November 23rd, 2024
17 comments
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Second Doctor Adventure ‘The War Games’ Returns in Full Colour
Classic Doctor Who story ‘The War Games’ to be brought to life in stunning new colourisation to air on BBC Four and iPlayer on 23rd December.
It’s time to step into the excitement of The War Games once again, as one of Doctor Who’s most classic tales is to receive a spectacular new colourisation.
Originally aired in 1969, The War Games marked the end of an era for the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton), following him and his companions Zoe and Jamie as they land in a battlefield that appears to be a World War I military zone—but all is not as it seems. They soon discover that soldiers from different historical periods have been abducted and are being manipulated in a cruel game. As they work to uncover the mystery behind the War Lord and his twisted experiments, the Doctor faces one of his most difficult challenges.
For the first time, these original episodes have been meticulously colourised and enhanced with updated visual effects edited into a new, 90-minute feature-length experience to appeal to today’s modern audiences. With updated sound and a new score, this newly updated version of The War Games offers both fans and newcomers even more ways to watch the much-loved classic story.
In addition, the episode will also feature the Second Doctor’s never-before-seen regeneration into the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee), alongside recovered footage not seen since the original broadcast.
Russell T Davies, Showrunner said:
“From the day I arrived back on Doctor Who, this was the plan. To colourise old stories and bring them back to life. And on Doctor Who Day itself, it’s great to announce this, celebrating the show’s wonderful heritage with an all-time-classic. It looks so vivid and new – and for fans of black-and-white, the story in its original form will stay on BBC iPlayer, so everyone wins!
“I actually watched this transmit in 1969, at 6 years old, terrified of the Roman soldiers, fascinated by villains with glinting spectacles, and in awe of the Doctor’s brand new origin. Now fans old and new can enjoy it all over again.”
This special episode is the second time that a classic Doctor Who story has been colourised, following The Daleks in 2023 which was updated to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the franchise.
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Shaun
November 23rd, 2024 - 6:54pmInterested to see it… but goodbye season 6b if this new ‘regeneration’ is supposed to be canon.
Whofan44
November 23rd, 2024 - 7:27pmInterestingly the way Big Finish have done it (like a Clara in Hell Bent thing) there season 6B would still work.
Nb7
November 23rd, 2024 - 6:47pmWhere have all the comments gone?
booboo
November 23rd, 2024 - 6:52pm? Non have gone anywhere
Paddy Troughton
November 23rd, 2024 - 6:47pmAccording to Theconfessiondial on twitter the regeneration incorporates some of his fan edit he made and posted on youtube. It is great if anyone wants to check it out to see how it may look in the colourised edit.
Nb7
November 23rd, 2024 - 6:46pmThis actually looks looks pretty impressive. I get the comments on how much it’s been trimmed but it is a very long story and would no doubt cost a lot more to do the whole thing. As a campanile to that story I think it’s cool. I’ll always go to the original version. As skeptical as I am over this current period of the show with rtd2, this is actually a bit I’m intrested in. If it helps bring a bigger audience to the show and increases the budget for future animations and box sets bring it on!
Sime
November 23rd, 2024 - 6:45pmWas really surprised and pleased about this news when it popped up on my Facebook page. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Especially the new regeneration scene!
MJS
November 23rd, 2024 - 6:18pmI’m gonna wait to see it before making judgement. I’m excited for it.
Doctor Stu
November 23rd, 2024 - 6:15pmEdited down to essentially 3 episodes long, new loud music nobody asked for and trimmed, butchered to oblivion with a replaced regeneration. What’s the point. When people said they wish the episodes were in colour they mean they…..wish the episodes were in colour.
dave
November 23rd, 2024 - 6:28pmDOCTOR STFU
Missyrules
November 23rd, 2024 - 6:12pmNot for me. 2.5 hours edited out of the story just makes it rather pointless. Spend the money on other things!
Richard
November 23rd, 2024 - 6:02pmI’m sorry, 90 minutes long? Look, no disrespect to the people involved but that just seems like an act of insanity. I get that it’s an alternative and the original episodes are still available but you can’t cut that much out and still have a comparable story. It just seems like a massive waste of time and effort that could’ve been applied to a shorter story and perhaps even emerge as the definitive way of experiencing it. Also lifting the regeneration from a fan video just cheapens the whole thing, it’s very impressive for a fan project but I don’t think it’s fit for an official production, I wish for this they went with what a regeneration would’ve looked like at the time rather than just pasting over the modern regeneration effect.
Kone112
November 23rd, 2024 - 5:56pmCan’t wait , looks great.
Mac
November 23rd, 2024 - 5:36pmrecovered footage?
Sascha
November 23rd, 2024 - 5:44pmDVD Release?
Mac
November 23rd, 2024 - 5:47pmSid James?
Paddy Troughton
November 23rd, 2024 - 6:07pmThink it’s probably going to adapt footage from the regeneration pertwee made for a fan film I think it was.