it comes for him, Jamie and Zoe to part ways. The end of an era.

Scottybguud

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Review last edited on 27-03-25

This review contains spoilers!

这是一个完美的故事。虽然有一些老版的故事节奏稍显拖沓，但是在这个故事里，你根本不会抱怨怎么还没结束。战争游戏是老版神秘博士非常特殊的一个存在，足足有10集，每集25分钟！无论是作为一个普通故事，还是作为和同伴告别的故事，战争游戏都表现得十分出色。剧情很好的讽刺了人类战争的本质是在自相残杀，还有通过第二任博士之口对二战的评价：“一场结束所有战争的战争”。诸如此类的台词一针见血并且很好地为我们呈现早期博士对战争、洗脑等问题的看法。我们还能在这里看到Jamie和Zoe之间一如既往有趣的互动，以及Jamie小小的性别歧视。音乐编排得很好听，与情节搭配在一起的效果十分好，尤其是一些场景的音乐给我一种在讽刺胸怀大志的爱国志士们为了各自的家国大业奋斗，殊不知只是他人棋盘上的棋子的感觉。最后一集博士在逃避时间领主对他的抓捕时，Patrick Troughton精湛的演技展现了博士内心万分的不情愿。当然，离别是痛苦的，尤其是和Jamie的告别。编剧非常巧妙的设计了两位同伴大部分记忆都被抹去的情节，这使得同伴与博士的告别，亦是观众与2，Zoe，Jamie这一支Tardis团队的告别更加艰难。无论你是只看过新版的观众，还是对神秘博士整个领域十分陌生，都非常推荐这个故事！

paradoxofwho

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Review last edited on 28-01-25

This review contains spoilers!

We now come to my second place choice for the best stories of the Second Doctor with his ten-part epic regeneration story, The War Games! None of which are missing, which is a bloody miracle, I think being Troughton’s final episode and possibly the final episode of the show entirely (given how they were not yet given the greenlight on Season 7) awarded it special treatment.

Now I will say that The War Games is not every fan’s cup of tea, as you read correctly, it is ten parts, which is over four hours long!!! So, if you’re not accustomed to Classic Who’s longer length stories then this will likely burn you out. Also, the villain’s plans for conquering the galaxy and why they’re using humans from various historical wars is admittedly silly. I don’t think they’d have got very far with Romans and WWI soldiers against…well…. ANY invading monsters the Doctor’s had to save more advanced humans from!!! Also, how many thousands of soldiers were they prepared to lose in their experiment before deciding to begin their conquest of the galaxy???

It introduces the show’s second antagonistic Time Lord, the War Chief, though it has been suggested he may have been an earlier incarnation of the Master (if not an inspiration for the Master) which they heavily leaned into with the recent colourised version. It is curious that this character has never reappeared in Doctor Who, both the show and Big Finish, not even been mentioned! I know he’s killed in this but since when has that ever stopped a returning villain?

While insanely long, I wouldn’t say that things could’ve been cut from it either, every episode has its purpose and introduces a new piece of the puzzle as the story slowly builds from what starts off as a pure historical to a grand conclusion. Which in itself is what earns this the second place in the Second Doctor’s best. The story finally reveals the name of the Doctor’s species, the Time Lords, a race that the Doctor is desperately afraid of, yet when faced with the impossible task of returning thousands of abducted soldiers home to their correct points in time, the Doctor is left with no choice but to call on his people for help. What follows in part 10 is some of the best 25 minutes of Doctor Who ever made which I have to get into major spoilers for, so you’ve been warned.

The Time Lords with little effort take control of the Doctor’s TARDIS as he attempts to escape and bring him back to his home world (though the name Gallifrey wouldn’t be introduced for another 5 years), a place where up until this point we’d only had fleeting references of but was now becoming a reality onscreen. The Time Lords with the merest thought place a forcefield around the villain’s planet and erase the villains themselves from history. Then for an encore they place the Doctor on trial for breaking their laws of non-interference while sending his companions back home with their memories wiped of ever travelling with him. The Doctor is found guilty and is sentenced to exile on Earth with his knowledge of operating the TARDIS taken away from him, and to make matters worse they sentence his current incarnation to death in the trippiest regeneration the show’s ever done. One thing I loved about the regenerations of Classic Who was each one was different, they were stylised and unique, now in Modern Who they just keep using the same crappy special effect.

This finale is one massive jaw-dropping ending to the Second Doctor’s life and as perfect an introduction to the Time Lords as you can get; all-powerful techno-gods whom the Doctor is powerless and terrified of! It’s just a pity the Time Lords went from 10 to 0 from here on out, becoming so useless and pathetic to the point where anyone can just waltz in and take over/destroy them, including the Doctor, which is exactly what happens over and over again!!! In this story there’s no stupid robes, no overly bureaucratic political nonsense, no presidents, no CIA, no outsiders living in barns, no relying on the Doctor for help, it’s just a race of god-like beings who operate in ways beyond our comprehension. There wouldn’t have even been a Time War with these particular Time Lords! But I have come to accept that that’s just the way things are in the show now and the Time Lords will never reach these heights ever again.

Of course, The War Games has gone on to have a further impact on the Second Doctor’s legacy with the ending showing the Second Doctor begin his regeneration but never showing the full transformation. This would be the first seed of an interesting fan theory that properly grew during Troughton’s two returns in the 80s. First The Five Doctors where he’s travelling alone and mentions Jamie and Zoe being returned home with their memoires wiped (which happened moments before his regeneration) and then The Two Doctors where the Doctor and Jamie are working for the Time Lords when throughout his entire life the Second Doctor was avoiding them like the plague. Now you can put this down to the writers just not having a good memory of the events of the Second Doctor’s life as it had been over a decade ago and there were no repeats. But it paved way for one of the best fan concepts in Doctor Who, an idea that was so popular it even got its own page on the old Doctor Who website, Season 6B. The idea that in the midst of his forced regeneration, the Second Doctor’s execution has halted by the Time Lord secret service who decided to employ him as an agent, with an older Jamie returned to him with his memories restored. Then once his work was finished the secret service wiped his memories and sent him back to his execution. It’s not perfect, but the theory does help make sense of the continuity slip ups in The Five & Two Doctors. Big Finish then decided in 2022 to go all out with this theory with their start to The Second Doctor Adventures with a new series that began with Beyond War Games.

The War Games is one massive finale for the Second Doctor, debatable if it is one of his best as it’s certainly not for everyone, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that final episode is one of Doctor Who’s best content.

DanDunn

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Review last edited on 23-01-25