Re: The War Games

On 24/12/2024 10:43, John Hall wrote:

Last night the BBC showed "The War Games", the final story of the second Doctor's tenure which was originally broadcast in 1969 (I think). It was on BBC 4, if you are in the UK but missed it.
 In its original form it had run to as many as ten episodes, but they had cut it down to 90 minutes, so must have left out an awful lot. That probably explains why it felt confusing and disjointed in places, but I still enjoyed it. (I suppose it's also possible that one or two of the original episodes might not have survived, which would have contributed to the disjointedness.) They also had colorised it, and that was very well done.

All of the original episodes survive. The BBC claimed they found lost footage. What was that, or is it more of the Fake News the legacy media is now renowned and castigated for?

 As many of you will know, it was a very significant story in the show's history, in that it introduced us to the Time Lords, though in the version shown last night that part seemed rather rushed given its significance. I can't recall if that was also true in the original. I noticed that at that point their home planet was still unnamed.

The stupid CGI image of the Citadel from after the Time War should never have been added. In The Invasion of Time it was lush with grass outside of the city.
I think they also cut out the scene of original escape and capture of the TARDIS from the original episode but other than that the trial was mostly as it was except for the new faces.

 The War Chief, a renegade Time Lord, seemed rather like a prototype for the Master. He wasn't the Master, though, as we saw him being

Thought the same thing.

dematerialised for his crimes.

That was the alien War Lord who was dematerialised. The War Chief was shot and was last seen lying dead on the ground. He could have regenerated into the Delgado Master and fled in his TARDIS after the Time Lords concentrated on capturing those who were still alive.
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The True Doctor https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCngrZwoS0n21IRcXpKO79Lw
"To be woke is to be uninformed which is exactly the opposite of what it stands for." -William Shatner