Day 63 — March 4th 2021
The War Machines — Episodes One and Two
The War Machines — Episode One
First things first; this is a good one, innit? It’s the first time we’ve had two consecutive stories written by the same writer, Ian Stuart Black, and just as with The Savages it suddenly feels like we’re watching quote-unquote ‘proper’ Doctor Who. It’s also clear once more what areas of science fiction appeal to Black — this one shares with The Macra Terror the idea of a companion being taken over by enemy agents, and used against Doctor Who. On this occasion it’s Dodo, who has something of an unusual episode.
Unusual because she seems to be sidelined for a lot of it. Once we reach the Inferno club the story is far more interested in the story of Ben and Polly, leaving Dodo to languish at the bar until she receives the fateful call from WOTAN. Once she does, though, it’s surprisingly effective. We’ve never seen a companion be possessed like this before, and it’s actually quite scary when she arrives at the Post Office Tower for her instructions.
This episode also begs the question of when Dodo is actually from. She’s suprised to see the Post Office Tower finished, which would suggest that she left London before construction was completed in 1964. We know this episode is set in 1966 (thanks to a line in The Faceless Ones), which would mean that Dodo has arrived back in London at least eighteen months to two years later. She said when she first arrived that no one would miss her — this might be the chance to put that to the test!
Ben and Polly get a decent start — it’s telling how quickly they feel ‘part’ of the show. That might be me applying significance because I know they’ll be leaving in the TARDIS tomorrow, and because I also know they work as some of the best companions of the 60s. Anneke Wills is especially good in this one, and her sense of humour as Polly feels absolutely genuine.
Doctor Who himself feels different in this one, too. He’s introduced to Professor Brett as being ‘a specialist in computer development’, though he claims he merely ‘dabbles’ in the area. Given how easily he’s able to get into the Post Office Tower, and to an area that we’re later told is tightly screened by security, I like to imagine he’s used the Psychic Paper off screen to bluff his way up here. It’s interesting that in both this and the previous story Doctor Who is immediately accepted by those in charge because they think of him as a scientist. Before now, he would have had to battle to get up to heart of the action.
It’s also great to see how much the character has been mellowed by Innes Lloyd as producer and Gerry Davis as Script Editor. When Dodo arrived in The Massacre and into the first episode of The Ark (both almost entirely created by the previous team even if they’d vacated by the time it made it to screen) Doctor Who was actively offended by her ‘modern’ language. Here, though, when Kitty praises his clothes as being ‘fab’ he seems actively amused by it. It’s nice to see the edges softened, especially after his walls seemed to go back up during the Wiles era.
During The Savages I praised the location work as far as we could see in the tele-snaps, and I commented that it would be something we’d see lots more of now as the programme develops under Lloyd. We get a good example of it today, opening with a gorgeous panning shot of London, and coming to rest on the arrival of the TARDIS in a square. It’s probably my favourite materialisation to date, and then it gets even better as William Hartnell steps out onto location. I’m wracking my brains to think back over the last two seasons, but I think I’m right in saying that this is the first time he’s been out to location since The Dalek Invasion of Earth. He didn’t get to join Purves on location for The Myth Makers or The Savages, and he didn’t go with William Russell for The Chase, only Jackie Lane went to Wimbledon in The Massacre, and I can’t remember any other instances of the regulars heading outside since then.
It’s amazing how much the programme feels like it’s changed in these last two stories, but this really does feel so much more modern and vibrant than the almost entirely studio-bound run of stories we’ve had to this point. This feels far more in keeping with the type of series I’ll be watching over the next few months and beyond, and I’m loving it.
When I did my last marathon, The War Machines turned out to be a surprise highest-rated story for Hartnell’s era, and I’m pleased to say that I’m still really liking this opening episode today. A solid 8/10.
We’ve got some particularly interesting — well, I think so! — TARDIS stuff to bring up today. The War Machines marks the final appearance of the original TARDIS prop, and the introduction of the revised Second Edition of the prop… and both in the same scene!
When the prop was taken on location on Sunday 22nd May, it looked pretty much the same as it had since production of The Chase the previous summer. It had the white window frames, a lighter frame for the ‘Pull to Open’ panel, and a (partially obscured) St John’s Ambulance badge. But when we cut to the material shot in studio on Friday 10th June the box suddenly looks different! The window frames are now dark blue to match the rest of the prop, the badge has been removed, and although the phone panel is the same, it’s been given a fresh lick of paint.
