The War Machines
Encyclopedia
The War Machines is a serial in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 science fiction television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

, which was first broadcast in 4 weekly parts from 25 June to 16 July 1966. This serial is the first appearance of Michael Craze
Michael Craze
Michael Craze was a British actor noted for his role of Ben Jackson, a companion of the Doctor, in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. He played the part from 1966 to 1967 alongside both William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton.Craze was born in Cornwall...

 and Anneke Wills
Anneke Wills
Anneke Wills is an English actress, best-known for her role as the Doctor Who's companion Polly in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Biography:...

 as pending companions
Companion (Doctor Who)
In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels with, and shares the adventures of the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as both deuteragonist and audience surrogate...

 Ben Jackson and Polly
Polly (Doctor Who)
Polly is a fictional character played by Anneke Wills in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A young woman from the year 1966, she was a companion of the First and Second Doctors and a regular in the programme from 1966 to 1967.-Character history:Polly first...

, as well as marking the departure of Jackie Lane
Jackie Lane
Jackie Lane is an English actress noted for her role as Dodo Chaplet, a companion of the Doctor, in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who....

 as Dodo Chaplet
Dodo Chaplet
Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet is a fictional character played by Jackie Lane in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. An Earth teenager from the year 1966, she was a companion of the First Doctor and a regular in the programme in its third season, from February to July,...

.

Plot

The TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...

 lands in London, near the Post Office Tower
BT Tower
The BT Tower is a tall cylindrical building in London, United Kingdom, located at 60 Cleveland Street, Fitzrovia W1T 4JZ, London Borough of Camden. It has been previously known as the Post Office Tower, the London Telecom Tower and the British Telecom Tower. The main structure is tall, with a...

. The Doctor is unsettled by a sensation of a strange energy nearby. Visiting the newly completed Tower, the Doctor and Dodo meet Professor Brett, the creator of WOTAN (Will Operating Thought ANalogue), an advanced problem-solving computer that thinks for itself. Curiously, WOTAN even knows what the word 'TARDIS' stands for. In four days' time, on C-Day, WOTAN will be linked to other major computers to take them over, including those of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

, Cape Kennedy
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...

 and the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

.

Dodo goes with Polly
Polly (Doctor Who)
Polly is a fictional character played by Anneke Wills in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A young woman from the year 1966, she was a companion of the First and Second Doctors and a regular in the programme from 1966 to 1967.-Character history:Polly first...

, Brett's secretary, to the local Inferno nightclub, where they meet Able Seaman
Able Seaman (rank)
In the British Royal Navy in the middle of the 18th century, the term able seaman referred to a seaman with at least two years' experience at sea...

 Ben Jackson, while the Doctor attends a Royal Scientific Club meeting about WOTAN, led by Sir Charles Summer. Before Brett can depart the GPO Tower for the meeting, he is hypnotised by a humming noise emitted by WOTAN. He then fetches Krimpton, an electronics colleague, from the meeting and takes him to WOTAN, who is likewise possessed by the computer. Major Green, the chief of security in the Tower, is also taken over, and sends WOTAN's control signals to Dodo at the nightclub via telephone. Going to the tower, WOTAN tells her "Doctor Who is required. Bring him here."

WOTAN has concluded that mankind cannot develop the world any further, and intends to take over using an army of War Machines - mobile computers like itself. Using its hypnotic control, WOTAN enlists a workforce to construct 12 War Machines around London, which is the first capital to become controlled. One of these machines is built in a warehouse in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...

, close to the Inferno nightclub. Dodo, the Doctor, Ben and Polly leave for Sir Charles' residence, where the Doctor has been invited to stay, in a taxi that drops off a tramp by the nightclub. Looking for a place to sleep, the tramp discovers Brett and a workforce building Machine 3 in the warehouse. The tramp is caught, and killed when he tries to escape.

The next day, Dodo manages to get the Doctor to telephone Brett at the GPO Tower, and he is nearly possessed by WOTAN. Thinking the Doctor is now controlled, Dodo gives herself away by revealing that the War Machines are being "constructed in strategic points in London". The Doctor breaks WOTAN's hypnotic control over her, and she is sent to stay with Sir Charles' wife in the country to recover.

When Polly fails to show up to a luncheon with Ben, the Doctor sends the lad to investigate the area around the nightclub, after reading about the death of the tramp in the newspaper. Ben also discovers the War Machine in the warehouse, now fully assembled and being tested under Major Green's supervision. Ben is detected by the Machine, and caught by the now hypnotised Polly. However, Ben is spared when Polly states that "WOTAN requires all the slave labour we can find". While working with the others, Ben learns that the 12 War Machines are to attack at noon the next day. He escapes, although seen yet not stopped by Polly, and alerts the Doctor and Sir Charles. Polly is sent back to the Tower to be punished by WOTAN.

