So enamoured was I of Patrick Troughton's interpretation of the Doctor that I very nearly didn't watch the final part of 'The War Games'. If he died, I did not want to see it. Reason prevailed, though, and I did watch. It opens with the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe fleeing in the TARDIS from the scene of 'The War Games' adventure, materialising in various locations ( nice re-use of old footage from 'The Web Of Fear' and 'Fury From The Deep' ), but the Time Lords prove too powerful; the TARDIS is forced to land, and the Doctor put on trial. That booming voice - "Doctor, your travels are over!" - sent a chill up my spine. Here the Doctor is forced to justify his 'cosmic nomad' lifestyle. The 'War Lord' is on trial too; and the Time Lords bestow on him their harshest sentence imaginable - total non-existence. Jamie and Zoe's touching farewell, the monster flashbacks, the Doctor's attempts to remain rebellious even after the sentence has been passed - all add up to a magnificent conclusion to '60's 'Who'.
8 Reviews
The end of an era in many ways, and the start of a new.
Sleepin_Dragon15 March 2018
The epic War Games story is Troughton's last episode, it also heralds the final episode shot in black and white, and is also the end for companions Jamie and Zoe. As a massive fan of Pat, I find it a hard watch, the injustice he faced up against his own people The Time Lords. The mystery of The War Games is virtually over, the only real hangover is the trial of The War Lord, Philip Madoc puts in a good showing, but the whole episode is really focused on the Doctor's farewell. The best bit for me has to be The Doctor's evidence to The Time Lords, recounting the various foes he took on and defeated, nice scenes of Yeti and Daleks. Both companions also get a nice send off, both Fraser and Wendy were good servants to the show and get rather good closing scenes. Maybe The Time Lords were more celestial beings in this episode then they would later appear, particularly in The Tom Baker years.
The episode is fascinating in that it explains The Doctor's origin, and delves deeper into the concept of regeneration. This episode serves as the end of Doctor Who in the 1960's, when it returned we'd get a new Doctor, new companion and colour.
Patrick Troughton and co. thank you for the magic.
The episode is fascinating in that it explains The Doctor's origin, and delves deeper into the concept of regeneration. This episode serves as the end of Doctor Who in the 1960's, when it returned we'd get a new Doctor, new companion and colour.
Patrick Troughton and co. thank you for the magic.
Momentous, historic, fabulous epic which starts a lot of the series' mythology.
A_Kind_Of_CineMagic19 September 2014
Review for all 10 episodes:
This is an epic of a story as it spreads across a huge 10 episodes. Much more than that though, this has truly epic importance in the history of Doctor Who! There a number of reasons why this is one of the most important and pivotal stories in the whole series.
Firstly, it finally reveals that The Doctor's own people are called Time Lords and it introduces them as a society for the first time. This, after 6 whole series, finally removes a little of the mystery of the show by telling us something of The Doctor's origins. It also tells us that The Doctor has run away, stealing his TARDIS and that he is at complete odds with the way in which their society behaves. He is shown to be quite terrified of the Time Lords, in fact.
As well as these hugely important revelations it also has the major event of the end of Troughton's tenure as The Doctor with him being forced to regenerate. This is not only the second ever regeneration, it has the added impact of being done as a punishment for him refusing to conform to Time Lord rules and running away with the TARDIS. It changes the course of the series as well because they also exile The Doctor to late 20th Century Earth. This is done in order that the series can have a period of purely Earth based adventures with a team of regular 'helpers' (in the form of UNIT).
As if that isn't enough it features the emotional departure of Jamie and Zoe. This is done in a heartrendingly sad way which involves wiping all memories of their time with The Doctor apart from their first meeting.
Even though these massively pivotal aspects occur in this story the most striking thing of all about this story is the brilliance of it as entertainment. It involves a plot where the TARDIS arrives in what appears to be a purely historical setting of the First World War trenches but then has the twist of slowly introducing science fiction aspects leading you to believe it is a 'pseudo-historical' story with alien intervention in Earth history. It then twists again to show they are, in fact, surrounded by many historical periods of war going on at the same time. Soldiers have been removed unknowingly from various wars on Earth to take part in 'War Games' which are being manipulated by an alien force to create perfect soldiers.
The whole 10 episodes are thoroughly enjoyable, superbly written (by Malcolm Hulke and Terrance Dicks), acted, directed (by David Maloney) and presented. Troughton is fantastic (although his finale where he has to pull faces to show the effects of his regeneration are a shame, I wish they had done that differently), Frazer Hines is at his absolute best as Jamie and Wendy Padbury has a good send off too. All the guest cast (including Patrick Troughton's son David) and especially Philip Madoc and Edward Brayshaw as a renegade Time Lord, excel in their roles. For its importance and its exceptional quality this is one of the best stories of all.
