TV Club: The War Machines

[deltaandthebannermen]

TV Club reaches the end of Season 3 and the Doctor and Dodo arrive in London during the swinging 60s. Doctor Who is required!

The War Machines · Classic Who S3 • Serial 10 · (4 episodes)

Watch all four episodes on BBC iPlayer:

Doctor Who (1963–1996) - Season 3: The War Machines: Episode 1

Or on DVD:

The War Machines

Rate and review below:

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[Tian]

Watched this a little over a month ago. This is what I said then:

@Tian

I just finished The War Machines and absolutely loved it! This might be my favorite First Doctor story. It’s so much fun, with a fantastic setting, memorable characters, and a genuinely menacing enemy. Ben and Polly are great companions, and their introduction here is fantastic—they instantly feel like a natural part of the TARDIS crew.

The only downside is Dodo’s farewell. It feels a bit lackluster, but honestly, I don’t feel like the show loses much without her. She was the least interesting of the First Doctor’s companions, so her departure doesn’t have the emotional weight it could’ve had. Overall, though, The War Machines is a thrilling and satisfying story!

[BillFiler]

Aka “Doctor Who and the Massacre of the Boxes”

Ben and Polly
That scene in the Inferno where Polly sets about putting Ben in a better mood is just pitch perfect!
They are such a fantastic duo straight out of the gate.

The War Machines overall is just such a great story and is such a good tonal shift for the series. It is one of the very best First Doctor stories in my book.
WOTAN is a great evil super computer villain from a time when they weren’t everywhere.

Love it!

Doctor Who is required!

[SweetAIBelle]

The War Machine’s is great, and kinda feels like where some of the ideas for UNIT started.

And, yeah, Dodo leaving was handled really badly in this serial. Wish she’d at least gotten a proper onscreen goodbye.

The Doctor was iconic, though.

[VoRus1]

Nice story but it’s got kinda too much action for me personally. I find WOTAN calling the Doctor ‘Doctor Who’ insanely cool. 7/10 for me

[MrColdStream]

@VoRus1

it’s got kinda too much action for me

This is the first time I’ve seen someone describe a 60s Doctor Who serial as containing “too much action” - it’s usually the opposite! That’s an interesting take though, as this one has a bit more action than your average Hartnell serial.

[Koquillion]

Love it. One of Hartnell’s best, and it makes me wish his era had more breezy 4 part serials akin to this. The Dodo departure is a downer, but hey, it’s not enough to spoil the story.

[TomGarrison54]

“Doctor Who is required…”

One of Hartnell’s finest. The War Machines is just soooo good! A 60’s Who Techno-thriller?! Shut up, and take my money!

Gotta love Ben and Polly, also love how Hartnell is quite energetic here.
Shame about Dodo’s departure, though.
Loved WOTAN, loved the proto-UNIT action, and loved the atmosphere.

8.5/10

[TARDIS32]

The War Machines is fantastic. Really cool opening titles, action packed, Ben and Polly, proto-Pertwee era story, but I think the really important thing is the Doctor. The War Machines, I won’t say is the first time we see it full-stop, but it’s one of the earliest examples that really showcases the Doctor’s transition into being the hero first and foremost rather than just a traveler who happens to help out where he lands. It’s one of the first times we see the Doctor truly have this sense for evil and an urge to stop it. The scene where he’s standing alone as the War Machine approaches, I think at the end of the third episode, is iconic and very symbolic of this evolution of the character. The main negative about this story I can think of is the way they wrote out Dodo, not honestly a fan of the way John Wiles and Innes Lloyd treated the companions that whole season.

[MrColdStream]

Most of what I have to say about The War Machines has already been said above - it’s a great Hartnell-era story and a prototype UNIT/Earth Invasion story; it’s a strong companion introduction and a weak companion exit; it’s a refreshing setting with a strong cast. Ian Stuart Black essentially predicted the world wide web with this story and some of the themes og intelligent technology are still very prevalent today. I actually bumped up my rating from a 7/10 to an 8/10. I previously thought that the middle episodes dragged a little but I didn’t feel that now.

With its Orwellian undertones, forward-thinking sci-fi concepts, and gripping execution, The War Machines stands out as a landmark serial. It effectively introduces new companions, establishes a template for Earth-based invasion stories, and provides one of Hartnell’s last great moments as the Doctor. The mishandling of Dodo’s exit is a glaring flaw, but the strength of the story ensures its place as a classic of the era. Its vision of a world controlled by supercomputers may have once seemed like pure science fiction, but in 2025, it feels more relevant than ever.

Please, feel free ro read and like my full review:

Review of The War Machines by MrColdStream

[teslapunk3327]

I’m sure War Machines hit back in the day, but for me it was just kind of…dull.

Doesn’t help I also listened to Torchwood One: Law Machines, and disliked that too. But the rest of the Machines boxset was cool.

[deltaandthebannermen]

I love The War Machines and it’s a 4/5 from me. I love how fresh it feels, Hartnell - contrary to how received wisdom says he is fading towards the end of his era - is absolutely on fire and, as people have said, Ben and Polly are instantly brilliant. Seeing Hartnell is a sort-of UNIT-style story is a wonderful juxtaposition and I love WOTAN.

[maxy0419]

I really enjoyed the way in which this story feels slightly ahead of its own time, with the likes of WOTAN. Genuinely one of the more disturbing villains in the First Doctor’s run for me, but at the same fascinating too. I really like the idea of super-intelligent computers and whatnot.

Also, in my opinion, quite a good introduction story for both Ben Jackson and Polly Wright. I do wish we explored more about Polly as a whole on TV throughout her time in the TARDIS, but I have found that Big Finish has served her quite well as a character, as well as Ben.

Also a big fan of the pretty defining moment of the Doctor standing up against the War Machine in that one scene, iconically clutching his lapels. Such a brilliant incarnation. Absolutely one of my favourites.

Deserving of 4.5 out of 5 for me personally.

[SweetAIBelle]

Definitely enjoy super-intelligent computers. BOSS beats WOTAN for me, but that’s largely because BOSS is fantastic…

[maxy0419]

I love BOSS as well! Love the way that Doctor Who has several iconic super-intelligent computers. Would love for one of them to return on screen some day, if at all possible.

[TARDIS32]

I was going to type “Stevens” like BOSS says it, but apparently even if I make it 12 characters in length it won’t let me. It asks if I typed a complete sentence with an error. Must have been a post requirement change.

[SweetAIBelle]

Steeeeevens.

[MrColdStream]

@SweetAIBelle

Definitely enjoy super-intelligent computers. BOSS beats WOTAN for me, but that’s largely because BOSS is fantastic…

Don’t forget Xoanon! Utterly unhinged computer!

@TARDIS32

It asks if I typed a complete sentence with an error. Must have been a post requirement change.

It’s not. It doest that if a post only contains capital letters and exclamation points. It’s there to prevent people from having shouting matches.

[SweetAIBelle]

Oh, Xoanon was great, too! One of the highlights of Face of Evil. Though, really, Face of Evil has a lot of other things going for it, too…

[TARDIS32]

It had a capital. Eh, whatever, not a big deal.