Under Sir Charles' instruction, an army taskforce investigates the warehouse, but their weapons are somehow disabled by the War Machine. They are forced to retreat, but when Doctor stands defiantly before the Machine as it emerges from the warehouse, it stops - it had not been completely programmed. With the deactivation of Machine 3, the workmen, including Major Green, are released from its control. Examining the Machine's programming, the Doctor learns that the 11 others have been built across London, and are meant to attack at noon today. Soon after, there are reports of another War Machine - Machine 9 - taking to the streets, having gone rogue while it was being tested. With the help of the army, the Doctor traps the Machine in an electromagnetic forcefield - paralysing it - and reprogrammes it to destroy WOTAN. Ben goes to the GPO Tower ahead of Machine 9, and drags Polly out of the WOTAN room as the Machine enters and attacks the immobile computer. Krimpton is killed, but WOTAN is destroyed before it can give the order for the other 10 War Machines to commence their attack - and Brett and all the others who have been hypnotised return to normal.

Ben and Polly meet the Doctor at the TARDIS, to explain that Dodo has decided to stay in London. The Doctor thanks them and heads into the police box - followed by Ben and Polly, who enter the TARDIS with the intent to return Dodo's key, which the Doctor dropped earlier. They are then suddenly whisked off into time and space...

Continuity

  • WOTAN is pronounced "Votan" – as, it is explained, the Norse god sometimes was. It stands, though, for Will Operating Thought ANalogue, which is indicative of its ability to connect to the human brain.
  • WOTAN refers to the Doctor as "Doctor Who" – the only time the character is ever given this name within the series' narrative (though he is often credited as such in the end titles). WOTAN also manages to discern the meaning of the acronym TARDIS.
  • The story appears to end on 20 July 1966 - the date given in dialogue for the Second Doctor
    Second Doctor
    The Second Doctor is the second incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by character actor Patrick Troughton....

     story The Faceless Ones
    The Faceless Ones
    The Faceless Ones is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from April 8 to May 13, 1967. The story concerns a race of identity-stealing aliens known as the Chameleons...

    , also set in London, where Ben states that that is the same date as when he and Polly joined the TARDIS.
  • This serial is the only time during the black-and-white era of the series when the crew of the TARDIS is completely replaced, with the Doctor being the only continuing character.
  • The Past Doctor Adventures
    Past Doctor Adventures
    The Past Doctor Adventures were a series of spin-off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and published under the BBC Books imprint. For most of their existence, they were published side-by-side with the Eighth Doctor Adventures...

     novel The Time Travellers
    The Time Travellers
    The Time Travellers is a BBC Books original novel written by Simon Guerrier and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the First Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan.-External links:*...

    by Simon Guerrier
    Simon Guerrier
    Simon Guerrier is a British science fiction author and dramatist, closely associated with the fictional universe of Doctor Who and its spinoffs...

     is set in an alternative reality where the Doctor had not been around to stop WOTAN. The villain is never referred to by name, only as "the Machine", and while he was overthrown thousands were left insane by his mind-control and Britain was reduced to a technologically backward dictatorship.
  • The decision to set more episodes on present-day Earth was taken because the producers felt that the audience was becoming bored with the purely historical episodes that had been a major element of the show to date. As a result, this story marks the beginning of the turn away from historical stories. The next two historical stories, The Smugglers
    The Smugglers
    The Smugglers is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 10 September to 1 October 1966.-Plot:...

    (which immediately follows "The War Machines") and Season 4's The Highlanders
    The Highlanders (Doctor Who)
    The Highlanders is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 17 December 1966 to 7 January 1967....

    , were to be the last historical stories until Season 19's Black Orchid
    Black Orchid (Doctor Who)
    Black Orchid is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two parts on 1 March and 2 March 1982...

    .

Production

  • Working titles for this story included The Computers.
  • The idea for this story came about when Kit Pedler
    Kit Pedler
    Dr Christopher Magnus Howard "Kit" Pedler was a British medical scientist, science fiction author and writer on science in general....

     was being interviewed for a position as science adviser to the series. The producers asked all of the interviewees what would happen if the recently-built Post Office Tower somehow took over. Pedler suggested that it would be the work of a rogue computer that communicated with the outside world by means of the telephone system. The producers liked this suggestion and not only offered Pedler the job but developed the idea into a script (one of the few to feature a 'Story Idea by' credit). Pat Dunlop was then hired to write a full set of teleplays from Pedler's idea, but quit after becoming busy with other work, and the teleplays were subsequently done by Ian Stuart Black
    Ian Stuart Black
    Ian Stuart Black was a novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Both his 1959 novel In the Wake of a Stranger and his 1962 novel about the Cyprus emergency The High Bright Sun were made into films, Black writing the screenplays in each case.He also wrote scripts for several British television...