My Ratings: All 10 Episodes 10/10
Despite this and The Invasion both being all-time great stories, disappointing stories The Dominators, The Krotons and The Space Pirates dragged the Season down to just medium quality for the series overall.
Average Season 6 Rating: 8.01/10
This is an epic of a story as it spreads across a huge 10 episodes. Much more than that though, this has truly epic importance in the history of Doctor Who! There a number of reasons why this is one of the most important and pivotal stories in the whole series.
Firstly, it finally reveals that The Doctor's own people are called Time Lords and it introduces them as a society for the first time. This, after 6 whole series, finally removes a little of the mystery of the show by telling us something of The Doctor's origins. It also tells us that The Doctor has run away, stealing his TARDIS and that he is at complete odds with the way in which their society behaves. He is shown to be quite terrified of the Time Lords, in fact.
As well as these hugely important revelations it also has the major event of the end of Troughton's tenure as The Doctor with him being forced to regenerate. This is not only the second ever regeneration, it has the added impact of being done as a punishment for him refusing to conform to Time Lord rules and running away with the TARDIS. It changes the course of the series as well because they also exile The Doctor to late 20th Century Earth. This is done in order that the series can have a period of purely Earth based adventures with a team of regular 'helpers' (in the form of UNIT).
As if that isn't enough it features the emotional departure of Jamie and Zoe. This is done in a heartrendingly sad way which involves wiping all memories of their time with The Doctor apart from their first meeting.
Even though these massively pivotal aspects occur in this story the most striking thing of all about this story is the brilliance of it as entertainment. It involves a plot where the TARDIS arrives in what appears to be a purely historical setting of the First World War trenches but then has the twist of slowly introducing science fiction aspects leading you to believe it is a 'pseudo-historical' story with alien intervention in Earth history. It then twists again to show they are, in fact, surrounded by many historical periods of war going on at the same time. Soldiers have been removed unknowingly from various wars on Earth to take part in 'War Games' which are being manipulated by an alien force to create perfect soldiers.
The whole 10 episodes are thoroughly enjoyable, superbly written (by Malcolm Hulke and Terrance Dicks), acted, directed (by David Maloney) and presented. Troughton is fantastic (although his finale where he has to pull faces to show the effects of his regeneration are a shame, I wish they had done that differently), Frazer Hines is at his absolute best as Jamie and Wendy Padbury has a good send off too. All the guest cast (including Patrick Troughton's son David) and especially Philip Madoc and Edward Brayshaw as a renegade Time Lord, excel in their roles. For its importance and its exceptional quality this is one of the best stories of all.
My Ratings: All 10 Episodes 10/10
Despite this and The Invasion both being all-time great stories, disappointing stories The Dominators, The Krotons and The Space Pirates dragged the Season down to just medium quality for the series overall.
Average Season 6 Rating: 8.01/10
Sensational! The greatest of Doctor Who ever!
nrfindell30 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Review for all 10 episodes.
This story is the very peak of Doctor Who, its highest point. It has better writing than any story before it and any story since. Every actor is on fine form for there final appearances. The music is at its height with possibly the best room search score ever. It creates atmosphere like no other and the plot gets thicker and thicker before the conclusion of the millennia streams in.
Review for this episode.
This is undoubtedly the best episode of Doctor Who ever. It is flawless, completely perfect. The Time-Lords are handled so well that it would be almost impossible to beat the way it handles them. The opening scene is just sensational at creating build up for the Time-Lords and the final scene is so heartbreaking. Not just that (spoilers) Jamie and Zoe get there memories wiped (Journeys End's ending was not original) but the Doctor is basically executed and exiled. It perfectly sets up the next era and the regeneration scene is superb.
This story is the very peak of Doctor Who, its highest point. It has better writing than any story before it and any story since. Every actor is on fine form for there final appearances. The music is at its height with possibly the best room search score ever. It creates atmosphere like no other and the plot gets thicker and thicker before the conclusion of the millennia streams in.
Review for this episode.
This is undoubtedly the best episode of Doctor Who ever. It is flawless, completely perfect. The Time-Lords are handled so well that it would be almost impossible to beat the way it handles them. The opening scene is just sensational at creating build up for the Time-Lords and the final scene is so heartbreaking. Not just that (spoilers) Jamie and Zoe get there memories wiped (Journeys End's ending was not original) but the Doctor is basically executed and exiled. It perfectly sets up the next era and the regeneration scene is superb.
