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Doctor Who - The War Games [DVD] [1969]

Patrick Troughton (Actor), Frazer Hines (Actor) Rated: Parental Guidance Format: DVD
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (500)
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6 July 2009 		—
3
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£7.99 £17.00

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Genre Military & War
Format Black & White, PAL
Contributor Patrick Troughton, Philip Madoc, Edward Brayshaw, Frazer Hines, Bernard Horsfall, Wendy Padbury
Language English
Number of discs 3

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Product description

Patrick Troughton’s final adventure as Doctor Who is something of an epic by the show’s standards. For The War Games spans a full ten episodes, and gives on of the most endearing popular actors to take on the title role a fitting, and quite unsettling, send off.

The last Doctor Who> adventure to be filmed in black and white, The War Games sees the Doctor, along with companions Jamie and Zoe, seemingly in the midst of the trenches of World War I. But things soon take a puzzling turn, when the Roman Army appear, as well as American civil war soldiers.

The mystery of just what’s going on in The War Games keeps the interest going throughout the story’s prolonged episode count. Granted, there’s some lag on its journey, but the subsequent digging into the Time Lords as a race that the adventure contains is fascinating and very welcome.

When Troughton does finally end his tenure, it’s not in the showy blockbuster way you might expect of today’s Doctor Who. And while, of course, the title character would re-emerge in the form of Jon Pertwee, it’s still some ending.

Packaged up with the usual high standard of extras that we’ve come to expect from classic Doctor Who DVDs, The War Games is a strong serial, and a welcome addition to di sc. More Patrick Troughton stories would be much appreciated… --Jon Foster

Product details

  • Rated ‏ : ‎ Parental Guidance
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.5 x 1.5 x 19 cm; 134 g
  • Manufacturer reference ‏ : ‎ 5014503180027
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Black & White, PAL
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 4 hours and 10 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ 6 July 2009
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Philip Madoc, Edward Brayshaw
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ 2entertain
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B002ATVD8W
  • Country of origin ‏ : ‎ Czech Republic
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 3
  • Customer reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 500 ratings

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4.7 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • ÍøÆغÚÁÏ Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Doctor Who The War Games, BBC DVD Release.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 December 2024
    Verified Purchase
    A ten episode B/W BBC serial story. The first nine episodes are good and concern the actions of a powerful unknown race, finding fighters from Earth's history. The last episode is brilliant and introduces the all powerful Time Lords. The DVD has loads of good extras.
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  • Paul Tapner
    5.0 out of 5 stars the wars to end all wars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 August 2009
    Verified Purchase
    the final doctor who story of the 1960's. patrick troughtons final regular appearance in the role. and the final one to be made in black and white. presented here in a three disc dvd box set.

    It was a slightly troubled season for doctor who with the regulars about to move on, some rather average scripts, and some stories falling through. Faced with having to write ten episodes to round off the season and the era, the scriptwriters put the doctor and friends in the middle of world war one. Or so it seems. because as they escape trouble in the trenches they run into more soldiers from other eras.

    This whole planet contains human warriors from throughout history. brought together for a sinister purpose. And the problem may be too big for the doctor to solve on his own.

    Up to this point we knew nothing about his origins. but here the time lords are finally introduced. in rather spectacular fashion at the end of part nine, when they live up to their name.

    featuring some excellent direction and some very good acting, this is a real epic. It's a good story, but it's not quite a great story. becaue it is a bit too long. you may feel that in the middle when the story does, just for a moment, threaten to start going round in circles.

    And yet, with so much going on, in a quality production, you may not notice or care that much.

    the final episode introduces us to the doctor's homeworld, sees some touching goodbyes, and is a memorable end to the era.

    there are ten episodes in the story. there are five on each of the first two discs. these have the usual options for scene and episode selection, english language subtitles, language track, and audio captioning. and the picture for these episodes is of a quality significantly improved from the now rather old video release. they feature a commentary from cast members fraser hines and wendy padbury [doctors companions jamie and zoe] cast members philip madoc jane sherwin and graham weston, writer terrance dicks and producer derrick sherwin.

    dics one contains an easter egg. watch it on a computer and move the pointer over the doctor who logo in the top left. click when it lights up and this will play an audio recording made during the location filming for the story.

    disc three contains a big package of extras:

    war zone: a thirty five minute long documentary about the making of the story. well up to the usual standard of these it's well worth watching, especially for a lovely final shot of wendy padbury and fraser hines showing how friendship endures.

    shades of grey: running for roughly nineteen minutes it looks at black and white doctor who and other black and white tv of the 60's. and its an engrossing bit of history.

    now and then: runs for nine minutes and shows the locations used in the story as they were then and as they are now. some havent changed much, but it's nice to see them in colour and summer weather as opposed to the black and white winter filming of the story. mind you the rubbish dump used for the world war one scenes was filled in and is now an area of nice parkland, so seeing it as it now is quite a contrast.

