The War Games [TV/1969.4.19 ~ 6.21]

★★★★★

  I've watched The War Games countless times on many platforms (my DVD is all but worn out at this stage), but it was today, halfway through Episode 8, that it struck me — this is the ultimate Doctor Who story. The amalgamation of everything the franchise represents, everything it has done, does and will do in its long history and beyond, all here in this massive ten-parter. In a way, this would be the perfect TV serial/episode to introduce newcomers to the show with (if they're not intimidated by the massive 244-minute runtime). In this one serial, we've got:

• the Doctor, the companions and the TARDIS
• time and space travel, with the alien planet setting and the multiple wars from human history
• historical and science-fiction elements in equal measure
• a level of ambition that tries to go above the budget
• villains, a group of them with immense powers and a hierarchy of their own
• the Doctor as a mysterious stranger, worming through the scheme until it's unraveled in chaos
• the Doctor being happy, angry, clever, buffoonish, commanding and tender
• companions playing a vital role in being the Doctor's allies and boosting his morale
• intelligent discourse as well as action and guns
• the Time Lords, their unrivaled control over time and the danger they pose to everyone they deem trouble
• emotional goodbyes
• and even regeneration!

  Needless to say, this is an extraordinary achievement, and the fact that this was a last-minute replacement for a ten-week broadcast gap makes it nothing short of a miracle that it's this good. I can't even begin to describe how everything clicks together, how every big bad guy figurehead interacts with one another to create fascinating dynamics of their own, how Patrick Troughton provides one of his strongest performances to date, how David Maloney's direction blends perfectly with the exquisite costume and set design to create something special, how the war(s) setting and the uncharacteristically brutal action (the punches sound real) lend the story a harder edge, how this serial is probably one of the few Classic Series serials to not be let down by its budget... yes, this really is everything you could ask for in Doctor Who.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  Going back to my beginning paragraph — I'm not one to regularly create lists of favorites, but if I were to make one for my absolute favorite Doctor Who stories, there would be no question that The War Games would be in the highest echelon. Characters are memorable, production values are slick, ideas are mind-bogglingly huge (a planet full of different wars in Earth's history!) and consequences are set. There's no question that this serial is one of the most influential stories to date, and I applaud Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke for creating such a whopper. I'm not sure why more people don't sing its praises to the high heavens... it's transcendent.