S6: The War Games: A bit longer than it can bear but builds well from good ideas up to development of a bigger picture (SPOILERS)
bob the moo10 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
One of the downsides of watching Doctor Who in the late 80's and onwards and then jumping backwards is that one forgets that the "knowns" I have just come to take as established were not always so and indeed this serial reminded me of this because it is the place we first really start hearing of the Time Lords and who the Doctor is. It doesn't start this way though and instead the 10-part serial begins with the Doctor and companions arriving into the middle of World War I and of course being taken for spies as is the usual situation with such things. From here though we start getting clues that all is not as it seems – the commander appears to have some sort of control over people and also be very touchy about people coming into his office without knocking. This continues with other things like other characters being out of place in terms of the period and eventually we get to the situation where this is not Earth at all but rather some sort of planet where humans are being dropped into coordinated war games based on their own periods, without any knowledge that they are not actually fighting for their country on their home planet. There is another level above this as we also learn that at least one of those behind this is a Time Lord like the Doctor.
As a serial I liked the breakdown of levels like this because it kept the telling interesting that we were able to move from one understanding to another. The revelations are not really twists because we are nudged towards them as opposed to having a sheet pulled back to reveal the truth but it is still engaging and well structured as it hints and hints along. The build is good as we go up threat levels because the writing fills in the detail of each as well as using them as plot devices to drive things forward. Although we have the usual manufactured cliffhangers and scenes of "run away, run away", generally the plot engages because it has good ideas and good delivery behind it. At 10- episodes long, it is probably longer than it needed to be and for sure there are some points where, although we still have action, it does feel like we are kicking our heels a little in terms of the narrative, almost as if the writers had everything they wanted to do but had to fill an extra 30 minutes or so along the way. It does have this feeling but I should say that compared to some of the other serials that had the same problem, it is not such a big deal here because it doesn't bore or drag too badly.
The direction and use of sets/locations is pretty good and I liked that we had that mix of the old style "historical" stories and the "sci-fi" stories but together in one serial. The use of external locations is decent but the internals are also pretty well done even if at times they are a bit sparse. The performances are roundly good and, although a bit "big" they mostly stay the right side of ham. Troughton bows out of his spell as the Doctor with typically good energy and urgency but yet keeping the "professor" air to a point – ie he doesn't become Jack Bauer, he just brings energy when required. I shall miss him as a Doctor and I still feel a bit cheated that so many of his episodes are missing because I found him a very good Doctor in terms of taking the mould of Hartnell and making more of an impact with it. I shall also miss Hines and Padbury as companions; they took a while to grow on me (not helped by all the missing episodes giving the feeling of the companions constantly changing) but they both were pretty good and this serial shows them as good solid supporting characters – I was glad they didn't get a big showy farewell, but it was a bit disappointing the way it went down (and the way they have all memory of their adventures wiped). The various guest roles here are good although some of the characters are so rigidly in their mould that they are a little restricted by them. Madoc and Brayshaw are a little hammy perhaps, but in a good way while supporting turns from Coleman, Sherwin, Savile and others are generally pretty good and fit the show well. Speaking generally, the lack of "monsters" is refreshing because this leaves the "evil" to be a very moral monster rather than something with a rubber mask on, and I liked this.
The War Games finishes season 6 with a strong story which gives us good build and backstory while also wiping the slate totally clean and I'm sure all of this was a deliberate decision to perhaps take stock and see what season 7 could do differently. A new Doctor awaits, the companion roles wait to be filled as normal, but this time I am curious to see whether the decision to take out the time-travelling aspect and have the Doctor sentenced to stay in one time period on Earth is a good one; it certainly seems an odd decision to build this character where the whole selling point is adventures through time and space but then to rob him of both (well, apart from the normal movement of time and the ability to walk or drive around), so it will be interesting to see what is brought in to replace the loss of these factors which have been fundamental to the character from the start.
As a serial I liked the breakdown of levels like this because it kept the telling interesting that we were able to move from one understanding to another. The revelations are not really twists because we are nudged towards them as opposed to having a sheet pulled back to reveal the truth but it is still engaging and well structured as it hints and hints along. The build is good as we go up threat levels because the writing fills in the detail of each as well as using them as plot devices to drive things forward. Although we have the usual manufactured cliffhangers and scenes of "run away, run away", generally the plot engages because it has good ideas and good delivery behind it. At 10- episodes long, it is probably longer than it needed to be and for sure there are some points where, although we still have action, it does feel like we are kicking our heels a little in terms of the narrative, almost as if the writers had everything they wanted to do but had to fill an extra 30 minutes or so along the way. It does have this feeling but I should say that compared to some of the other serials that had the same problem, it is not such a big deal here because it doesn't bore or drag too badly.
