The War Games - Episode 6

So at the end of the last episode I was Jamie’s turn to be at the centre of the cliffhanger. It did seem on the face of it that Jamie was an ex-companion. It’s good how they continue with the pretence that he’s dead as the Doctor, Zoe and Carstairs leave without him. After a short time they realise that he’s not dead but just stunned. Sadly he spends the early part of this episode being interrogated by the Security Chief just like Zoe was in the previous answers.

I like the Security Chief. He’s a fly in the War Chief’s ointment. He is starting to put things together and putting pressure on the War Chief. The scene between the War Chief and the Security Chief whilst Jamie was being interrogated was a lovely scene as just bicker. Despite acting like a group of petty children, I still find both Edward Brayshaw (War Chief) and James Bree (Security Chief) to be very striking characters and believable villains. I like the way how the War Chief takes delight when he and the Security Chief walk into the room that the Security Chief thinks that the resistance members are cornered but they have managed to escape. There are mentions of the War Lord which implies that his arrival is very close and Philip Madoc will get to steal the show.

This episode is the first time in 249 episodes, that the term ‘Timelords’ is mentioned in the show. We aren’t told yet that this is the race that the Doctor belongs to them though the fact that the Doctor is quite accustomed to the control switches still hasn’t been properly addressed. Though Zoe does ask the Doctor this with the Doctor replying that it’s not too difficult. This is clearly designed to put doubt in the viewer’s mind but just let it fester until it’s needed in the story. The whole

The episode does a lot of running around corridors with moments of the War Chief and the Security Chief bickering. I didn’t find myself being bored and felt that there was more going on than in the previous episode. The cliffhanger was rather good again with the Doctor, Jamie and Carstairs being in danger with the possibility of them being squashed. It’s still maintaining my interest even after six episodes, how many times over the previous 248 episodes have I moaned about six parters yet with four more episodes to go I don’t find myself being bored and this is down to the characters that are on the screen. The regulars have all performed well so far (even if Jamie has been under used from time to time), the supporting characters are some of the best that we have had for quite some time and had this story being written by anyone other than Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke then it would have run out of steam quite early on but the introduction of new characters and the writing out of some ensures that they don’t outstay their welcome and keep the tempo going long enough so that we can get to the end.