The 2nd Doctor – Season 6, Serial 7 – “The War Games” – An Introduction to the Time Lords and a Farewell

We continue the covering of Doctor regeneration stories in “The War Games.” “The War Games” is a flawed but good final adventure for Patrick Troughton’s 2nd Doctor. In this we are introduced to the Time Lords for the first time and have a compelling plot for the Doctor and his companions to uncover. This serial is long though and though good is extremely flawed, still worth checking out for classic “Doctor Who” though.

The serial was directed by David Maloney and written by Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke.

The Doctor and his companions Jamie and Zoe find themselves trapped on an alien planet that has brainwashed humans through history taking part in war games in an alien plot to conquer the galaxy.

SPOILERS ahead

The Pros:

The Doctor’s Allies – Lady Jennifer and Lt. Carstairs are from the World War 1 zone and are first to help the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe escape. At one point Lady Jennifer just disappears from the story but before that these 2 are the reason the Doctor figures out the war games are happening.

The Resistance – I like that people from different war zones broke their conditioning. It showed that the War Lords plot was flawed thinking he could control people as each zone had a resistance movement. This helped the story flow and they were key to stopping the plan of the War Lords.

The War Chief – The War Chief is a Time Lord who is working with the War Lords to use them and the plan to rule the galaxy. He reminded me a lot of the Master given his conquering ambition and voice inflection but in the end is killed when he tells the Doctor his plan to overthrow the War Lord and the leader War Lord figures it out and kills him for it. He cared for the Doctor which was interesting too as he saw solidarity in their exile from the Time Lords. Edward Brayshaw was compelling in the role.

The War Lord – The War Lord is leader of the aliens called the War Lords and ends up being quite a threat as he nearly escapes Time Lord justice and even kills the War Chief before the War Chief can kill him. He is erased from time for his cruelty though and his planet is placed in stasis so it cannot conquer. He was a good threat and his plans mostly worked it was just the Security Chief and War Chief not working together that foiled his scheme of conquest. Philip Madoc gave him a very cold threatening demeanor that made him stand out as a foe to the Doctor.

The Time Lords – The Time Lords are shown to be so powerful that the Doctor has no where to run, the people pulled from time are returned to their times and the War Lord is erased from time and erasing Zoe and Jamie’s memories of the Doctor so they’d only remember the first adventures they had with the Doctor. They also have a sense of fairness too as they chose Earth to exile the Doctor given his connection to the place and they agreed that he should be around to stop evil. It really is a great first introduction. The Judges are 3 Time Lords.

Jamie – Frazer Hines’s Jamie is a wonderful companion as we see him always seeking allies and to help the Doctor. It makes his good-bye all the sadder given how long he’s traveled with the Doctor. He even stands up to the Time Lords, which is probably why they let him team up again with the 2nd Doctor in a Multi-Doctors Story.

Zoe – Wendy Padbury’s Zoe is the brains of the group as we see her organize the resistance and figure out the War Lords technology and stand up to folks on multiple occasions. She is never passive and is always seeking to solve problems. She was a great companion and like Jamie’s good-bye her’s was sad.

The Doctor – Troughton’s trickster Doctor is fully on display in this as we see him trick people in the war zones to learn what is going on and even pretend to join the War Lord at one point to save the resistance leaders and his companions. It also hurts for him to call in the Time Lords but he does it since he knows it is the only way to return everyone to their time periods. He stands up to the Time Lords though and they listen to his need for action to stop evil and not non-interference. All of this illustrates so many reasons why he is one of my favorite Doctors and his good-bye to his companions is sad and powerful before the Time Lords force him to regenerate and exile him to earth with no memory of how to work the TARDIS until they deem time.

The Cons:

The Beginning – We spent way too long in the World War 1 zone and figuring out what is going on. It doesn’t do much in the ways of character development so it just feels like padding in a very long story.

The War Zone Presentation – You got English actors portraying Mexican men and Eastern Europeans and it is pretty awful. I get they wanted to show all the different wars on Earth but they could have gone about it without the racism.

The Pacing – This serial is 10 episodes and it drags at times. Part of the issue is the War Lord and War Chief aren’t introduced soon enough so we waste a lot of time in World War 1 that doesn’t really payoff. This story could have easily been 6 or 7 episodes given things don’t start really happening until episode 3.

