The War Machines - Episode 4

Despite the great end to the previous episode it seems that the worst thing that could happen to William Hartnell is that he will either choke on the smoke or be a bit flat. Either didn’t happen and instead the War Machine just went around him. The inclusion of the pub/bar scene where Kenneth Kendall appears seemed a great way of making the WOTAN menace greater because every time the camera cuts to the machines I can’t quite believe it’s a threat.  Kenneth Kendall is a big name to have appeared in Doctor Who. He was a big BBC news reader of the period and so much have been a big coup for the show.

All it does is spray its smoke and smash boxes. When it starts to kill people it starts off with the War Machine killing someone in a phone box. Even the Doctor refers to it as a harmless machine. Despite the best efforts of everyone including an American journalist it just looks like they are worrying over nothing. It has to be said that the War Machine might have seemed good on paper but in reality it just didn’t have what the viewer would want and its hard to decide whether its due to budget or the resources available.

I like the interaction between Michael Craze and William Hartnell. Anneke Wills is reduced to be back with Professor Brett presumably under hypnosis. Craze does the heroic role very well and  despite not being the strongest (visually) in the world his determination is what is impressive. The way that the Doctor manages to save the day is quite good even though he’s not physically there when it happens. He gets the newly programmed War Machine to do all the work for him. It’s probably the most logical way of getting round the fact that Hartnell isn’t as mobile as he once was. They cant let Ben save the day because he’s a mere companion. I like how when Professor Brett’s hypnosis is gone and Sir Charles look towards the Doctor, all they see is an empty area where he once was. That’s what the Doctor should do.

The final scene is quite a bit haphazard because it’s the exit scene for Dodo as we hear that she’s going to stay in London. I think it would have been nice for a pre-filmed scene to have been filmed as it would have made for a more satisfying exit for the character.  The episode does all the action that there hasn’t been in the previous episodes. I thought that the episode was rather good though it was done largely due to Michael Craze and William Hartnell. As we approach the end of William Hartnell’s time on the show  it seems that the third series has picked up and is starting to be a more consistant than it was way back during Galaxy 4. As a four part adventure I think that despite the War Machines being about as scary as Sooty, The War Machines is a good story and does a good job in introducing Ben and Polly and the modern day setting helps make it appear more enjoyable than if it had been set 60 years before or after the transmission dates. Now we approach the final story of the season and its safe to say that this season has improved greatly.