The War Games

Companion Exit, Regeneration, Series Finale

Runtime

250 minutes

Story Type

Time Travel

Future

Tropes (Potential Spoilers!)

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

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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7 reviews

Wow. The War Games is quite long, but it never drags or becomes boring. In fact, I feel that it's one of the more exciting stories of its era. There's plenty of action, frequent location changes, plenty of mystery and suspense, and engaging characters. I felt that there were some great sets and costumes, and the score also particuarly stood out to me. The ending is nice and fitting. This serial completely deserves the praise it so often receives.

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Review last edited on 21-12-24

This review contains spoilers!

A terrific story, one of Troughton's best.

From the first minute after the title sequence, you know that the showrunners knew they were onto something special, with a bombastic flashing title card amidst explosions and gunfire. Then, our gang seems to be thrust into the middle of a typical historical set in WWI. The viewer pre-emptively braces themselves for 10 episodes of wacky misunderstandings and hijinks, and mutter "please don't become another base under siege...".

That is until we are shown that something is very, very wrong with this war zone (aside from the usual fighting and death), as the clearly villainous English general sends a message to his (definitely alien) superiors, accompanied by some wonderfully ominous music from the Radiophonic Workshop. As the Doctor and his companions continue to fight for their lives, things keep going hilariously wrong (Romans appearing out of nowhere is now one of my favourite cliffhangers in Classic Who). After 3 episodes, the story completes the transition from weird historical to fully high-concept sci-fi, as the Doctor and Zoe travel in a TARDIS-like machine and arrive in a thoroughly alien, probably fascist, command centre/weird goggles convention.

The mysteries don't end there, however, as we get a very slow tease that there are other members of the Doctor's race, plus some wonderful former-best-friends-maybe-boyfriends/proto-Master chemistry between the Doctor and the War Chief. This is followed by several episodes of (to simplify) an intense cat-and-mouse game between the two, while in the War Zones, Jamie employs his usual Scottish charm to galvanise the Resistance into action. (They are in small groups, and engage in guerilla warfare, I wonder if that could symbolise anything in 1969...) Though, points get deducted as we get an instance of "black character dies first" as part of a tragic racist streak in the Troughton era, and Lady Jennifer, who has been a wonderful addition to the group so far, gets sidelined as she gets back to her """womanly""" job of being a nurse. Things are also not going very well at the School for Spiral Enthusiasts as usual fascist infighting/mutual distrust ensues between the two Chiefs, and they are forced to summon ~~Daddy~~ the War Lord.

All of this culminates in an epic, sweeping climax as the Resistance begins a coordinated effort at taking down the sci-fi incel rally... except it is interrupted as the Doctor realises just how bad the situation has gotten. What follows is possibly the greatest half-hour of Classic Who ever. The Doctor has uncharacteristically lost all hope, as these mysterious Time Lords yield never-before-seen power, vanishing people into thin air while pressing the "0.5x" button on their tape of the episode. They disable the TARDIS, destroying the show's format. They also un-do a season's worth of character development for Zoe, and separate the Doctor from his boyfriend. While the Doctor tries to maintain an air of optimism as he says his goodbyes, he knew the cruelty of the Time Lords only too well. (Troughton's delivery of "They'll forget me, won't they?" is heartbreaking)

The episode ends with our hero on a screen, screaming into the void, never to be seen again (except, not really)

The War Games uses its 10 episodes excellently to tell the story of one of the Doctor's greatest failures. It thoroughly re-invents the show, but not before telling a story of an elite who make war and brainwash the young, not for any ideology or injustice, but only out of a desire for power, and an utter disregard for life. In 1969, it is hard not to associate this with British diplomatic support for the US in the Vietnam War. The Doctor can do his job and get rid of the monsters, but is utterly incapable of dealing with the messy aftermath. As punishment, everything he loves is ripped away from him.

Regeneration stories rarely get this good.

