It also does it if it’s just one word with a repeated letter loads of time.
Like I could post aaaaaaaarrrrgggghhhh without it questioning me.
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Loved it! A story that feels really dynamic with Ben, & Polly especially, being immediately engaging new companions. I didn’t expect the very stark episode title cards. But its offset by Dr Who with a tea cosy on his head.
Hartnell is great here, I love the ep 3 cliffhanger - the army retreat but Doctor Who stands defiant. “WOTAN, come & have a go if you think you’re hard enough!” Information relayed via news reporters on tv & radio gives things a real authentic feel as of course does the contemporary 1960s setting. WOTAN getting an on screen credit 
Other observations -
- Is Kitty a brothel madam? Asking Polly to ‘cheer up’ Ben the sailor?
- The J**** S***** reference hasn’t aged well.
-
The couple at the end who briefly walk into shot just as the TARDIS dematerialises should have been Ian & Barbara.
- Next TARDIS Guide meet up at the Inferno Club.
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I believe there was, at least for a time, a plan to have it be Ian and Barbara - but that could be fan myth.
100%
I’m being stupid here - what’s been starred out?
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Is the Inferno Club a real place in London?
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No.
But I used to work not far from Bedford Square which was a location for this story.
If any Doctor Who fans visit the British Museum this location is a few minutes walk away.
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Oh blimey - of course. Sorry - having a senior moment!
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Honestly I thought it was more Ben was bringing down the vibe a bit, and they probably want more visibly happy looking people in their club. Or, it could be as simple as, “hey, he looks like he’s down in the dumps, maybe we can make his day a little better” and Kitty and Polly are just nice like that.
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I rather enjoy The War Machines. The idea is interesting, and is surprisingly well realised. Ben and Poly are great right from the off. Sadly, the big damper is that the exit of Dodo is treated so badly. She was a solid companion from the start, and it’s a shame she is given such an unceremonious ending.
4/5
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Not sure if it was also considered for War Machines, but certainly for The Massacre:
On January 7th, a small amount of location filming for Dodo’s introductory scene was conducted on Windmill Road, near Wimbledon Common in Wimbledon, London. It had been hoped that William Russell and Jacqueline Hill might make cameo appearances as former companions Ian and Barbara on this day; hearing the TARDIS dematerialising, they would have just missed seeing it as it disappeared. In the event, the pair were replaced with a woman (played by Marguerite Young) walking her dog.
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Ah - that’s what I was thinking of.
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It’s quite fun to imagine Ian and Barbara just off-camera though, spotting a police box vanishing into thin air.
(This also becomes a wider topic of its own when you think about stuff like The Stolen Earth in Series 4 - obviously we see what Martha, Donna, Rose, Sarah, etc. are all doing, but it’s fun to imagine the reactions of people like Tegan and Jo Grant who are watching the skies flood with Daleks!)
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An enjoyable Story that brings a lot of new Energy into the Show at the time. While there are Things which really bother me with this one, there are equally enough great Moments or just great Story Beats to be found here. Not my favorite Hartnell Story but a really good one nonetheless!
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