27: The War Machines

Before Watching

The reputation of this story precedes it. The first Doctor Who story entirely set on contemporary Earth. The first ‘megalomaniac giant computer’ story. The first story in which not one companion remains from the previous story by the end of it. Think about that one for a minute. In “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” Susan leave, but Ian and Barbara stay. In “The Chase” Ian and Barbara leave but Vicky stays. In “The Myth Makers” Vicky leaves but Steven stays. In “The Savages” Steven left but Dodo stayed – unfortunately.

It’s often been said that the UNIT era during Jon Pertwee’s tenure owes a lot to this story, “The Web of Fear” and “The Invasion”. So it will be interesting to see just how true this will prove to be, and whether there is a recognizable development, or whether it’s just a superficial similarity based upon the fact that “The War Machines” is set in contemporary Britain.

After Watching

Well, yes, on reflection, you can see some of the features of the UNIT era which are also apparent in this story. WOTAN, the megalomaniac supercomputer, capable of mind control, seems to me to be a close cousin of BOSS, the computer in The Green Death.

The Doctor seems to be no stranger to officialdom either. He effortlessly talks his way in to see WOTAN, and is quite chummy with the Minister all the way through. Professor Brett, the unfortunate inventor of WOTAN – why does everyone call it VOTAN by the way – seems very chummy with the Doctor as well. In fact the first 15 minutes or so of the first episode remind me a lot of a number of stories from the Pertwee era, with the Doctor popping in to look at some research project or other which is just about to be hijacked, or to go terribly wrong.

This story seems to be pretty much a sea change for the Doctor and for the series as a whole– something you can tell right from the way that the title – the Machines together with the number of each episode, is typed up on the screen in that futuristic and asymmetrical font they used to use in the 60s and 70s to make things look futuristic. The story is an interesting inversion – by this stage of the show the Doctor is our point of fixed reference, a point of normalcy with which we the viewers can identify. Here, though, presumably the original viewers could have identified with a great deal more in this story. Blimey, I was only born in 1964, but a lot of the London in which the story is set still looks pretty familiar to me. This does affect the atmosphere of the show, in a way which is going to be picked up by The Web Planet and The Invasion in the next few years.

I kind of think that the machines themselves are the last attempt for this season at least to make something with the popular appeal of the Daleks. In some shots they are pretty impressive, but the fire extinguisher guns are a mistake – not unlike the guns the Daleks use in the two Peter Cushing films. They’re a decent enough attempt, and some of the scenes of them trundling along the streets of London are effective.

There were some pretty funny things going on with the regular cast by this time. Apologies if what I say is inaccurate, but it’s what I’ve read. Clashes with William Hartnell allegedly led to John Wiles quitting the show as producer, and Innes Lloyd was reputed to want to replace him asap. Actually, as far as screen time goes, The War Machines plays a lot fairer by William Hartnell than the Massacre, The Celestial Toymaker, and even The Savages did. But the messing around with Hartnell really pales into insignificance next to the very cavalier way that Dodo is dropped from the show. because that’s exactly what she is. There’s no leaving scene at all. Dodo’s mind – what there is of it – is put under the control of WOTAN. After the Doctor uses hypnosis to free her from its control he sits her on a chair, then arranges for her to go to the Minister’s place in the country to recover. She never comes back! All that happens is she sends a letter to the Doctor telling him that she’s off in the last scene. I suppose it’s better than sacrificing yourself like Sara or Katarina, but at least they got to do it on screen.

Which brings me to the new companions, Polly and Ben. Polly, played by stunning Anneke Wills, former Mrs. Michael Gough, is a PA (what else in the 1960s?) working for Professor Brett. Ben is a sailor that Polly meets when she takes Dodo to a fab and groovy nightspot – a place which the Doctor visits and finds he is actually really on trend clothes wise. It’s probably right that the crew was refreshed at this point. Steven lasted for 11 stories, and that isn’t actually a bad length of time – it’s longer than Susan for example, but I think the possibilities of his character were becoming exhausted, as were the possibilities of finding more and more humiliating things for Peter Purves to do. Good old Peter Purves – always gave full value for money whether in Doctor Who or Blue Peter. As for Dodo, well she only stuck around for 5 stories – 6 if you count her appearance right at the end of the Massacre. She only arrived halfway through this same season, but frankly, that was more than enough. I don’t know that any writer ever really had much of a handle on what she was all about, and she was a bit of a dud. These two at least have a bit of  life about them. Mind you they are going to have to work hard in the Smugglers and The Tenth Planet, because by the end of the Tenth Planet they are going to have to be the focus of normality for the viewers to tide them as gently as possible through the Hartnell to Troughton regeneration.

Back to the War Machines.  I can’t say that I think it’s a classic, because I don’t. I think it’s importance lies in the fact that it is the first story to be set on contemporary Earth – in fact, contemporary London, and as such it was setting a template for a significant amount of what was to follow. As a story in its own right, though, well it’s OK, but I can’t help comparing it with another megalomaniac mind control super computer story, “The Green Death” from the 10^th season during Jon Pertwee’s tenure, which knocked this into a cocked hat.

What Have We Learned?

The Doctor seems to have some friends or at least familiar acquaintances in high places – maybe accumulated during the months that he and Susan were on earth immediately prior to An Unearthly Child.