The War Machines

Dear Gary—

The War Machines is winding down William Hartnell’s run as the Doctor; what a shame, for in this story he really takes command of the role. I have already stated that for me his moment of confrontation with Bennett/Koquillion back in The Rescue was the single most defining moment for William Hartnell as the Doctor; I consider The War Machines as his single most defining story.

I will go so far, Gary, as to say that the The War Machines is the archetypical Doctor Who story. It contains several firsts that are destined to become Doctor Who staples. For the first time the Doctor has an entire adventure in contemporary (for its original air time) London. For the first time the Doctor faces down a menace threatening this contemporary London and all of Earth. For the first time the Doctor cooperates with the military to defeat this menace. And through it all William Hartnell takes charge of this script.

From the moment the TARDIS lands in 1966 London the Doctor ‘smells’ trouble. There is something alien about the new post office tower, he says, “I can scent it.” What he finds in the tower is WOTAN, an advanced computer with visions of grandeur.

It doesn’t bother me, Gary, that WOTAN breaks the cardinal rule by referring to the Doctor as Doctor Who; as I have said, in this story William Hartnell truly is Doctor Who. Besides, presumably WOTAN has obtained information on the Doctor directly from Dodo’s mind, and I can imagine that she has often wondered to herself, as Ian did so long ago, “Doctor? Doctor Who?” and WOTAN merely adopted this as his appellation.

WOTAN has decided that mankind can no longer be trusted to run the world and so plots a takeover by controlling all of the world’s major computers that are soon to be linked up to him. WOTAN has already established mind control over some key players, including Dodo, and has a hypnotized workforce creating an army of war machines to seize control of London.

The Doctor, as usual, has other ideas. He declares that he is not a specialist when it comes to computers, “But I dabble. Yes, I dabble.” Dabble indeed. A little dabbling by the Doctor goes a long way.

It is marvelous to watch the Doctor/William Hartnell as he takes control in this story. The highlight, for me, is when he stares down a rampaging war machine while the military cowers behind boxes. Confidently the Doctor stands his ground in that classic William Hartnell hands-on-lapels pose.  Calmly and slowly he walks towards the trapped machine as the military cringes behind him. Triumphantly he dismantles the defeated adversary to discover its secrets.

His ambivalence towards the military and authority figures is also typical Doctor Who. He will help out in a crisis, but he has contempt for the “strong arm methods” they use, not to mention their seeming lack of intelligence: “The official mind can only take in so much at a time.”

The Doctor very much takes charge of the military in The War Machines; making all the plans and handing out orders.  There is no need for weapons or ‘strong arm’ tactics in the Doctor's plans. An electromagnetic forcefield and a screwdriver are about all he needs to trap a machine, reprogram it, and destroy WOTAN.

All the while the Doctor resists WOTAN’s hypnotic control. The others are easy marks—the scientists, Dodo, the workmen, Polly. But the Doctor’s mind bests WOTAN’s efforts. Not only that, but he can break the hypnotic control on others (with the use of his handy ring).

Speaking of Dodo, Gary . . . poor Dodo is unceremoniously dumped as a companion in this story. “She’s a little under the weather and she’s gone into the country for a few days.” Yes, and your dog’s up playing on the roof, too. Poor Dodo, sent off to her aunt’s after being de-hypnotized and never to be seen again.

The Doctor, ready to take off in the TARDIS and waiting for Dodo, is informed that she has decided to stay behind, but she sends him her love.  “Her love,” the Doctor harrumphs. “That’s gratitude for you. Taker her all the way around the world, through space and time . . . .” And such is the end to Dodo’s brief journey with the Doctor.

But not to worry—Polly and Ben are on hand to become the new companions. Polly and Ben seem to be updated models of Steven and Dodo; although Polly is a bit more level headed and resourceful than Dodo. Even when hypnotized Polly had the presence of mind to save Ben. Ben, on the other hand, is a bit more reckless than Steven, but he is brave and quick to jump in when a fight or a helping hand is needed.

Good thing the Doctor gave that TARDIS key to Ben so the two of them have an excuse to enter the TARDIS and accidently get whisked off by the Doctor. (It seems that Susan’s claim that the TARDIS lock has 21 different holes with only 1 being correct and the rest booby trapped might be a little off.)

Whisked off into the Doctor’s time swirl. As ever, Gary, I whisk this off to catch that time swirl.