    the doctor's composer: an eighteen minute long feature/interview on composer dudley simpson who wrote the vast majority of incidental music for doctor who for over a decade. he has good ancedotes to tell but they're interdispered with clips from the era showing the tunes he wrote, and this rather spoils the pacing of the whole thing. this is only part one of his story, and part two should be on another in this range in due course.

    sylia james in conversation: a nine minute long talk with a makeup designer from the era is a good watch, as she's an articulate lady and good talker with a few good tales to tell.

    talking about regeneratin runs for nineteen minutes and looks at all the times, in old and new doctor who, when a regeneration has happened. making some good points about how they came across on screen, this is entertaining stuff.

    stripped for action: looks at the second doctors life in comic strips. running for just thirteen minutes this is better paced than the longer one about the seventh doctor that was out recently in this range, and anyone who hasnt read them will have no trouble getting into this. and it makes them sound well worth reading. this has to be watched for the sight of a story showing skiing cybermen.

    on target: running for eighteen minutes approx and first in a series for this range about writers who novelised the stories, this looks at the work of the lake malcolm hulke, co writer of the war games and several novelisations. and a lot of other stuff. a nice tribute to the man it also contains some interesting writing tips, and so it's worth a watch.

    devious: this runs for twelve minutes and was a doctor who story made by a group of fans, featuring an alternate doctor taken out of time between the end of this story and the start of the third doctors era. famous for having it end with him regenerating into the third doctor, the original thing was six parts long. but here all you get is the opening, a brief compliation [and Imean brief] of the six parts, and then the regeneration. but since that features veteran actors peter tuddenham [the computers in blakes 7] hugh lloyd and then jon pertwee in his last appearance as the doctor, it's worth a look just for them. the whole thing does have some very flashy cgi that can be a bit distracting. the commentary from three of the people who made it is quite interesting and also contains a few audio extracts of jon pertwee.

    theres also a gallery of photos from the production of the story and the story itself.

    a trailer for the black guardian trilogy, the next release in this range.

    radio times listings, bbc publicity material, and design plans the SIDRAT craft seen in the story can be accessed as PDF files if you put the disc in a computer.

    there are production information subtitles on all the episodes that will give information about the story whilst you watch it should you switch them on.

    and for another easter egg click on the doctor who logo at the top of the main menu on disc three to see some hypnotic patterns that crop up on screen in the final episode. this lasts for a minute and watching it will possibly give you an epileptic fit. so I don't recommend it.

    But all in all a quality package, both story and extras wise. the bbc have done some great work with this one, and it's well worth getting
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  • Mark Conroy
    5.0 out of 5 stars "Goodbye Doctor"
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 August 2009
    Verified Purchase
    I'd seen the War Games once before buying this DVD, and as such pre-ordered it as soon as I could. Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor is one of my favourites of the 10, and it's both tragic that so much of his run is lost, and fantastic that this story is preserved, and truly given the attention it deserves.

    I'll talk about the story first, turning my attention to the writing. Terrance Dicks is by no means my favourite writer for Doctor Who, but he is not the worst, and I appreciate the enormity of his task in having to write 10 episodes, assisted by the fine Malcolm Hulke. 10 episodes is a daunting prospect for a new viewer, but don't be frightened. Dicks laments in the special features that the story is too long, but Dicks and Hulke really do a great job with the length, increasing the scope and urgency of the sprawling plot with each episode.

    The plot itself is genius - unfolding slowly with each revelation made the most of, the tension never lets up, even if there is a lot of corridor-running and escaping. The device of moving between time zones keeps the narrative fresh and interesting, and each time Our Heroes make a foray onto the War Lord's base reveals something more about their plan. The last episode is of course noteworthy for introducing us to the Time Lords, finally naming the Doctor's race. This is thrilling stuff - even with all the later muddlings of the Time Lords, they're shown here as ruthless, all-powerful, and very mysterious.

    The War Games also works as a political allegory. Hulke's left wing tendencies, combined with his gift for characterisation, shine through in the characters and themes of this story. The establishment are almost always portrayed as evil, with the hypnotic General Smythe and Von Weich serving as underlings to the greater foes, the War Chief, the War Lord, and the Security Chief. Of course, the entire narrative is a fierce, unapologetic statement against war.

    Now to the acting. It's pretty top notch across the board here, with the only weak link being James Bree's Security Chief, who is laughably bad in all of his scenes. The regulars are on great form as usual - Troughton is the consummate Doctor, by turns heroic, intelligent, vulnerable, and funny, with Jamie and Zoe complementing him perfectly. The rest of the supporting cast do their jobs well.

    The production also looks fantastic, with an abundance of location filming (which always benefits Doctor Who) and very convincing studio sets. The central base starts to look old by virtue of the story's length, but it's a very inventive design. The place where the Time Lords show up is suitably understated. All in all, this is a fantastic swansong for Patrick Troughton's Doctor, making great use of all possible resources and, incredibly, providing tension throughout all ten episodes.

    So, I love the story. What about features?

