Gone, all of them. Jamie, Zoe, the Doctor. Gone.
After nine exhilarating episodes of "The War Games", our heroes crashed headlong into the Time Lords, and their adventures ended. Tried by his peers and convicted of interference, the Doctor is exiled to Earth and his TARDIS grounded. Instead of being permitted to stay with him, Jamie and Zoe are forcibly returned to their own time zones with their memories partially wiped.
Sarah, the war games are most definitely over.
Sarah -
I’m crushed, Dear Harry. I had planned to start this blog post, but couldn’t bring myself to write. I wanted to hang on to the Second Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe for just one day longer.
Still, if they had to go, at least they did it with style. The end of the Second Doctor’s era is the most definitive in the history of Doctor Who. At no other point do the Doctor and all his companions leave us in one fell swoop.
Saying goodbye was like having my heart ripped out, but I think I’ve composed myself enough to discuss the finish now.
Harry -
Instead of finishing the Troughton era with an exuberant, punch-the-air roar, I was left feeling angry and cheated.
I was angry at the Time Lords. Like the Doctor, they left me outraged, frustrated and disgusted. I experienced episode ten the way Patrick Troughton performed it: with a mounting sense of dread (knowing what was coming) and anger (at what the Time Lords decided to do to him).
Sarah -
Troughton’s performance is amazing. He has to do so many things in the final episode and takes the opportunity to showcase the character he’s created over past three seasons. The moment when he acquiesces to Jamie’s, “Aw, c’mon, we’ve been in tighter situations than this,” and agrees to run for the TARDIS one last time, tells us so much about this Doctor. He knows it’s over and that there’s no hope of escape, but can’t resist one last adventure with his friends – no matter how short-lived it may be.
Harry -
This is the first time in the show's history (barring the Meddling Monk) that we have encountered the people from the Doctor's home planet. And the big reveal is... a bunch of dour old sticks-in-the-mud who are fixated on a self-imposed law of non-interference. Well their laws are shite and bully for the Doctor having said so!
Sarah -
Finally meeting the Time Lords gives us a very clear picture of why the Doctor grabbed a TARDIS and got out of there at the first opportunity!
Harry -
Troughton's final moments were heartbreaking and more gruesome than I remembered. One thing that neither Rob nor Toby mentioned – nor any of the guest commentators on the DVD featurette – was the horror of the Doctor's forced regeneration. While he shouts and struggles against his sentence, his face vanishes. The Doctor is literally decapitated, his headless body spinning away into darkness. The screen fades to black, and the credits roll. The viewer is left stunned by that final image. I felt cheated. There was no payoff, no new face, no new leading man, nothing to cling to. How utterly depressing!
Sarah -
It really is. This is the only time the Doctor is forced to regenerate and the only time we don’t meet the next Doctor. It would be six months from the regeneration of the Second Doctor to the introduction of the Third Doctor.
Harry -
In the pre-Internet age, the wait would have been maddening.
"The War Games" is a landmark story for many reasons - it's the end of the Troughton era, there are the sad farewells to Jamie and Zoe, and it is the show's final black and white production - but also because of the bad taste left in my mouth by the Time Lords. Our introduction to the Doctor's home people is entirely negative. We see that they are capable and willing to do terrible things. Their rules and retribution are enough to drive anyone away - and who hasn't wanted to flee a repressive situation? To this point, the Doctor has been a mysterious traveler. But now we see a new side to him - someone who ran away from an intolerably repressive place and struck out on his own.
Sarah -
And what a time he had! I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to enjoy the entire Troughton Era – even the recons (mostly).
In later regenerations, we’ll take so much for granted about the Doctor’s story, but it’s still all so new here. Patrick Troughton is responsible for the series lasting for a Third Doctor and his legacy can still be felt in the series today. Troughton took the strong character developed by William Hartnell and added so many layers to his interpretation.
Harry -
It was a brilliant - albeit risky - move on the show's part to bring in an actor who was so different from Hartnell. Troughton's turn as the Doctor was a great success and opened the door to endless interpretations of the character.
Sarah -
Each actor creates his own Doctor, of course, but they also leave their imprint on the role. We’ve often discussed, Harry, how much Matt Smith’s Doctor owes to Troughton’s performance. Some of that may be due to the fact that the fans are now running the series, but part of me wants it to be the sheer power of the Doctor and the actors who have inhabited the role.
Harry -
There are definitely some playful glimpses of Patrick Troughton in Matt Smith's Doctor.
Sarah -
If there’s one thing you can say about Patrick Troughton’s performance, it’s that he fully inhabited the role. What a brilliant Doctor he is!
Harry -
And what a brilliant final story he had. As I mentioned in our commentary of the first half of "The War Games", Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke deserve kudos for they way they elevated the stakes higher and higher each episode.
Sarah -
You would never know how much of it happened on the fly, would you?
