“The War Machines” has a TON going for
it, in my book. Script, performances, direction – there is a lot to like about
this story, and I do indeed like it greatly. It doesn’t hurt that it comes
after the yawnfest that was “The Savages”. Just about anything would be more
interesting after that one. But even apart from its predecessor, “The War
Machines” is just flat out good. While watching it, I took more notes than I
have for a while because there was so much I wanted to remember and point out.
This could go on forever if I *don’t* do this entry in a list form, so here we
go:
- This is the first story to be set in modern day London since the very first episode, and there was a nice little touch that I absolutely think was coincidental. When the TARDIS takes off at the end of “An Unearthly Child” it’s a “vertical” take-off, zooming out from a map of London. The opening of “The War Machines” reverses this effect, zooming in until we see a street in London and watch the TARDIS materialize. It has to be a coincidence, doesn’t it? It’s such a nice subtle bookend.
- From the beginning of the story, this feels a lot like a Pertwee episode, or even one that with little change could be made as part of the new series. The Doctor literally just wanders in to Professor Brett’s office and starts to examine WOTAN. No psychic paper in evidence, but it would explain a lot. The characterization of the Doctor isn’t dramatically different, but there are enough differences to make viewers wonder just what’s going on.
- “Doctor Who is required.” Sigh. OK, the references to “Dr. Who” were jarring, absolutely. Considering that WOTAN is supposed to know everything, are we supposed to take it as given that “Who” is the Doctor’s surname? Nope. Explain it away thusly – the Doctor is so mysterious that even WOTAN can only guess at the Doctor’s true identity. And, scene.
- Ben and Polly are adorable. Polly is the epitome of the Swingin’ 60’s, and Ben is a scrapper through and through. The two of them even have a “meet cute” like in every rom-com made today. Their actions really help carry this story, and they are obviously companion material from the very beginning. Speaking of companions…
- Dodo! She spends most of her time in this story under the control of WOTAN and then unconscious. Our final look at who is surely my least favorite companion ever is her asleep in a chair. I don’t know what was going on behind the scenes regarding Jackie Lane, but wow. To just have Dodo disappear halfway through the story, never to return, smacks of some sort of conflict. But whatever the reasons, Dodo is no more. I’m really OK with that.
- I mentioned the changes in the Doctor’s character a little earlier, with him seeming very Third Doctor-like. I don’t know if that different dynamic re-energized him, but William Hartnell is superb in this story. He is still identifiably “his” Doctor, but thinking about “An Unearthly Child” shows just how dramatically the character had changed over the years. It’s almost cliché at this point to make mention of the Doctor’s face off with a War Machine at the end of Episode Three. Good lord though, that’s a heroic Doctor pose if ever there was one.
- Dodo isn’t the only one to get an anticlimactic ending. WOTAN himself just kind of explodes a little bit, and catches fire. For a super-computer who planned on controlling the whole of human population it was a bit lackluster. No blaze of glory, no ominous last words, but admittedly a lot of smoke.
I hadn’t expected to like “The War
Machines” as much as I did. Perhaps because I was so underwhelmed by the
previous story, or maybe my awareness of how close to the end of the Hartnell
years lowered my expectations. Either way I was pleasantly surprised by this one.
It was paced and shot well, especially considering how cumbersome the War
Machines truly were. They weren’t necessarily fearsome, unless you were a stack
of fruit crates, but they gave a good appearance of a massive, threatening
robot. Mission accomplished. The change in tone for the story and the Doctor’s
character would set the stage for what was to come, and absolutely changed it
for the good. “The War Machines” is one of those stories that makes me glad I’m
doing this rewatch. I have a new and renewed appreciation for what is truly an
underrated gem.
NEXT
EPISODE: The Smugglers
"The War Machines" novelization cover, courtesy The TARDIS Data Core at
tardis.wikia.com
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