The changes were made as part of a larger refit of the entire TARDIS prop. The old one was getting pretty knackered after almost three years of use, and it’s my supposition that being hauled out on location two stories in a row really highlighted just how fragile the prop had become. Luckily, the team had all the parts needed to repair the box on hand.
It’s likely that the whole thing was taken apart for the renovation, and we know that when it was put back together the original front and back of the box were discarded. They were replaced with two of the white TARDIS ‘cupboards’ which had been made for the third episode of The Celestial Toymaker. Although these were fairly close replicas of the original TARDIS they didn’t quite match up, and what remained of the old box had to be cut about to match.
The corner posts were shortened, and the roof was lowered, too, making the overall box significantly shorter than before. The new front and back were slightly wider than the old ones, which means the revamped box is more of a rectangle than a square. The prop is shot quite tightly in studio — both here and in the final episode of the story — so it’s hard to really appreciate the alterations right away. One of the key things which gets missed is that the ‘Police Public Call Box’ signs on the front and back now feature black letters, while the sides continue to have white lettering.
It’s ironic that painting the window frames blue means the prop now more closely matches the model created for The Rescue, but that model would retain the St John’s Ambulance badge for a long time yet, meaning they still didn’t match up quite right!
The box will get a few more alterations over the rest of its life (another decade on from here!), but this is the biggest change this particular prop ever went through.
The War Machines — Episode Two
This episode is probably the single best example of the then-current production team absolutely intending the lead character’s name to be ‘Doctor Who’. Not only does WOTAN use this name repeatedly, so do a number of other characters. I particularly enjoy Professor Brett saying ‘Top priority is to enlist Doctor Who!’, because there’s something about it which sounds so melodramatic and cool!
By that same token, I don’t think it’s as clear cut as some people take it to be. If you’re one of the people who don’t like his name to be ‘Doctor Who’, then you can easily assume that WOTAN made a mistake, and all the other characters are simply going on what their current master has told them. This always used to be presented as absolute proof, but I’m not sure it’s as tied up as people think.
The biggest thing to note about this episode, of course, is that it’s Jackie Lane’s final appearance as Dodo. It’s somewhat fitting that she should go in such an off-hand manner, given her introduction to the show was just as strange. It feels so rubbish, though, doesn't it? Especially when she’s been given some decent material to work with in this story, being controlled by WOTAN and trying to lure Doctor Who into its grasp.
I always used to think it was strange that Dodo should disappear in the middle of a story, and it seems to be the case that a conscious decision was made to only renew her contract this far. Quite why they didn’t take the chance to have her either leave a fortnight earlier with Peter Purves, or to extend the contract out a fortnight in the other direction, and have her choose to stay behind is anyone’s guess. Certainly contracts were being issued quite late at this point, as Purves was only contracted to stay on after The Ark after the first episode of that story had been recorded!
Whatever the reason for her abrupt departure, Dodo has gone all the same. I was a bit skeptical when she arrived, and I always think of her as being a sort of ‘nothing’ companion, but actually she’s been really good fun. She’s been written totally inconsistently from story to story (her delight at the deadly games in The Celestial Toymaker seems especially out of place!), and her performance is often criticised, but it’s worthwhile remembering that she found herself caught right in the change-over between production teams with different agendas and intentions for the series. In this story and The Savages at least she’s been brilliant, and I think I’m actually going to miss her!
Elsewhere this episode is another good one, making use of location work to really stand out. There’s whole sequences in the warehouse which feel totally unlike anything we’ve seen in Doctor Who before now. They’re not even the most interesting of scenes, but they feel totally fresh. Setting Who stories in a then-contemporary London will become a mainstay before long, but here it’s just as alien as the quarry from last week. There’s something really lovely about being in a world of bricks and taxies and phone booths, and something magical about seeing Hartnell’s Doctor Who there, as it’s so unlike the stories we’re used to.
And oh, alright, I’ll admit that the death of a tramp making the front page of the edition published only a couple of hours after his death is a bit silly, especially with the suggestion that there’s a photograph for Ben to have recognised. I’d love to say we’re actually another 36 hours on from their brief meeting, but Doctor Who expressly states it’s the same day!
A 7/10 for this one.
