The War
Machines
25TH JUNE 1966 - 16TH JULY
1966
(4 EPISODES)
Ian
Stuart Black’s War Machines was Doctor Who’s first
real ‘contemporary invasion’ story. New producer Innes Lloyd had stated
that he wanted to strive for greater realism within the series, and as a
result scientist Dr Kit Pedler (who would go on to co-create the Cybermen)
pitched the idea for The War Machines, which would put the Doctor
in the now-familiar position of liaising with the proper authorities to
save the world.
Pedler’s input
into the storyline is evident throughout, the notion of ‘techno fear’ that
runs through much of his work being right at the heart of this story.
Whereas Pedler’s Cybermen would seek to replace their organs, and
ultimately their very souls, with technology, WOTAN (pronounced VOTAN,
apparently. Very Norse) simply decides that mankind cannot
progress any further and as such should be wiped out.
The former
Post Office Tower serves as a wonderful backdrop for this serial,
illustrating magnificently just how much more disturbing a story can be
when it is set somewhere familiar. In the previous season, having the
Daleks seen in the centre of a post-apocalyptic London really helped to
raise the fear factor, but here matters are taken a step further as the
War Machines are not only loose in London, but loose in the congested
London of the present day – a model that would still be the backbone of
the series more than forty years later.
It’s unsurprising, then, that the DVD release’s special features focus
heavily on the serial’s location. The seven minute Now and Then
featurette is quite interesting as it focuses on the areas around the BT
Tower where the location filming took place forty-two years ago, however
the extract from the programme One Foot in the Past, featuring MP
Tony Benn exploring the BT Tower, does feel somewhat surplus to
requirements.
The eponymous
War Machines themselves look like the sort of little ultra-modern robots
that you might come across in Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers.
They may look quite imposing when featured in the DVD’s sixteen minutes’
worth of Blue Peter clips, but unfortunately in the programme
itself they come across as utterly feeble - defeated by everyday things
like rope.
More positively though, the second episode of the serial sees Jackie Lane
makes her final appearance as the dreadful Dodo. Amusingly appropriately,
she isn’t given even a half-decent send-off - in fact, she isn’t given a
send-off at all. After being brainwashed by WOTAN, she takes off somewhere
to recuperate and then at the end of the story, by which time she’s no
more than a bad memory in the minds of viewers, the Doctor receives a
message that Dodo has decided to stay behind.
Better still, The War Machines introduces two dazzling new
companions who are very much in tune with the story’s swinging 60s vibe –
seaman Ben Jackson (Michael Craze) and fun-loving secretary Polly Wright
(Anneke Wills). I’m a huge fan of both Ben and Polly – two very underrated
companions. Polly is introduced very early on and is cheeky, sexy and
forward – a totally different breed of companion to the likes of Susan,
Vicki, and Dodo. In the Inferno Club that she takes Dodo to, we also meet
Ben who at first seems to be the antithesis of Polly – sullen and
withdrawn. Polly tries to cheer him up, and in the end he ends up rescuing
her from a dodgy guy who won’t take no for an answer and hey presto, a
rocky friendship is born. He thinks she’s stuck up and christens her
“Duchess,” and she thinks that he has no sense of humour. How these two
never got together on screen I’ve no idea; they really are the perfect
love match.
I
really enjoyed listening to Wills recount her memories of making this
serial in the DVD’s intimate commentary. I don’t recall Wills ever doing a
DVD commentary before – in fact, I don’t think any Polly stories have
been released on DVD to date, unless you count a few rogue episodes
included within the Lost in Time release – and I certainly hope
that this one is not her last. The director of The War Machines,
Michael Ferguson, is also something of a revelation on the commentary. Not
only is he able to recall many fascinating titbits about the production,
but also he’s also able to spot a young Frank Butcher amidst a gang of
extras despite him only being on screen for about three seconds. The
production subtitles also taught me a thing or two here – for example, I
had no idea that Wills was married to Michael Gough, the infamous
Celestial Toymaker, during her time on the series. Perhaps her forthcoming
second autobiography might well be worth a peek; the front cover alone
(above) certainly makes the prospect rousing.
The DVD’s flagship bonus feature, WOTAN Assembly, is sadly just ten
minutes long, but they are certainly ten extraordinary minutes. I’ve a
real fondness for featurettes that focus on the restoration of episodes
for DVD, and it has to be said that bringing The War Machines back
to life is one of the most incredible and challenging projects that the
Restoration Team has ever tackled. When I first saw this story when it was
released on VHS, I was amazed at how seamlessly the Restoration Team had
woven together so many disparate elements to restore the original four
episodes, and that was still with a few minutes of footage missing. From
what I understand, the four episodes that are included on this DVD are
back up to their full 1966 length. Truly astonishing work.
I’ve really
enjoyed watching The War Machines again. Plagued as it is by
terribly-dated WOTAN ‘tests’ (which a modern calculator could pass) and
cringeworthy references to “Doctor Who” the character, the serial is still
full of charm and, after a very varied third season, represented a
definite step in the right direction for Doctor Who the television
programme.
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