Troughton’s good-bye to Jamie and Zoe is powerful as all they get is memory of their first adventure with him. We also see how powerful the Time Lords are too in how easily they stop the War Lord when he attempts to escape. Because of this the story carries weight and given Troughton is one of my favorite Doctors I appreciated his good-bye and how with it came his exile to Earth as he regenerates into the 3rd Doctor.

Final Score: 8.7 / 10 Boosted by strong character moments and the Time Lords first appearance but still a very flawed final adventure for the 2nd Doctor.

Here is the 1st Doctor’s regeneration story.:

The 1st Doctor – Season 4, Serial 2 – “The Tenth Planet” – Survival and Change and the Introduction to the Cybermen

The 3rd Doctor – Season 9, Serial 3 – “The Sea Devils” – A Critique of Nationalism Through a Compelling Threat

“The Sea Devils” is a good story that had the potential to be great. What sparked this episode is that they’ll be returning in the next 13th Doctor Special “Legend of the Sea Devils” and I hadn’t seen this episode yet so was curious about who the Sea Devils are as this is their first appearance. This story is a follow-up and takes a lot of inspiration from “Doctor Who and the Silurians” which I’ll link my review of at the end of this review. This is a story with compelling characters, good action that only falls apart in the times it lacks subtlety and the lack of reflection from the Doctor. Still well worth checking out.

The serial was directed by Michael Briant and written by Malcolm Hulke.

The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and his companion Jo Grant (Katy Manning) investigate the disappearances of ships while the Master (Robert Delgado) plots from his prison.

SPOILERS ahead

The Pros:

The Premise – The mystery around the disappearing ships and the Master’s plot is compelling as it gives the Doctor multiple problems to try and solve and how they connect is intriguing.

The Action – There is a lot of action in this and it is good. We get a trapped submarine, battleships bombing the sea and multiple sequences of Sea Devils against humans and a chase on the water. This is an action heavy story and it helps keep it flowing.

The Settings – We have the Master’s prison island, a sonar base, a submarine, a navy base and the Sea Devil’s underwater fortress. The diversity of settings keep the story interesting and give the story scale.

Captain Hart and Officer Blythe – The main military allies of the Doctor this serial are Captain Hart and Officer Blythe. Hart is skeptical of the Doctor but still helps and is one of the advocates of peace when the government takes control as his main drive is protecting his men. Blythe is the Doctor’s first ally and catches details that Hart misses. Both were great characters and rescue the Doctor and the Master at the end.

The Sea Devils – The Sea Devils are related to the Silurians as pre-historic reptiles who once ruled Earth but went into hibernation to avoid the Earth’s destruction. In this human sea technology wakes them up and they begin attacking to retake the Earth. The Master works with them to wake-up their other colonies while the Doctor tries to fight for peace which the British government prevents by attacking before negotiations can even start. They have a cool look with net-like clothing and large batlike ears. They have dangerous weapons too and can take a lot hits before dying. In the end their Chief chooses conquest and even betrays the Master as the Doctor turned the device to wake-up the colonies into a weapon that destroyed the Sea Devil colony that he’s been negotiating and later fighting with. Once again a tragic end for past reptilian rulers of Earth.

Jo Grant – Katy Manning’s Jo is such a great companion. In this she is helping the Doctor get into military bases, freeing him when he’s captured and fighting against corrupt humans. She is super competent and such a great companion who never loses her empathy for those around her.

The Master – Robert Delgado’s Master is so wonderful as the Doctor’s ex-friend. This is the serial we learn about their past friendship too. In this he’s taken control of his prison and plans to use the Sea Devils to destroy humanity to spite the universe. The Sea Devils turn against him though and in the end he escapes after tricking the British Navy and the Doctor. He is almost always bested by the Doctor from duels to tricking the Sea Devils and I love how this plays into the Master’s envy and motivation.

The Doctor – Jon Pertwee’s Doctor is one of my favorite Doctors and this story shows a lot of the way on that. He is usually one step ahead of the Sea Devils and Master and we see him trying everything before violence as he appeals to the Sea Devils and Master for peace. There is a sadness to him that I love too especially when he brings up his past friendship with the Master. I just wish we could have seen that same sadness after his plan leads to the destruction of the Sea Devils.