The direction and use of sets/locations is pretty good and I liked that we had that mix of the old style "historical" stories and the "sci-fi" stories but together in one serial. The use of external locations is decent but the internals are also pretty well done even if at times they are a bit sparse. The performances are roundly good and, although a bit "big" they mostly stay the right side of ham. Troughton bows out of his spell as the Doctor with typically good energy and urgency but yet keeping the "professor" air to a point – ie he doesn't become Jack Bauer, he just brings energy when required. I shall miss him as a Doctor and I still feel a bit cheated that so many of his episodes are missing because I found him a very good Doctor in terms of taking the mould of Hartnell and making more of an impact with it. I shall also miss Hines and Padbury as companions; they took a while to grow on me (not helped by all the missing episodes giving the feeling of the companions constantly changing) but they both were pretty good and this serial shows them as good solid supporting characters – I was glad they didn't get a big showy farewell, but it was a bit disappointing the way it went down (and the way they have all memory of their adventures wiped). The various guest roles here are good although some of the characters are so rigidly in their mould that they are a little restricted by them. Madoc and Brayshaw are a little hammy perhaps, but in a good way while supporting turns from Coleman, Sherwin, Savile and others are generally pretty good and fit the show well. Speaking generally, the lack of "monsters" is refreshing because this leaves the "evil" to be a very moral monster rather than something with a rubber mask on, and I liked this.
The War Games finishes season 6 with a strong story which gives us good build and backstory while also wiping the slate totally clean and I'm sure all of this was a deliberate decision to perhaps take stock and see what season 7 could do differently. A new Doctor awaits, the companion roles wait to be filled as normal, but this time I am curious to see whether the decision to take out the time-travelling aspect and have the Doctor sentenced to stay in one time period on Earth is a good one; it certainly seems an odd decision to build this character where the whole selling point is adventures through time and space but then to rob him of both (well, apart from the normal movement of time and the ability to walk or drive around), so it will be interesting to see what is brought in to replace the loss of these factors which have been fundamental to the character from the start.
One of my favourites stories of all time (review of all ten parts)
dalekprimelol10 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The war games is an excellent story and a fitting finale to the 60s era and the second doctor. There are so many parts of this story I love, the use of history blended with sci-fi elements, the great characters like the war chief and the war lord. It really feels like a story where our main characters are truly out of their depth and can only succeed with help from a higher power, the time lords! This story also introduces so many things that would continue into the future, the time lords, the master like character of the war chief and the sonic screwdriver (not the first time it was shown but it is one of the more interesting times in the 60s.) we also have in my opinion the best portrayal of the time lords ever shown on screen. They feel really powerful in this story as they do not need to shout or show off in any way, they wear simple robes and speak quite monotone. Much better than their later appearances in the 70s and 80s. So yeah overall this is a stellar story and Ben though it's ten parts long I can watch it all in one sitting without getting bored! A must watch.
The end of several eras.
poolandrews13 May 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Doctor Who: The War Games: Episode Ten starts as the Timelords summon the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) as a witness in the trial of the War Lord (Philip Madoc) & his people over the war games. The Doctor has no choice but to agree & lands the TARDIS on his home planet. The War Lord implicates the Doctor in his people's plans & claims he helped them, a accusation the Doctor denies. After the trial of the War Lord the Doctor is himself put on trial accused of the most serious crime none interference of other planets & races which if found guilty the Doctor could lose his ability to travel through time & space...
Episode 44 from season 6 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during June 1969, directed by David Maloney & at last The War Games has come to an end. After four plus hours of The War Games it's over & I have to say although I didn't dislike any particular episode I don't think I would ever want to see The War Games ever again. I am sure any rabid die hard Doctor Who fan who goes to conventions in a Tom Baker scarf & have all the videos neatly arranged on their shelf in transmission order will give The War Games ten stars out of ten equally like anyone who hates Doctor Who (trust me, there's plenty of them about) will give it one star out of ten while I consider myself a fan of the show I don't blindly love every episode or every story & therefore always try to give a balanced & objective opinion. As an average kind of guy who likes Doctor Who but isn't absolutely obsessed with it I didn't really think The War Games was that great, virtually every episode had various character's captured, escaping & then trying not to get captured again. Here in Episode Ten both the War Lord & the Doctor are captured by the Timelords & put on trial so there's nothing new here apart from the setting which is where the main source of interest comes from. This is the first time in the series that viewers saw the Doctors home planet & his people although subsequent production teams changed things like a Timelord being able to live forever. The ending sees the Doctor exiled to Earth in order to set up the format for Jon Pertwee. I don't think The War Games has had enough story to justify ten whole episodes & I think the original plan to divide the episodes up into two different serials, one six part story & one four part story, would have yielded much better results. It's incredible when you think about the length of this story & the length of season six, with forty four separate episodes in seven stories when you compare it to the twenty sixth season when Doctor Who got cancelled in 1989 that had just four stories over a mere fourteen episodes there's a massive difference.
