'Doctor Who' Second Doctor Finale 'The War Games' Getting Color Treatment
Another Doctor Who Day announcement! Who would’ve thought Russell T. Davies had so much Ted Turner in him?
On November 2, 2023, Doctor Who announced they’d be colorizing, or already had colorized The Daleks, the first serial in broadcast order that wasn’t being held hostage in the name of an anti-progressive culture war. It was the second serial the series aired and introduced the iconic Dalek foes that helped propel the show to popularity. The colorization would premiere three weeks later on November 23 to commemorate the show’s 60th anniversary. It did so on BBC Four alongside a new edition of the 2013 film An Adventure in Space and Time that replaced Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith’s original cameo for the incoming Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa. Now, a year later, on the 61st anniversary, the next serial to be colorized has been announced, and instead of being slow and linear, they’re jumping all the way to the end.
The serial The War Games is the next, and it stars Second Doctor Patrick Troughton in what is actually his last, ending in his regeneration. And yes, Jon Pertwee’s run as the Third Doctor brought the show into the world of color television. The War Games aired in ten parts from April 19 to June 21, 1969, was the last serial to be presented in black and white, and will debut in color this December 23. That’s ten 25-minute parts, as only one pre-2005 season utilized the 45-minute runtimes modern fans are used to. Speaking of modern audiences, they’re who’s in mind when this serial running over four hours is streamlined to 90 minutes. Longtime fans are intrigued as to how they’ll accomplish that feat effectively. The Daleks was a 7-part serial edited into 75 minutes. Former showrunner Steven Moffat, who had been staffed on the show the first 13 years of the revival before leaving and has since returned to write “Boom” and this year’s Christmas special “Joy to the World”, remarked “This looks amazing. I do love that story, and it holds its unwieldy length well - but, you know, it could do with a trim.”
The War Games sees the Doctor and his companions Zoe Heriot and Jamie McCrimmon, played by Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines, land on a battlefield that at first seems to be a World War I military zone, but instead features soldiers pulled from different historical periods manipulated for the sake of a game at the hands of the War Lord. While figuring him out and his twisted experiments, the Doctor faces one of his most difficult more personal challenges. Not only are the colors and sound properly updated, but so are the enhanced visual effects. It also comes with a new score and the takeaway of mystery regarding what happens when the Doctor is tossed into the dark abyss for his forced regeneration as it will be inserted for the first time, and it’s promising to be quite the modern creation. There will also be recovered footage not seen since the original broadcast, so it seems separate from having to do with the regeneration but that could be incorrect.
Showrunner Russell T. Davies released a celebratory statement, which revealed he is behind these colorizing efforts. “From the day I arrived back on Doctor Who, this was the plan. To colourise old stories and bring them back to life. And on Doctor Who Day itself, it’s great to announce this, celebrating the show’s wonderful heritage with an all-time-classic. It looks so vivid and new - and for fans of black-and-white, the story in its original form will stay on BBC iPlayer, so everyone wins! I actually watched this transmit in 1969, at 6 years old, terrified of the Roman soldiers, fascinated by villains with glinting spectacles, and in awe of the Doctor’s brand new origin. Now fans old and new can enjoy it all over again."
The War Games in Colour premieres on December 23 on BBC Four and will promptly stream on BBC iPlayer, and as stated without replacing the original serial. Home media releases for The War Games in Colour haven’t been announced yet for either side of the pond, but The Daleks in Colour is available on home media and purchasable on Prime Video in the US, unavailable for iPlayer-equivalent instant streaming in the region, so prepare for the same circumstances.
Source: Doctor Who, Steven Moffat