The Self-Destructive Nature of Nationalism – Nationalism is what kills every chance for peace as the British government official Walker just wants to kill the Sea Devils and later the Sea Devil Chief acts the same even turning on the Master and Doctor when he believes he will be victorious after awakening the other Sea Devil colonies. Both could have shared the Earth but instead there was only pointless death from the poison of self-destructive and selfish nationalism.

Okay:

Trenchard – Trenchard is the man in charge of the Master’s prison whose nationalism is used by the Master to take control of the prison as he tells Trenchard be will make him a hero by revealing agents who are working against Britain. The idea of Trenchard is interesting but he never pushes back against the Master or fully questions which kept nuance from the character.

The Cons:

Sea Devil Final Motives – Why the Sea Devils turned against the Master and went full nationalist was never explained. We saw the Chief was willing to negotiate so the sudden turning on allies made no sense. There was a missing step to get there.

Walker – This government official is a one-dimensional character. He just wants glory and is a coward who is also sexist and violent. I hated this guy and wish he’d been given some depth. He serves no purpose beyond the message so is barely a character.

Lack of Doctor Reflection on his Decision – After how mad the Doctor got at the Brig and U.N.I.T. for destroying the Silurian colony I wish the Doctor had questioned and sadly reflected that he did the same thing. This is a major character moment so I hope it comes up in future 3rd Doctor stories.

This is a story that was good but had the potential to be great if the Sea Devil’s final actions had been better explored and the Doctor reflecting on what he did. He may have prevented a war but he did it the same way he was ashamed of U.N.I.T. for doing so that should cause reflection. I’m curious to see how the Sea Devil’s story will continue with the 13th Doctor as they have a cool design and their story still holds so much potential.

Final Score: 8.4 / 10

Here is my review of “Doctor Who and the Silurians” which was the great version of this story and the story that this serial makes reference to. It is one of my favorite “Doctor Who” stories.:

The 3rd Doctor – Season 7, Serial 2 – “Doctor Who and the Silurians” – The Vices of War

The 3rd Doctor – Season 7, Serial 2 – “Doctor Who and the Silurians” – The Vices of War

         “Doctor Who and the Silurians” is a great episode of “Classic Doctor Who” and one I’d recommend. It is good at exploring the different factions that are at play and each of the characters gets exploration in their slow descent to become the worst of themselves. This is something the current version of “Doctor Who” has never been able to do as well, partially because it doesn’t have the 7 Part format of this era that the new era lacks.

     The episode was directed by Timothy Combe, written by Malcolm Hulke and produced by Barry Letts.

     The story involves the awakening of the Silurians from their hibernation from the energy that is being used by the Wenly Moor Nuclear Research Facility. It is up to the Doctor and Liz to discover what is going on as they work with UNIT and the Brig and soon find themselves pulled into a conflict where Silurians and Humans work to destroy one another as the Doctor strives for peace and the survival of both species.

SPOILERS ahead

The Pros:

Building Tension – This is a 7 Part story and it does a great job at building tension. We don’t see the Silurian for sometime but we do see the world through it’s eyes and the fear it feels and fear it makes other feel as it is running away wounded, this perspective lends the story power and shows the fear and confusion on both sides of the conflict while also presenting some good B Grade Horror tricks.

The Research Facility – The Wenley Moor Nuclear Research Facility is a place of drama, mysterious things keep pulling the power and making the reactor unstable which leads to the government and leader of the facility always at odds. Eventually his paranoia gets the better of him and we see just how much fear has destroyed everyone. The facility is also used to trick the Silurians who are attempting to destroy the humans after a Warmonger Silurian takes over after killing the Peaceful leader. The Doctor uses the facility to force them into hibernation and ends up preventing it from exploding.

UNIT – UNIT is on top of things this episode, for better and for worse. We see them dealing with the Silurian threat, stopping the Silurian bacteria that is infecting the population with the help of Liz and the Doctor and later they mount a counterattack and commit genocide on the Silurian population, fearing another attack after having being held hostage at the research facility.