    I haven't watched the commentary yet, but I'm sure it's very good, as Doctor Who commentaries generally are. The documentary on the story is stylish and interesting, with all involved remembering the production fondly - it is a shame Patrick Troughton had to die so long ago. There are some other interesting documentaries, such as one covering writer Malcolm Hulke's work with the novelisation range, and another continuing the "Stripped for Action" series, examining the 2nd Doctor as represented by comic books. A third covers Dudley Simpson's work as composer, while a fourth has academics discussing the credibility of the historical representations in the story. The "Now and Then" locations feature is comparatively dull.

    Also of note is a fan film bridging the gap between The War Games and Spearhead From Space. It's only really noteworthy for featuring Jon Pertwee - it's otherwise kind of boring, if an interesting little tidbit.

    So overall I have to give this DVD 5 stars, from its awesome story to its amazing range of special features, it will keep you entertained for hours.
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  • Fabrizio Beccari
    5.0 out of 5 stars Doctor Who in 10 puntate
    Reviewed in Italy on 4 March 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Bellissima edizione che in 3 DVD propone tutte le 10 puntate di questa avventura del Dottore.
    E' l'ultima ad essere girata i bianco e nero. Ma sono gli speciali del terzo disco a fare davvero la differenza. Vivamente consigliato agli amanti del genere.
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  • Carine Boxho
    5.0 out of 5 stars Doctor Who
    Reviewed in France on 17 August 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Une collection qui s'agrandit de plus en plus. Le prix était très raisonnable et j'ai pu continuer à remplir mon étagère pour un prix tout à fait raisonnable. Il m'en reste encore beaucoup à acheter.
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  • Dominic C
    5.0 out of 5 stars First experience of second doctor...
    Reviewed in Canada on 24 July 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Given that I'd never seen him in action before, and hadn't had previous stories to become emotionally attached, this serial was all I needed to feel the tug when this regeneration of the doctor came to his conclusion at the end of this story. 10 episodes which didn't drag and felt nice and doctory. Excellent special features too.
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  • Crazy Fox
    5.0 out of 5 stars "All these evils I have fought, while you have done nothing but observe!"
    Reviewed in the United States on 15 November 2009
    Verified Purchase
    As the last Doctor Who story of the 1960's, "The War Games" seems to be encapsulating and then enlarging on all that was unique and wonderful about the series during its black & white decade, and it succeeds with flying colors. The story hits the ground running and draws the viewer in as it goes, disguising itself first as a good solid historical story for which the show was known but set in the midst of the First World War, then quietly introducing curiously anomalous elements leading the attentive observer to gradually assume that this is a pseudo-historical of a sort the show had innovated and developed, finally frustrating this expectation for something in a way even stranger yet--and much more sinister. Patrick Troughton's portrayal of the Doctor as clownishly bungling if only to disarm his opponents amuses here as always, but also serves to accentuate the bleak and grim fact that now for once the situation spins more out of his control with his every move, until his palpable panic when he's forced to involve his own people (the Time Lords, as revealed here for the first time) is positively electrifying. In the end, he is punished for saving the day, but not before articulating his reasons for doing so with classic eloquence indelibly defining this character forevermore.

    At ten episodes long and in a pivotal position in the show's history, this rare masterpiece has so much that could be noted about it, and different things will stand out to different folks. Something that strikes me first is that here is a science fiction storyline that only the BBC could get away with without looking shoddy or half-baked; their experience and expertise in historical dramas, their attention to accurate detail in sets and costumes, allows "The War Games" to manage not just one realistically believable war zone but many, each one quite distinct. And the ragtag collection of renegades assembled from all different historical eras is a weird sight you'll only ever see in Doctor Who. Just as intriguing in a way is the story's attitude to war as a whole, touching on its horrors and absurdities in a responsible manner appropriate to the show's format and audience, generally taking a dim view of it but not in a gratingly preachy manner. On a different note, there is something clearly archetypal going on in the battle of wits between the Doctor and the War Chief, another renegade Time Lord who, like the Doctor, does "tend to get involved in things" but out of aggressive self-interest. Retrospectively speaking, it's hard not to see this one-off character as a prototype of the Master, but merely within the space of this story alone his rather bombastic mood swings nicely contrast with the smoothly calculating cruelty of the War Lord: a fine balance of complementary villainy, indeed.

    Speaking of complementary pairs, Jamie with his brawn and Zoe with her brains really shine here as the Doctor's companions, and the chemistry and friendship between these three characters seems so natural that the nature of their separation at the end is all the more poignant. The bad guys are defeated, and yet the tale ends on a plaintive note of heartbreaking loss. Few shows have the guts to do this, and of those few can manage it with such a sure touch of subtlety. To be honest, Doctor Who itself has kind of dropped the ball on this score more than once, making it all the more precious that "The War Games" aims true and on target as it does. Still, it's odd that four incarnations later the Doctor was put on trial again on the same charges--perhaps Time Lord jurisprudence has no concept of double jeopardy?
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  • Chris Strong
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on 9 July 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Great
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