Customer Reviews
Over long but an overdue release and worth buying - By: Spidernick, 04 Feb 2010 
Yes, this story is somewhat over long but, as with 'The Mind Robber', necessity is the mother of invention. A ten-part story was forced on the team relatively late on and, given what they were up against, I think they did a sterling job. Yes, it's not something most people would want to sit down & watch in one go, but it holds up well. It is also an important story, being the first to feature the Time Lords. Also watch out for a cameo by Troughton's son, David, who later appeared with Pertwee in 'The Curse of Peladon'.
The 'Doctor Who' DVDs are known for their excellent extras & this is up there with the best. There's a whole DVD devoted to the extras (including a look at the various regenerations up to including Eccleston to Tennant, as well as a feature on the black & white period of the show, amongst many others) & overalll a three DVD set for the price it is makes it a great buy to my mind. It's not the best Troughton by any stretch of the imagination, but gives a good insight into his era & character & is well worth buying. Enjoy!
The War Games - Loved it - By: Stephen James Newton, 06 Jan 2010 
This is a great Doctor Who Story & the last of Patrick Troughton's Era as the Doctor, where The Doctor, Jamie & Zoe land in what appears to be no-mans land during the First World War & as the story progresses they find that somthing is wrong & cross several war zones from diffrent time periods on Earth including The Roman Zone & The American Civil War Zone & they find out why the Aliens are taking soliders from these Time Zones for there own ends.
Also at the end of the story we meet for the first time The Doctor's people The Timelords & why he chose to leave them & wander the Universe, & it sets up Jon Perwtee's Era as the Doctor.
Also looking at the story it is very interesting to watch & also some Excellent performaces especiallly Patrick Troughton as his last Doctor Who Story, along with James Bree as The Security Chief & Edward Brayshaw as The War Chief & Philip Madoc as The War Lord, also David Saville, Grahame Weston & others in their characters. Also a good parting scene with the Doctor, Jamie (Fraser Hines) & Zoe (Wendy Padbury) in the Final Episode.
All in alll a great story I like & a Excellent Final story for Patrick Troughton's Era & one of his finest performances as The Doctor along with Fraser Hines & Wendy Padbury as his companions. I loved watching it again & again.
Also the extra features about the story are very interesting about the idea's behind the story & the locations etc are alll worth seeing.
A fitting end to Troughton's era. - By: Mr. Andrew Young, 21 Oct 2009 The last Doctor Who story from the 1960s is one of the best. It alll begins with the Tardis apparently landing on earth in `no-man's land' during the first world war. It initiallly looks as if we are going back to the series' early tradition of historical stories. However, as the story progresses, we realise that something much more sinister lies behind the scenes.
At ten episodes, this story is too long, & there is a sense of some padding throughout the story. However, this is a fitting end to the Second Doctor's tenure, & it has to be said that it marks a turning point in the history of Doctor Who, with the introduction of the Time Lords. Patrick Troughton goes out in a blaze of glory, & in the final episode, as he is on trial for his actions, we get to see what a great Doctor he was. What a shame that most of his best material no longer exists in the BBC archives. Watch out also for an emotional goodbye scene for Fraser Hines' Jamie, & Wendy Padbury's Zoe.
This is a two disc set & contains the usual set of special features. For fans of the series, the most interesting of these will probably be the `Regenerations' feature, which takes us through alll of the Doctor's different regeneration stories. This is highly appropriate, when, at the time of release, the series is preparing for anther changeover of the lead character. Therefore, we have a reminder that the show can go on, no matter how good the actor playing the Doctor has been.
This is one of the great classics of the series & is a worthy addition to the Doctor Who DVD releases.
Well worth a viewing - By: Steve, 17 Oct 2009 Doctor Who - The War Games [DVD]
An excellent DVD package this, don't be put off by two things: its black & white or the fact the story is ten episodes in length (that works out at just over five episodes worth of the new series). Patrick Troughton is extremely watchable as the Doctor, at times comical & clumsy, at others mysterious & elusive. Best scene with him in my opinion is where he pretends to be a high-ranking (and very angry) German officer.
The story is gripping & surprisingly at times fast moving. It does lag a little mid-way through but there are so many characters & sub plots (great scene where the Doctor & the War Chief recognise each other) that you are caught up in the narrative & before you know it it's episode ten & our first meeting with the Doctor's own people.
DVD extras are pretty good too, interesting to hear how the story was made & written - its incredible how they ever put together the show in the old days on a shoestring budget & ridiculous time restraints.
If you have never seen Patrick Troughton in the role of Doctor Who, don't miss out on an excellent take on the character - give this story a go!
The First Trial of a Timelord - By: Mr. D. G. Meek, 09 Sep 2009 Despite growing up as a kid in the 80's with Peter Davison, Colin Baker & Sylvester McCoys Doctors I have always had an affection for Patrick Troughton's cosmic hobo portrayal of the Second Doctor. Despite only seeing a handful of his stories, due to many of them now been lost, there is something about the Second Doctors era & Troughton's portrayal. It was a magical time for Doctor Who featuring many stories now quite rightly hailed as classics & featured some of the shows most popular monsters from the Daleks & Cybermen to the introduction of the Ice Warriors & the Yeti.
The War Games is an epic & beautifully made story which serves as a fitting tribute & send off for the Second Doctor & his companions Jamie (played by the outstanding Frazer Hines; a character who appeared with the Second Doctor for almost his entire tenure) & Zoe (the wonderful Wendy Padbury).
As mentioned in other reviews the longer stories tend to receive a lot of padding & can at times drag in places. The War Games at 10 episodes is one of the longest single stories in the shows history yet never feels overlong or padded. Every part of the story seems important & gradly adds new layers to an already rich story. Subtle hints of the full story surrounding the characters & purpose of The War Games & revelations about the Doctor & his own backstory; which at the time it was broadcast must have been both incredibly shocking & exciting, are carefully dropped in to the story early on, but instead of been thrown at the viewer are alllowed to develop slowly & organicallly. These begin as early as the third episode with the appearance & sound of the capsules used to transport the soldiers to the different time zones & continues with subtle dialogue between various characters where for the first time we discover the name of the Doctors race, the Timelords.
The final moments of the penultimate episode still have the power to thrill now & i can only wonder how amazing it must have been to witness the final shocking cliffhanger when we meet the Timelords for the first time, especiallly following the fear the Doctor shows about facing them again.
Troughton's era & many of his stories were truly epic & it is fitting his swansong is a suitably epic story with the Doctor displaying his wit, intelligence, humour & most fittingly given where he is exiled to, his humanity. He could have left in the TARDIS with his companions & not faced the wrath of the Timelords, but instead takes actions which he knows endanger his own existence to save the soldiers stranded in the War Games time zones. His goodbye to Jamie & Zoe is truly heartbreaking & alll three cast member are superb during this scene as they are during the rest of the story.
The extras on the disc are also exceptional & well watching, with the whole third disc packed been devoted to bonus features including The War Zone; a brilliant making of documentary, Second Dcotror Stripped for action, a documentary about the excellent Target books & many many more. Again a fitting tribute to different aspects of the Second Doctors era.
Given just how good & enjoyable this story is only highlights how sad it is that so many stories from this era of Doctor Who are lost forever.