This episode uses brief clips from Episode One of Fury from the Deep (1968) which is the only footage from that episode in existence, Episode One of The Web of Fear (1968) & Episode One from The Wheel in Space (1968) all from season five. Several of the Troughton era monsters make short cameo appearances including a Yeti, a Dalek, a Cyberman & a Quark. Episode Ten of The War Games was taped on 12th June 1969 & broadcast nine days later which marked the end of several eras, The War Games was the last classic Doctor Who serial to be filmed entirely in black and white, this was the end of Patrick Troughton's regular tenure as the Doctor as well as popular companions Jamie & Zoe in a fairly forgettable farewell scene. However Troughton appeared in Doctor Who again in The Three Doctors (1972) during season ten, The Five Doctors (1983) 20th anniversary special & The Two Doctors (1985) during season twenty two. Fraser Hines also returned to the show on The Five Doctors & The Two Doctors with Wendy Padbury making her sole reappearance during The Five Doctors.
The War Games: Episode Ten is another case of people being captured & trying to escape, pretty much the same as the previous nine episodes apart from the setting. Across it's ten episodes I will give The War Games an above average six and a half stars which do take a fair amount of stamina & a high tolerance level to sit through.
Episode 44 from season 6 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during June 1969, directed by David Maloney & at last The War Games has come to an end. After four plus hours of The War Games it's over & I have to say although I didn't dislike any particular episode I don't think I would ever want to see The War Games ever again. I am sure any rabid die hard Doctor Who fan who goes to conventions in a Tom Baker scarf & have all the videos neatly arranged on their shelf in transmission order will give The War Games ten stars out of ten equally like anyone who hates Doctor Who (trust me, there's plenty of them about) will give it one star out of ten while I consider myself a fan of the show I don't blindly love every episode or every story & therefore always try to give a balanced & objective opinion. As an average kind of guy who likes Doctor Who but isn't absolutely obsessed with it I didn't really think The War Games was that great, virtually every episode had various character's captured, escaping & then trying not to get captured again. Here in Episode Ten both the War Lord & the Doctor are captured by the Timelords & put on trial so there's nothing new here apart from the setting which is where the main source of interest comes from. This is the first time in the series that viewers saw the Doctors home planet & his people although subsequent production teams changed things like a Timelord being able to live forever. The ending sees the Doctor exiled to Earth in order to set up the format for Jon Pertwee. I don't think The War Games has had enough story to justify ten whole episodes & I think the original plan to divide the episodes up into two different serials, one six part story & one four part story, would have yielded much better results. It's incredible when you think about the length of this story & the length of season six, with forty four separate episodes in seven stories when you compare it to the twenty sixth season when Doctor Who got cancelled in 1989 that had just four stories over a mere fourteen episodes there's a massive difference.
This episode uses brief clips from Episode One of Fury from the Deep (1968) which is the only footage from that episode in existence, Episode One of The Web of Fear (1968) & Episode One from The Wheel in Space (1968) all from season five. Several of the Troughton era monsters make short cameo appearances including a Yeti, a Dalek, a Cyberman & a Quark. Episode Ten of The War Games was taped on 12th June 1969 & broadcast nine days later which marked the end of several eras, The War Games was the last classic Doctor Who serial to be filmed entirely in black and white, this was the end of Patrick Troughton's regular tenure as the Doctor as well as popular companions Jamie & Zoe in a fairly forgettable farewell scene. However Troughton appeared in Doctor Who again in The Three Doctors (1972) during season ten, The Five Doctors (1983) 20th anniversary special & The Two Doctors (1985) during season twenty two. Fraser Hines also returned to the show on The Five Doctors & The Two Doctors with Wendy Padbury making her sole reappearance during The Five Doctors.
The War Games: Episode Ten is another case of people being captured & trying to escape, pretty much the same as the previous nine episodes apart from the setting. Across it's ten episodes I will give The War Games an above average six and a half stars which do take a fair amount of stamina & a high tolerance level to sit through.
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