Like Liked 2

Review last edited on 16-12-24

The War Games is an excellent serial. The plot never stops, and when it does slow down, it still has enough moment to propel the overall story forward. There is enough variety is locations to make it feel like an Epic. Just as I was getting a bit bored with the WW1 setting, they moved on to another location. This continued throughout the entire story. The War Games more than makes up for some of the VERY weak serials that exist in the Second Doctor era.

The cast is excellent, with some superb guest performances. Special note to David Savile as Carstairs, and Philip Madoc as The War Lord.

This is an excellent send-off for Patrick Troughton, and the rest of the regular TARDIS team.

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Review last edited on 27-11-24

What a perfect 10 part story it doesn’t slow down pace it’s like a jump sprint all the way I loved it but this is far from the end for the 2nd doctor

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Review last edited on 17-11-24

This review contains spoilers!

The War Games marks the end of black and white 1960s Doctor Who and the end of Patrick Troughton's superb reign as The Second Doctor. These aren't the only seismic changes which can be found within these mammoth 10 episodes. It features the introduction of the term 'Time Lord', The Doctor's home planet (not yet named) and an explanation as to why he left. It was a brave and brilliant move to confirm that The Doctor does not necessarily see eye to eye with the rest of his race, disapproving with their 'hands off' approach to the universe. This story also features the first re-occurrence of the sonic screwdriver since its introduction in Fury from the Deep. Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke are working hard to consolidate and extrapolate on the show's lore - which we should be grateful for. Not only does this story establish so much of what becomes vital to Doctor Who in the future, but it also has one of the most ingenious plots at the centre of it that the show has ever seen.

The Doctor, Zoe and Jamie uncover a plot to conquer the universe. Brainwashed soldiers are being taken out of their time and tricked into believing that they are fighting their own wars in simulated environments. The aim is to create an unbeatable army which can be used for plotter's own purposes. Luckily, there are rebels who have managed to overcome these brainwashing efforts. They group together with The Doctor and his companions to overthrow this corrupt prison.

The War Lord, the malevolent Time Lord in this story acts as yet another 'proto-Master' villain. This character is just one of many enemies The Doctor faces in The War Games. It needs these extra elements due to its outrageous length. The quality of episodes 8-10 is difficult to rival, which is what makes it my third favourite Second Doctor story. However, I believe it would be fair to say that the first seven episodes could easily be cut down to four. Once you are introduced to the strong concept behind this story, it takes a little too long for the mystery to unfold.

As the adventure draws to a close, it is clear that it is the most epic tale The Doctor has ever had to face, so dangerous in fact that he has to bite the bullet and inform the authorities on his home planet. He knows that this move will consign him to a trial himself, as he regularly breaks the conventions of his people. The consequences of handing himself in were so much greater then he ever could have guessed.

The Doctor's defence of his actions is powerful, he demands that the Time Lords see snippets of the enemies he has defeated (including the Quarks!) He makes a spirited justification of regularly interfering with events to put a stop to evil. The Time Lords accept that this is a difficult moral quandary for them, but after careful consideration simply believe it is unforgivable for him to interfere to the extent that he does.

The War Lord and his assistants are dematerialised as punishment, which marks The Doctor's victory. However, he has to lose Zoe and Jamie, who's memories of almost all of their time with The Doctor are tragically removed as punishment. This, especially for the longest running companion Jamie is drastic, he finds himself back in The Highlands where he began. The Doctor's own punishment is a banishment to Earth and a loss of his Space and Time travel capabilities. Again, we can see the writers shaping the form of the show to come - it could barely be more exciting. The Doctor is defiant as he is forced into a regeneration, it is a wonderful closing chapter to a version of the character which has undoubtedly changed the essential nature of the show forever.

I cannot wait to begin the show's third leg and am delighted to see Doctor Who more fleshed out than ever. Patrick Troughton has out shined William Hartnell's excellent efforts and has finished his time on a definite high. This is a story I will always hold dear - top stuff!

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Review last edited on 21-08-24