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William Hartnell
The War Machines
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Synopsis


A War Machine
A War Machine
 The TARDIS arrives in London, 1966, where The Doctor and Dodo visit the recently opened Post Office Tower. At its top they discover a brilliant new problem-solving super computer - the Will Operating Thought ANalogue.

 But when WOTAN decides that it should rule the world, The Doctor is the only person who can stop its rampaging War Machines from destroying London. Luckily, he has the help of a young secretary called Polly and a sailor called Ben…

Source: BBC DVD


General Information

Season: Three
Production Code: BB
Story Number: 27
Episode Numbers:123 - 126
Number of Episodes: 4
Percentage of Episodes Held:100%
Working Titles:"The Computers"
Production Dates: May - June 1966
Broadcast Started: 25 June 1966
Broadcast Finished: 16 July 1966
Colour Status: B&W
Studio: Ealing Television Film Studios and Riverside (Studio 1)
Location: Fitzroy Square (London).
Writers:Ian Stuart Black (Based on an idea by Kit Pedler) and Pat Dunlop (Uncredited)
Director:Michael Ferguson
Producer:Innes Lloyd
Story Editor:Gerry Davis
Editor:Eric Mival
Production Assistant:Snowy White
Assistant Floor Managers:Lovett Bickford and Margot Hayhoe
Designer:Raymond London
Costume Designers:Barbara Lane and Daphne Dare
Make-Up Designer:Sonia Markham
Cameraman:Alan Jonas
Lighting:George Summers
Incidental Music:Raymond Jones
Special Sounds (SFX Editor):Brian Hodgson
Studio Sounds:David Hughes
Title Sequence:Bernard Lodge
Title Music:Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Delia Derbyshire
Number of Doctors: 1
The Doctor: William Hartnell (The First Doctor)
Number of Companions: 3The Companions: Jackie Lane (Dodo) (Departs), Anneke Wills (Polly Wright) (Joins) and Michael Craze (Ben Jackson) (Joins) Additional Cast: Alan Curtis (Major Green), John Harvey (Professor Brett), Sandra Bryant (Kitty), Ewan Proctor (Flash), William Mervyn (Sir Charles Summer), John Cater (Professor Krimpton), Ric Felgate (American Journalist), John Doye (Interviewer), Desmond Cullum-Jones (Worker), Roy Godfrey (Tramp), Michael Rathbone (Taxi-driver), Gerald Taylor (Machine Operator), Eddie Davis (Worker), John Rolfe (Captain), John Boyd-Brent (Sergeant), Frank Jarvis (Corporal), Robin Dawson (Soldier), Kenneth Kendall (Television Newsreader), George Cross (The Minister), Edward Colliver (Garage Mechanic), John Slavid (Man in telephone box), Dwight Whylie (Radio Announcer), Carl Conway (US Correspondent), Gerald Taylor (WOTAN)Setting: London (1966) Villain: WOTAN

The Episodes

No. Episodes Broadcast
(UK)
Duration Viewers
(Millions)
In Archive
123Episode 125 June 196624'01"5.416mm telerecording
124Episode 202 July 196624'00"4.716mm telerecording
125Episode 309 July 196623'58"5.316mm telerecording
126Episode 416 July 196623'11"5.416mm telerecording

Total Duration 1 Hour 35 Minutes


Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions) 5.2
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (1998)72.12%  (Position = 56 out of 159)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009)69.56% Lower (Position = 108 out of 200)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014)70.23% Higher (Position = 133 out of 241)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023) Position = 8 out of 29


Archives


 All episodes exist as 16mm telerecordings.



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Notes


There are special 'computer lettering' opening title graphics for each episode – The first time special captions have been used at the beginning of each episode. 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.

Two new actors join the cast: Anneke Wills, as secretary Polly Wright, and Michael Craze, as seaman Ben Jackson. Michael Craze also provides the voice of a policeman heard in episode four.

As Jackie Lane's contract expired midway through the production of this story she does not appear again after episode two; Dodo's off-screen departure, at the end of the story, is relayed to The Doctor by Polly.

