The War Games (TV story)
The War Games was the seventh story of Season 6 of Doctor Who. It was the final story of the 1960s and the last produced in black and white. Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor made his final regular appearance, as did Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury as companions Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot.
Synopsis
The Doctor, Jamie & Zoe arrive on an unnamed planet. Originally believing themselves in the midst of World War I, they realize it to be one of many War Zones overseen by the War Lords, who have kidnapped large numbers of human soldiers intending to create an army to conquer the galaxy. Infiltrating the control base, the Doctor discovers that the War Chief is also a Time Lord. The creeping realization sets in that The Doctor cannot solve this problem alone, and that his days of wandering may be at an end...
Plot
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
- Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines
- Zoe Heriot - Wendy Padbury
- Lady Jennifer Buckingham - Jane Sherwin
- German Soldiers - John Livesey, Bernard Davies
- Lieutenant Jeremy Carstairs - David Savile
- Major Barrington - Terence Bayler
- Sergeant Willis - Brian Forster
- General Smythe - Noel Coleman
- Captain Ransom - Hubert Rees
- Sgt. Major Burns - Esmond Webb
- Redcoat - Tony McEwan
- Commandant Gorton - Richard Steele
- Military Chauffeur - Peter Stanton
- Military Policeman - Pat Gorman
- Lieut. Crane - David Valla
- Lieut. Lucke - Gregg Palmer
- von Weich - David Garfield
- War Chief - Edward Brayshaw
- Sgt. Thompson - Bill Hutchinson
- Corporal Riley - Terry Adams
- Leroy - Leslie Schofield
- Scientist - Vernon Dobtcheff
- Harper - Rudolph Walker
- Alien Guard - John Atterbury
- Spencer - Michael Lynch
- Russell - Graham Weston
- Security Chief - James Bree
- Alien Technician - Charles Pemberton
- Moor - David Troughton
- War Lord - Philip Madoc
- Du Pont - Peter Craze
- Arturo Villar - Michael Napier-Brown
- Petrov - Stephen Hubay
- First Time Lord - Bernard Horsfall
- Second Time Lord - Trevor Martin
- Third Time Lord - Clyde Pollitt
- Tanya - Clare Jenkins
Crew
- Assistant Floor Manager - Marion McDougall, Caroline Walmsley
- Costumes - Nicholas Bullen
- Designer - Roger Cheveley
- Fight Arranger - Peter Diamond, Arthur Howell
- Film Cameraman - Alan Jonas
- Film Editor - Chris Hayden
- Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
- Make-Up - Sylvia James
- Producer - Derrick Sherwin
- Production Assistant - Edwina Verner
- Script Editor - Terrance Dicks
- Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
- Studio Lighting - Howard King
- Studio Sound - John Staple
- Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
- Visual Effects - Michealjohn Harris
References
- First appearance of the Doctor's home planet (Gallifrey although not mentioned by name).
- First appearance of the Time Lords (other than The Monk).
Story Notes
to be added
Ratings
- Episode 1 - 5.5m viewers
- Epsiode 2 - 6.3m viewers
- Episode 3 - 5.1m viewers
- Episode 4 - 5.7m viewers
- Episode 5 - 5.1m viewers
- Episode 6 - 4.2m viewers
- Episode 7 - 4.9m viewers
- Episode 8 - 3.5m viewers
- Episode 9 - 4.1m viewers
- Episode 10 - 5.0m viewers
Myths
to be added
Location Filming
to be added
Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
to be added
Continuity
- The Doctor is put on trial for his deeds, as would happen once more in The Trial of a Time Lord.
- The ending of the War Games leads into what some refer to as "Season 6B".
- The War Chief reappears in Timewyrm: Exodus.
- One of the alternative regenerations the Time Lords offered the Doctor at his trial is that of the dictator of Inferno Earth, as seen in Inferno and expanded upon in Timewyrm: Revelation.
DVD, Video and Other Releases
- This was released on video in episodic format.
Target Novelisations
The War Games was novelised in 1979 as Doctor Who and the War Games.
External Links
- BBC Episode Guide for The War Games
- Detailed sypnosis of The War Games
- Outpost Gallifrey entry for The War Games
- A Brief History of Time (Travel) entry for The War Games
