| THE WAR GAMES by Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke |
| Story 50 Synopsis: The TARDIS lands in No Man's Land, where the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe are helped away by Lady Jennifer, an ambulance driver. En route, Germans attack, but Lieutenant Carstairs saves them. When they arrive in a trench, the TARDIS crew are frowned on, and taken to the General. He sentences Jamie for desertion, Zoe for spying, and the Doctor to be shot at dawn for espionage. They protest their innocence, but are ignored. During confusion, the Doctor and Zoe escape. They free Jamie, and convince Jennifer and Carstairs that they're honest. They take a map from General Smythe's safe, realising that there are several war zones. The Doctor wants to reach the centre of the map. Hiding in a barn, a box materialises, discharging soldiers. The Doctor and Zoe go in to investigate, and it dematerialises, leaving Jamie with Jennifer. They have trouble with American Civil War fighters, but are saved by the Resistance. The Doctor and Zoe cause trouble in the aliens' base, rescuing Carstairs and neutralising a scientist. One of the enemy, the War Chief, recognises the Doctor, and he likewise. This antagonises the Security Chief. General Smythe is shot dead. The War Lord arrives to take charge. The Doctor alters the time barrier to secure a base for the Resistance. The Security Chief arrives in a SIDRAT, capturing the Doctor. The War Chief explains the purpose of the War Games, and that the Doctor must co-operate if he wants to live. The War Lord has him dupe the resistance leaders into coming to the central zone, as the alternative is The Security Chief's plan to explode a neutron bomb. The Doctor plays along, but only pretends to re-program the resistance. The Security Chief finds proof that the War Chief is a traitor, but the War Chief shoots him. The Doctor forces the War Chief to stop the War Games. The War Lord has already learned of the proof, and has the War Chief killed. Desperate for a way to send everyone home, the Doctor summons help from the Time Lords, but is desperate to avoid them. He, Jamie and Zoe return to the 1917 zone, but time slows as they run for the TARDIS. They try to escape, but the Time Lords drag them to Gallifrey. The War Lord is on trial, and the Doctor is a witness. The former tries to escape with armed guards, but the Doctor thwarts them, and they are dematerialised from history, their planet placed behind a forcefield. The Doctor makes a stirring defence, admitting interference. He is sentenced to exile on Earth, and a forced regeneration. Jamie and Zoe are returned home. |
| Review:- Quite a landmark story for a few reasons, this is an astonishing tale, with strong acting, decent plotting and much drama. When the TARDIS lands in the midst of a warzone, there's no way a viewer could know that within 9 weeks, all the weekly fun would be turned on its head, leaving a series ready for a change of style, and a complete clear-out of its main cast. The drama builds well, with the viewer as aware of the Doctor that something is amiss with General Smythe, but one step ahead at each revelation (that Smythe communicates with technology ahead of his time, or the set-up of the central zone). This then combines with the increasing layers of tension, with Smythe and Von Weich topped by the Security Chief and the War Chief, before they're topped by the War Lord, before the final Ace card is played. On the way there, an increasing tension of cliffhangers helps to keep the drama bubbling, and slowly but surely our band of heroes find the answers, or allies. It is a subtle intrigue to put the Doctor straight into the central zone so early, as it allows the lesser characters like Jamie to handle the fight scenes. Also, it allows Russell and eventually Arturo Villar to come forward, as well as keep Carstairs central. The disappearance of Lady Jennifer in part 5 is rather obliquely forgotten, given her central role up until then, even if Carstairs suddenly remembers her in part 9. This is a story that allows Jamie and Zoe some room to develop and show their usefulness to the Doctor. But more than all this is the Doctor. The sometimes-bumbling hero is forced to act up. With another exile from his race, he has a personal issue with stopping the War Chief. Despite duping the Security Chief, he cannot thwart the War Lord. When he realises how far the mess of the war games have gone, he is at his wits' end for a solution. His attempts to dodge the Time Lords are quite convincing, and his surrender is all the more shocking. Despite the War Lord's last-ditch bid for freedom, he ends up siding with the Time Lords, despite what they want to do to him. He simply cannot help doing the right thing. His defence in his trial is a little half-hearted, as if he knows he can never convince them to change their minds. But he tries, because again, he can't help it. The farewells for Jamie and Zoe are poignant, because they suggest the Doctor is cut out of their lives (although the issue has to be - Jamie and Zoe did make a difference on Dulkis, Earth and so on, so the Time Lords have been quite sloppy really). In the end, the Doctor gets off with a caution, and begins his exile in uncertainty. Overall, this is a fantastic piece of television, and a great slice of Doctor Who. I recommend it heartily. |
| Disclaimer: I've seen the video, and read the book. |