Comedian and actor Mike Reid, perhaps best known for his role in EastEnders, in an early television appearance as an uncredited army soldier, is waiting beside the electrical trap for the War Machine in episode four.

Newsreader Kenneth Kendall and radio announcer Dwight Whylie appear as themselves. This is the first time that actual newsreaders appear as themselves in the show. Since the shows revival in 2005 this has become a regular occurrence during any contemporary stories.

WOTAN is given its own credit in the closing titles for the first three episodes. This is the only time in the show's history that a fictional creation receives a cast credit.

WOTAN is pronounced "Votan" – as, it is explained, the Norse god sometimes was. WOTAN though is an acronym for Will Operating Thought ANalogue, which is indicative of its ability to connect to the human brain.

WOTAN refers to The Doctor throughout as 'Doctor Who'. This is the only time that The Doctor is ever referred to in dialogue in this way (although he is credited as such on almost every episode up to and including those in Season Eighteen, adopts the alias 'Doctor von Wer' - a rough German approximation of 'Doctor Who' - in "The Highlanders" and signs himself 'Dr. W' in "The Underwater Menace"). While there is nothing in the show that directly contradicts it, many fans see WOTAN calling The Doctor this way as an error and several theories have tried to account for it, one noting that WOTAN may have been misinformed, since it also described The Doctor as ‘human’.

Only one War Machine prop was actually constructed; the production team changed the numbers, to represent the different machines.

This story is the first in Doctor Who to be completely set on a contemporary Earth. The previous landings of the TARDIS in the 1960s were either brief (the Empire State Building sequence from "The Chase", several landings during "The Daleks' Master Plan", the stop over on Wimbledon Common in "The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve") or exceptional ("Planet of Giants", where the TARDIS crew were shrunk down to the size of insects and could not fully interact with present day humans). Here, for the first time, we see The Doctor take a leading role in the protection of the planet, which becomes a regular theme for the show from here on.

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" (which immediately follows "The War Machines") and Season Four's "The Highlanders", were to be the last historical stories until Season Nineteen's "Black Orchid".

Despite being set in a contemporary Earth there has been some confusion and debate as to exactly when this story occurs. The story appears to end on 20 July 1966 - the date given in dialogue for the Second Doctor story "The Faceless Ones", also set in London, where Ben states that that is the same date as when he and Polly joined the TARDIS. However, it appears to start on 12 July 1966 as Sir Charles Summer says that ‘Computer Day, will be next Monday, July 16th, that is in four days time’. (Though the days of the week mentioned in "The War Machines" mean it cannot be in 1966 if they're the same in Doctor Who continuity as in the 'real' world, where 12 July 1966 was a Saturday.) As Sir Charles talks of Monday 16 July, this would set the story in either 1962 or 1973!

If the end of this story was on the 20th July 1966 then this would make this the busiest day for The Doctor in his time on Earth. As well as defeating the War Machines and WOTAN and gaining two new companions Polly and Ben. The Second Doctor would defeat the Chameleons and Polly and Ben would decide to leave the TARDIS ("The Faceless Ones"). It is also when the TARDIS is stolen and so is the beginning of the Second Doctor and Jamie McCrimmon's adventure against the Daleks ("The Evil of the Daleks").

The Past Doctors Stories novel "The Time Travellers" by Simon Guerrier 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.

This is the last complete William Hartnell era story, and the only story featuring Anneke Wills and Michael Craze, to exist in its entirety. All four episodes were reported missing, aside from its soundtrack (recorded off-air by fans), from the BBC Film and Videotape Library following an audit in 1978. 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.

Then in 1978 an ex-ABC print of the second episode was located in a private film collection in Australia, and a copy was made available to the BBC via collector Ian Levine. Later in October 1984 copies of all four episodes were returned from Midwest TV in Nigeria. However, it was discovered that episodes two, three and four all had cuts to them. Most have been restored due to a combination of the other copy of the second episode, material used in a promotional item on the BBC's children programme Blue Peter, censored clips recovered from Australia in 1996 and off-air soundtrack recordings. To date, only episodes three and four do not exist in their entirety as was originally intended.