Harry -
Indeed. Just when they established the War Chief as top dog, we meet the War Lord, who himself ends up being trumped by the Time Lords. The repeated introduction of higher powers - coupled with the story's length - lends it a truly epic feel. They did a fantastic job pacing out the story so that it never flagged.
Sarah -
I couldn’t help but feel a bit sympathetic to the War Lord, finding himself surrounded by so many nincompoops and egomaniacs. His devious plans will never succeed with these lackeys around.
Harry -
Dicks and Hulke created so many memorable characters: Lady Jennifer and Carstairs, Smythe and Von Weich, poor old Ransom, and the bickering trio of the War Chief, Security Chief and War Lord.
Sarah -
I loved their face-off scene, when he makes it clear to the Security Chief and War Chief that they are, in fact, expendable.
Harry -
The War Lord is my favourite and I was floored when I realized that he was a brilliantly concealed Philip Madoc. His stubbly beard, short hair and coke-bottle lenses totally fooled me. His calm, creepy threats were wonderful. The War Lord is one villain who deserved a return engagement.
Sarah -
Can you imagine? I’d love to see him come up against the Fourth Doctor.
Harry -
Perhaps in another form. Anyway, I'm glad that, years later, Jamie and Zoe did get a return engagement, in "The Five Doctors", however so brief. Jamie will also appear again in "The Two Doctors" along with Patrick Troughton, but that's for another time.
Sarah -
I’ll look forward to seeing them again!
Harry -
I think Jamie and Zoe were the best companions of the Troughton era.
Sarah -
Absolutely!
Harry -
Frazer Hines was there for virtually the entire time and did the "male bonding" thing with the Doctor better than anyone so far, and probably ever. Jamie and the Doctor were great mates and complimented each other so well.
Sarah -
Their chemistry was exquisite. Frazer Hines has said that the happiest point in his career was his time with Troughton, and you can see it in every moment they’re on screen together. I always liked Jamie, but had only seen him in a couple Troughton stories and “The Five Doctors” and “The Two Doctors.” He’s now one of my favorite companions of all time – right up there with Barbara, who also won my heart on this marathon of ours.
Harry -
Plus he's got fantastic legs...
Sarah -
Well, there is that.
Harry -
And where Jamie delivered the braun, Zoe provided the brains. Zoe started off as a bit of a smarty pants, but Wendy Padbury matured in the role. Zoe never stopped being brainy, but she seemed to add an element of subtlety to her role as she went on. As we saw here, she was ready to crack some skulls if need be!
Sarah -
I really liked how Zoe unsettled Jamie at the start. He didn’t know how to take this brilliant woman and was clearly threatened by her.
Harry -
He resorted to teasing her early on, but he'd stopped doing that by the time we got to this story.
Sarah -
It makes sense for a man of his time, especially after having said goodbye to Victoria, for whom he had strong feelings. Over time, he and Zoe built a mutual respect and made a brilliant team. Padbury’s characterization of Zoe is brilliant and I really think she deserves more appreciation in fandom.
Harry -
I will miss them both. As they departed to their separate fates, the Doctor's little wave to them was such a sad, tender moment.
Sarah -
I was blubbering by that point.
Harry -
Damn you, Time Lords, I'm getting angry again.
But let's not end "The War Games" in anger. This was an amazing story, that seized me from the start and never let up. The tension and drama got turned higher with each episode and it's astonishing that a ten-parter could succeed in doing so. Well-written, well-produced and well-acted. You can't ask for more and I can't imagine the Doctor going out in a greater epic!
Sarah -
I don’t feel a drop of anger. At this point, I feel nothing but gratitude and appreciation for our time with the Second Doctor. Patrick Troughton went from being a Doctor I liked to being a Doctor I love. I doubt anyone can replace Tom Baker, my first Doctor, in my heart – but if anyone can give him a run for his money, it’s Patrick Troughton. I’ll look forward to seeing our dear friend in the Two, Five, and Three Doctors. Until then, it’s comforting to know that I can return to the Troughton Era whenever I want – recons and all!
Best Line: "It is a fact, Jamie, that I do tend to get involved with things."
Favorite Moment: The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe making one last run through corridors.
Lasting Image: Jamie and Zoe holding hands as the Doctor waves goodbye. Oh dear, I’m getting a bit teary-eyed again.
Second-Half Rating: 10/10
Overall Rating: 9.5/10
Here we are, Harry, at the end of the year and the end of the Second Doctor Era. It’s almost hard to believe that we’ll ring in 2013 with Doctor Who in color!
Happy New Year, Old Boy!
Harry -
Huzzah! There must be a bottle of something or other left from our end-of-the-recons party. See if you can find some glasses while I rummage under the sofa.
Happy New Year everyone!
Best line: "I am guilty of interference, just as you are guilty of failing to use your great powers to help those in need!"
Favourite moment: the Doctor mocking the Time Lords and their laws.
Lasting image: the Doctor lying on the floor, playing cards while awaiting his sentence.
Second half rating: 9/10
Overall rating: 9/10
Our marathon continues with Story #51: Spearhead From Space...
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