The War Games - Episode 2

So at the end of the previous episode, we were left with a rather grim cliffhanger with the possibility of the Doctor being executed. This is of course not going to happen and it’s quickly shown that the Doctor would survive. No sooner has he been saved than he and Zoe end up commandeering a vehicle and pretending to be from the War Office in an attempt to rescue Jamie.  

Smythe is acting more menacingly than he did in the previous episode. I like his first scene where he is about to leave in a capsule that just appears and is discovered by Captain Ransom. Once Smythe has gone it’s a few seconds before Ransom ‘remembers’ that Smythe has gone to a meeting. The only problem with hypnotising the same people is that it does somewhat devalue the character or characters. Ransom does seem like a rather insubstantial character despite how much he appears in the story.

Patrick Troughton seems to have having a wonderful time during the scenes with Commandant Gorton. Pretending to be in this sort of position is something that Troughton does well and it wasn’t until sometime in the episode that I noticed how again it’s the Doctor and Zoe with Jamie left to fend on his own although this time he’s with a highlander which seems like a nod to how he was introduced into the show and the last shot in episode ten.

There is a sense of frustration that seems to run through this story (it’s what I feel anyway). Just as the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie were reunited and they were on their way out they were captured again. No matter how many times I watch this story I hope that they get away and run off back into the TARDIS and so when they are captured (like they always will be in this story), I feel disappointment and frustration. The only thing that stops it from being ridiculous is that at least they have Carstairs and Lady Jennifer on their side. They become more involved with the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe and they start to remember things and after focusing a bit can see video screen.

After two episodes of being mainly in 1917 with World War 1 soldiers (apart from the Redcoat), the story continues to confuse and whilst the cliffhanger doesn’t have the grimness of episode 1 it has a rather different feel to it which is one of confusion. Just what is a Roman army doing running towards our heroes? It’s a wonderful sight and the music from Dudley Simpson helps create a wonderfully dramatic end to the episode. As an episode I thought that it was rather good. It felt like it had done most of the set up in the first episode (which it had) and this meant that it could just get on with moving the story along at quite a quick pace. I think the relief of getting over ‘The Space Pirates’ is still evident but I think even taking out of the equation, I still rate ‘The War Games’ as a story and currently it’s my favourite second Doctor story so far. I know that the good times wont be round for long but I’m just enjoying this story and this episode is another good one.