The Brig – The Brigadier is a great character! We see him dealing with government politics and ethics as the Doctor does things like talk to the Silurians that put him in a compromised position. He trusts the Doctor up until he sees how humanity is turning on itself from Silurian threat so the Silurians must be destroyed…also after nearly being killed by the Warmonger Silurian he had had enough and decided to wipe out the population. He isn’t a good guy as we know all Silurians were not bad but all he had was his experience to go off and that was witnessing two attempts by the Silurians to wipe out the Species of humanity. Nicholas Courtney is great as always.

The Silurians – The Silurians are complicated and we see a rich culture in the times we meet them. We also see that there are those with superiority comlexes ruled by fear who want the Earth back and not to coexist. This political dilemma leads to a coup and the disposal of the peaceful Leader, which spells the end of the Silurians as the attack by Morka and K’to leads to a UNIT counterattack which leads to the wiping out of their species and any chance for peace. We know they aren’t all bad as shown by their leader it was simply the few awake were ruled by fear because every interaction with humans had been hostile…showing the tragedy of the Silurian experience after their awakening.

Liz – Liz is a great companion and Caroline John is fantastic as her! She is an active companion who doesn’t take crap from the Doctor. We see her in scientist mode and she discovers that the Silurians are reptiles and large and from their helps the Doctor discover their possible origin. She is the only one not to die of fright when she sees a Silurian and we see her on the side of peace the entire time and against the actions of fear by UNIT and the government.

The Doctor – Jon Pertwee is wonderful as the 3rd Incarnation of the Doctor! In this we see him fixing his car Bessie and later using it to get around in investigating the attacks in the mine and around the countryside. He is the only one who truly understands the Silurian experience and wants peace and coexistence. He is willing to go to any lengths to do so, showing just how alien he is…where humans react with fear he reacts with understanding and asking questions and it is at the end where the sadness of humanity wiping out an entire species is only felt by him and the failures of all his attempts to reach a peaceful solution as his last regard of reasoning with the Silurians one at at time after awakening them from hibernation was ignored as UNIT destroyed the Silurians instead. Pertwee is the gruff and gentlemenly Doctor who defines himself in how he is not like humanity, even if at times he helps them.

The Vices of War and Destruction – The reason humans die from the Silurian bacteria and the Silurian species is destroyed is because of the vices of fear, anger and greed. It is greed that makes the members of the facility want nothing to do with the Silurians or the conflict only running the machine, it is fear that leads to the peaceful Silurian leader being killed in a coup and anger and fear that lead to the bombs being placed that destroy the Silurians. In this way peace was a lost cause the moment the cycle started with the Silurian injuring the miners and being injured in turn (unknown who started it though, both were in self defense most likely)..and this fed the conflict that could only have one resolution since no one wanted to listen or understand except the Doctor and Liz. The desire for control of land by the humans and Silurians is another major problem that fed the conflict. There was no sharing involved, it was all or nothing for the war parties.

The Ending – The ending is sad and powerful. It is true to reality as well as many cultures are no longer around today because of conflict and war that was started from the need for land and the people who do work for peace in conflict today are usually on the losing side since war breeds war and hate breeds hate, resolution only happens after enough people have died to get one faction to surrender. This ending illustrated that the Doctor isn’t a superhero either. He won’t always save the day because the choices of humans and Silurians are not his to make.

Okay:

The Human and Silurian Antagonists – The antagonists are alright, I would have liked more on why they felt so strongly on things though. The men at the research station wanted money and knowledge and losing that drove them mad and the Silurians wanted their old home back (a good drive) but they also never experienced harm from humans first hand. If K’to or Morka had I would have put them as a pro since their fear would have greater reason behind it and not simply look cruel or for political ends.

    This was an episode that showed that there isn’t always a happy ending and the Doctor can’t always save everyone…sometimes people will act whether he wants them to or not and they may or may not be right depending on the situation. This is something the New Series of “Doctor Who” lacks. It is still a favorite show but I think the longer format of the episodes of the past allowed for great exploration of the different factions and worlds and provided great rising tension rather than having everything at a break neck pace. Sometimes a story wants you to get to know the characters first before they are put in mortal danger. This is a huge reason this episode works and why it would not have worked if it had only had an hour to tell the story. This is also a story that is true to reality and just how difficult it is to make peace as well as showing us the Doctor is not a Superhero and he cannot always save the day since it is the choices of everyone that affect a conflict and it’s resolution, not just one person.

Final Score: 9.2 / 10