The VHS release (released in 1997) only contained a partial restoration of the missing clips. The DVD release has all of the episodes recreated and restored to their original lengths.



First and Last

The Firsts:

 The introduction of new companion Polly played by Anneke Wills.

 The introduction of new companion Ben Jackson played by Michael Craze.

 The first time special captions have been used at the beginning of each episode.

 The first Doctor Who story to be completely set on a contemporary Earth.

 For the first time we see The Doctor take a leading role in the protection of Earth.

 The first time The Doctor is refered to, by a character in an actual story, as 'Doctor Who'.

 The first time that actual newsreaders appear as themselves in a story.

 The first time a fictional creation receives a cast credit.

 The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Michael Ferguson.

 The first occasion of a writer composing consecutive stories.


The Lasts (Subject to Future Stories):

 The last story of the Season Three.

 Jackie Lane's last story as companion Dodo.

 This is the last complete William Hartnell era story, and the only story featuring Anneke Wills and Michael Craze, to exist in its entirety in the BBC archives.


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The Plot

WARNING: May Contain SpoilersHide Text
The Doctor and Dodo Arrive in London
The Doctor and Dodo Arrive in London

The TARDIS lands in London, near the Post Office Tower, in 1966. The Doctor is unsettled by a sensation of strange, evil emanations from the building. The Doctor decides to visit the newly completed tower – there he and Dodo meet Professor Brett, who demonstrates his revolutionary new computer, WOTAN - an advanced problem-solving computer that thinks for itself.

But little does anyone suspect, WOTAN has become sentient and is using its abilities to take hypnotic control over its creators. It transpires that WOTAN has concluded that mankind cannot develop the world any further and so considers that humans are inferior to machines. Its mission therefore is not to serve mankind, but rather to eradicate it, so that artificial life can become the new dominant form of life on Earth.

While The Doctor attends a Royal Scientific Club meeting about WOTAN, lead by civil servant Sir Charles Summer, Dodo goes with Polly Wright, Brett's secretary, to the local Inferno nightclub, where they meet Ben Jackson - an Able Seaman in the Merchant Navy.

Dodo Outside the TARDIS
Dodo Outside the TARDIS

After Dodo becomes possessed by WOTAN, The Doctor learns of the 12 War Machines - heavily-armed, self-contained mobile computers - with WOTAN is having constructed, around the capital, so that he can use to take over the world. With WOTAN's hypnotic control over Dodo broken she is sent to stay with Sir Charles Summer's wife in the country to recover.

Then when Polly fails to show up to a luncheon with Ben, The Doctor sends the him to investigate the area around the nightclub, after reading about the death of a tramp in the newspaper, not realising that one of the War Machines is being built in a warehouse in Covent Garden, close to the Inferno nightclub.

The Post Office Tower
The Post Office Tower

When Ben discovers the fully assembled War Machine in the warehouse he finds himself detected by the Machine, and caught by the now hypnotised Polly. Ben is spared because WOTAN requires slave labour to construct his War Machines. While working with the others, Ben learns that the 12 War Machines are to attack at noon the next day. Ben eventually manages to escape, despite being seen, but not stopped, by Polly, and alerts The Doctor and Sir Charles Summer of what he has discovered.

Under Sir Charles' instruction, an army taskforce investigates the warehouse, but their weapons are no match to those of the War Machine which emerges from the warehouse. However, as it had not been completely programmed The Doctor is able to deactivate it. Soon after, there are reports of another War Machine - taking to the streets, having gone rogue while it was being tested.

Again with the help of the army, The Doctor traps the rogue War Machine in an electromagnetic forcefield - paralysing it - and re-programmes it to destroy WOTAN. Ben has just enough time to get to the Post Office Tower and rescue Polly before the re-programmed War Machine enters and attacks WOTAN. Once WOTAN is destroyed all the people it had hypnotised return to normal.

