The War Games - Episode 3

After the intriguing cliffhanger the story continues and it’s at this point that we start to learn that there are several timezones. Despite this we do spend a large portion of the episode in the 1917 timezone.

We get to know a bit more about the setting that the regulars find themselves. Another individual we meet is a german called Von Weich. Von Weich is another one who seems obsessed with hypnotism. Unlike Smythe, I find him less menacing and more like the pantomime villain. The main area that the battle decisions is perhaps the most disappointing aspect because it’s clear that this is when the budget started to run out and it will get worse as the story progresses.

The War Chief is very interesting from the moment that he appears on screen. Out of the three of them, Smythe and Von Weich are like bickering kids and the War Chief is the support teacher.

There is an interesting line that crops up during the episode where the regulars learn that they are in the 1862 American Civil War and Zoe comes out with the line about ‘another war’. Surely she should have picked up on the fact that they always seem to be in war zones. It seems like her intelligence has let her down a bit here. The regulars don’t seem to actually do very much in this story apart from being driven by Lady Jennifer from one rabble to another.

Jamie becomes separated from Zoe and the Doctor which forms the cliffhanger. What I like about this cliffhanger is that it’s the third different style that they have used. It doesn’t have the grimness of the first or the weirdness of the second but it occurs after the Doctor and Zoe discover that some soldiers that come out of the capsule seems bigger on the inside like the TARDIS and due to gunfire, Jamie becomes separated. I’m glad that the story is moving along but at a pace that doesn’t feel like it’s being rushed or going too slowly. Three episodes in and I’m still engaged with it.