    , who had also written the previous serial, The Savages.
  • Only one War Machine prop was actually constructed; the production team changed the numbers, to represent the different machines.
  • The titling style of each episode in this serial differs from the standard titles of other serials. Instead of a title overlay, after the "Doctor Who" logo has faded, the screen shifts to a solid background containing four inversely coloured rectangles aligned down the left-hand side (reminiscent to an old-style computer punch card). The title, one word at a time, scrolls upwards - "THE", "WAR", "MACH", "INES" - with a final flash displaying the complete title on two lines. Another flash reveals the writer, the next flash reveals the word "EPISODE", and the final flash shows the actual episode number. All of the lettering displayed in this titling sequence is shown in a retro-computer font. Each of the four episodes' title sequences have slight variations to them.

Casting

  • Sandra Bryant appeared in The Macra Terror
    The Macra Terror
    The Macra Terror is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 11 March to 1 April 1967...

    as did John Harvey.
  • John Rolfe later played Sam in The Moonbase
    The Moonbase
    The Moonbase is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 11 February to 4 March 1967...

    and Fell in The Green Death
    The Green Death
    The Green Death is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast in six weekly parts from 19 May 1973 to 23 June 1973. It was the last to feature Katy Manning as companion Jo Grant in Doctor Who...

    .
  • Frank Jarvis later played Ankh in Underworld
    Underworld (Doctor Who)
    Underworld is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 7 January - 28 January 1978.-Synopsis:...

    and Skart in The Power of Kroll
    The Power of Kroll
    *When script editor Anthony Read asked Robert Holmes to write the story, there were two requirements: that it include the largest monster in series history and that Holmes minimise the humour that many scripts from the era were known for. This second requirement was a request from higher up at the...

    .
  • Michael Craze provided the voice of a policeman heard in Episode four.
  • WOTAN received a credit as "And WOTAN" at the end of the first three episodes, the only time a fictional character was credited as itself in the series.
  • Jackie Lane's contract expired midway through production of this story. She does not appear again after episode two; Dodo's off-screen departure is relayed to the Doctor by Polly.

Missing episodes

  • Aside from its soundtrack (recorded off-air by fans), this serial was lost in the junk of episodes in the 1970s
    Doctor Who missing episodes
    The Doctor Who missing episodes are the instalments of the long-running British science-fiction television programme Doctor Who that have no known film or videotape copies. They were wiped by the BBC during the 1960s and 1970s for economic and space-saving reasons...

    . The master videotapes for the story were the last of those starring William Hartnell to be junked, surviving until 1974. The 16mm film telerecording copies held by BBC Enterprises were also the last of their kind to be destroyed, surviving until 1978, shortly before the junking of material was halted by the intervention of fan Ian Levine
    Ian Levine
    Ian Levine is an English songwriter, producer, and DJ. He is also a well-known fan of the long-running television show Doctor Who.Levine attended Arnold School in Blackpool from 1963 to 1970...

    .
  • In 1978, a collector in Australia provided a copy of episode 2. Later in 1984 copies of all four episodes were returned from Nigeria
    Nigeria
    Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

    . Episodes 2, 3 and 4 all had cuts to them, but most have been restored due to a combination of the other copy of episode 2, material used in a promotional item on the BBC's Blue Peter
    Blue Peter
    Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...

    and censored clips from Australia
    Australia
    Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

    . Some of the restored footage did not have its accompanying soundtrack, and so the missing sound was restored from the off-air recordings.
  • To date, only episodes 3 and 4 do not exist in their entirety as was originally intended. Episode 3 is missing a visual brief bit of dialogue with Krimpton talking. This was replaced in the VHS release with a combination of a shot of WOTAN with the accompanied dialogue from the off-air recordings. Episode 3 is also missing around 59 seconds worth of the battle in the warehouse. Episode 4 is missing only a small amount of material. The first instance occurs with the man in the telephone box. Part of the continuing closeup of the man talking on the telephone is missing, but this was compensated on the VHS release by continuing in audio-only over the top of the beginning of the high shot of the phone box. There are also two lines of dialogue missing when Polly reports back to WOTAN. This scene, however, has not been re-instated for the VHS release as it was felt that there wouldn't be enough visual material to drop into the gap.
  • The DVD release has all of the episodes recreated and restored to their original length, as well as a 9 minute documentary showing how the DVD episodes were reconstructed from all the disparate sources.

In print

A novelisation of this serial, written by Ian Stuart Black
Ian Stuart Black
Ian Stuart Black was a novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Both his 1959 novel In the Wake of a Stranger and his 1962 novel about the Cyprus emergency The High Bright Sun were made into films, Black writing the screenplays in each case.He also wrote scripts for several British television...

, was published by Target Books
Target Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...

 in February 1989.

VHS, DVD and CD releases

  • The serial was released on VHS
    VHS
    The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

     in 1997, with an item from Blue Peter and a BBC1 "globe ident" (from the first part of the story) as extras.
  • A Region 2 DVD issue was released on 25 August 2008; the Region 1 DVD was released on 6 January 2009. With the advance in technology since the original VHS release, the sections which were missing from it have been reinstated using the audio and appropriate visual material.
  • Also, in 2007, an audio CD of the serial's soundtrack, with linking narration by and bonus interview with Anneke Wills, was released.

External links


Target novelisation

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