Dodo and Polly
Dodo and Polly

With the crisis over The Doctor returns to the TARDIS to await the return of Dodo. Instead Ben and Polly arrive and they explain to The Doctor that Dodo has decided to stay in London. The Doctor thanks them and heads into the police box. Of course Ben and Polly do not realise that this is the TARDIS and that The Doctor is about to leave Earth.

As they walk away Ben and Polly suddenly realise that they still have Dodo’s key and so they rush back and enter the police box, with the intent to return it to The Doctor. But just as they enter the TARDIS dematerialises and so find themselves whisked off into time and space…

 
The Doctor with WOTAN
The Doctor with WOTAN
Ben Jackson and Polly
Ben Jackson and Polly
Professor Brett
Professor Brett
A War Machine
A War Machine
 
Capturing a War Machine
Capturing a War Machine
A Trapped War Machine
A Trapped War Machine
The Doctor with Polly and Ben
The Doctor with Polly and Ben
Ben and Polly
Ben and Polly




Quote of the Story


 'You know there's something alien about that tower, I can sense it!'

The Doctor



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Release Information

FormatTitleRelease Date (UK)Code NumberCover ArtRemarks
Video
VHS
The War MachinesJune 1997BBCV 6183Photo-montage
Audio
CD
The War MachinesAugust 2007Photo-montageNarrated by Anneke Wills (Polly Wright)
Video
DVD
The War MachinesAugust 2008BBCDVD 2441Photo-montage
Audio
EP
Sounds From The InfernoApril 2013Photo-montageIncludes music from "An Unearthly Child" and "The War Machines"
Audio
CD
The War MachinesSeptember 2013Photo-montagePart of the "Doctor Who: The TV Episodes: Collection Six" Box Set Narrated by Anneke Wills (Polly Wright)


In Print

FormatTitleRelease Date (UK)PublisherAuthorCover ArtRemarks
Novel
Novel
The War MachinesFebruary 1989Target No. 136Ian Stuart BlackAlister Pearson and Graeme WeyISBN: 0-426-20332-1
Novel
Novel
The War MachinesNovember 1992Target No. 136Ian Stuart BlackAlister Pearson and Graeme WeyVirgin new cover reprint.
ISBN: 0-426-20332-1
CD
CD
The War MachinesMarch 2019Target No. 136Ian Stuart BlackAlister Pearson and Graeme WeyAudio version of the Target Novel read by Michael Cochrane.
Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time)Issue 27
Doctor Who Magazine - ArchiveIssue 185 (Released: April 1992)
Doctor Who Magazine - Time TeamIssue 296 (Released: October 2000)
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of FictionIssue 424 (Released: August 2010)
Doctor Who Magazine Special - Archive1981 Winter Special (Released: 1981)
Doctor Who DVD FilesVolume 142 (Released: June 2014)

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Photo Gallery


The Doctor and Companions

 
William Hartnell
The First Doctor

   

Jackie Lane
Dodo
Anneke Wills
Polly Wright
Michael Craze
Ben Jackson
   




On Release

VHS Video Cover
VHS Video Cover

BBC
VIDEO
Soundtrack CD Cover
Soundtrack CD Cover

BBC
AUDIO
DVD Cover
DVD Cover

BBC
VIDEO
Sounds From The Inferno Cover
Sounds From The Inferno Cover

Hysterion Records
AUDIO
   
The TV Episodes: Collection Six CD Cover
The TV Episodes: Collection Six CD Cover

BBC
AUDIO



In Print

Original Target Book Cover
Original Target Book Cover

Target
NOVEL
Reprinted Virgin Book Cover
Reprinted Virgin Book Cover

Virgin
NOVEL
Target Audio CD Cover
Target Audio CD Cover

BBC
CD
   


Magazines

Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time): Issue 27
Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time): Issue 27

CMS
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 185
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 185

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 296
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 296

Marvel Comics
   
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 424
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 424

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine Special - Archive: 1981 Winter Special
Doctor Who Magazine Special - Archive: 1981 Winter Special

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who DVD Files: Volume 142
Doctor Who DVD Files: Volume 142

GE Fabbri
   

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