The War Games

050 – The War Games
Doctor Who serial
The Doctor, Jamie and Lieutenant Carstairs are caught by English soldiers during World War I
Cast
Doctor Patrick Troughton (Second Doctor)
Companions Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) Wendy Padbury (Zoe Heriot)
Others David Savile — Lt Carstairs Jane Sherwin — Lady Jennifer Buckingham Noel Coleman — General Smythe Richard Steele — Commandant Gorton Terence Bayler — Major Barrington Hubert Rees — Captain Ransom David Valla — Lieutenant Crane Esmond Webb — Sgt Major Burns Brian Forster — Sergeant Willis Pat Gorman — Military Policeman Peter Stanton — Military Chauffeur David Garfield — Von Weich Gregg Palmer — Lieutenant Lucke John Livesey, Bernard Davies — German Soldiers Philip Madoc — War Lord Edward Brayshaw — War Chief James Bree — Security Chief Vernon Dobtcheff — Chief Scientist John Atterbury — Alien Guard Charles Pemberton — Alien Technician Bill Hutchinson — Sgt Thompson Terry Adams — Corporal Riley Leslie Schofield — Leroy Rudolph Walker — Harper Michael Lynch — Spencer Graham Weston — Russell David Troughton — Moor Peter Craze — Du Pont Michael Napier Brown — Arturo Villar Stephen Hubay — Petrov Tony McEwan — Redcoat Bernard Horsfall — First Time Lord Trevor Martin — Second Time Lord Clyde Pollitt — Third Time Lord Clare Jenkins — Tanya Lernov
Production
Directed by	David Maloney
Written by	Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke
Script editor	Terrance Dicks (uncredited)
Produced by	Derrick Sherwin
Executive producer(s)	None
Incidental music composer	Dudley Simpson
Production code	ZZ
Series	Season 6
Length	10 episodes, 25 minutes each
Date started	19 April 1969
Date ended	21 June 1969
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → The Space Pirates Spearhead from Space

Doctor Who and the War Games

Author	Malcolm Hulke
Cover artist	John Geary
Series	Doctor Who book: Target novelisations
Release number	70
Publisher	Target Books
Publication date	25 September 1979
ISBN

The War Games is the seventh and final serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. It was the last regular appearance of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor and it is the last serial to be recorded in black and white. It is also the last regular to feature Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines as companions Zoe Heriot and Jamie McCrimmon. It is also the story where the Doctor's race, the Time Lords, are revealed.

On an alien planet the Doctor uncovers a diabolical plot to conquer the galaxy, with brainwashed soldiers abducted from Earth forced to fight in simulated environments, reflecting the periods in history whence they were taken. The aliens' aim is to produce a super army from the survivors; to this end, they have been aided by a renegade from the Doctor's own race of the Time Lords, calling himself the War Chief.

Joining forces with rebel soldiers, who have broken their conditioning, the Doctor and his companions foil the plan and stop the fighting. The War Chief is apparently killed when the War Lord realises he has been plotting against him. But the Doctor admits he needs the help of the Time Lords to return the soldiers to their own times, but in asking, risks capture for his own past crimes, including the theft of the TARDIS. After sending the message he and his companions attempt to evade capture, but are caught.

Having returned the soldiers to Earth, the Time Lords place the War Lord on trial and dematerialise him. They erase Zoe and Jamie's memories of travelling with the Doctor, and return them to the point in time just as they entered the TARDIS. They then place the Doctor on trial for stealing the TARDIS and breaking the rule of non-interference. The Doctor presents a spirited defence, citing his many battles against the evils of the universe. Accepting this defence, the Time Lords announce that his punishment is exile to Earth. The operation of the TARDIS is wiped from his memory and his next regeneration is imposed as the Second Doctor complains defiantly.