Doctor Who, season 3 concludes …

The War Machines is an adventure that benefits hugely from a much stronger and more central role for the Doctor.  The story is only really let down by the realisation of the War Machines themselves – great hulking things with a floppy wheel at the front and quite unmanageable arms.  You thought the Daleks were restricted by not being able to go upstairs.  The War Machines are thwarted by simple things such as a doorway, or anything in their way that isn’t a stack of empty vegetable crates.

The story has to take in the departure of Dodo (contract not renewed, so we don’t see her leave), and the introduction of Ben and Polly.

The loss of Dodo does kind of work, with her suffering the aftermath of Wotan controlling her mind.  The introduction of Ben and Polly kind of works (although the next story begins with Ben saying he has to get back to his ship, while in this story he says he has 6 months at barracks while his ship is out on the sea).  Both the two new companions are lively enough with Michael Craze in particular being good support for Hartnell when he has the odd struggle with his lines.

The story has many staples of plots we’d later see in the Pertwee years (officious ministers, powerful computers, army action sequences, etc).  It works as an intriguing contrast to the previous stories.

The War Machines brings an end to the third season of Doctor Who.  This season has had its up and downs, starting poorly with Galaxy 4, finding a consistent level with The Daleks Masterplan, and ending on a high with three quite different but all entertaining adventures.

Some of the missing classics turn out to not really be such a huge loss after all – Galaxy Four, The Myth Makers, The Massacre, and even The Celestial Toymaker, to name the four worst offenders.

It’s rather a pity that so many of Steven’s stories are not all that great.  I wish we still had The Savages and The Daleks Masterplan in live-action, though.

Next time … The Smugglers