June 10th, 2009 6 comments

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The War Games

The War Games

When the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrive on Earth they find themselves in the midst of a terrifying battle. At the centre of the mystery stand aliens who have kidnapped soldiers from different periods of Earth’s history and brainwashed them in to fighting each other. Their aim is to form an invincible army from the survivors and use this to take over the galaxy.

When the Doctor learns the terrible purpose of the War Games he has one chance to defeat the aliens and end the Games… but to take it means risking recapture by his own people, the all-powerful Time Lords who are waiting to bring him to trial and who are capable of ending his very existence.

Extras:

Disc 1 – The War Games episode 1 – 5

5 x 25 min monochrome episode with mono audio.

Commentary . With contributions from actors Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Philip Madoc, Jane Sherwin and Graham Weston, co-writer Terrance Dicks and script editor Derrick Sherwin.

Programme Subtitles

Subtitle Production Notes

Disc 2 – The War Games episode 6 – 10

5 x 25 min monochrome episode

Commentary – With contributions from actors Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Philip Madoc, Jane Sherwin and Graham Weston, co-writer Terrance Dicks and script editor Derrick Sherwin.

Programme Subtitles

Subtitle Production Notes

Disc 3 – DVD Extras

War Zone – cast and crew recall the making of Patrick Troughton’s epic swansong.

Shades of Grey – just how did the technical and artistic constraints of monochrome television conspire to effect the unique look and feel of early productions?

Now and Then – the ongoing series visits the locations of ‘The War Games’ forty years on…

The Doctor’s Composer – prolific composer Dudley Simpson looks back at his first five years of work on Doctor Who.

Sylvia James – In Conversation – make-up designer Sylvia James talks about her work on Patrick Troughton’s Doctor Who stories.

Talking About Regeneration – the concept of regenerating a show’s main character into an entirely new physical form proved to be both a lifesaver for the show and an increasingly important part of its mythos. This feature explores the ideas involved and takes a closer look at each of the Doctor’s regenerations.

Time Zones – historians discuss the reality behind the various time zones featured in ‘The War Games’. With political historian Dr. Martin Farr, military historian Crispin Swayne, Newcastle University’s Lindsay Allison-Jones and author Prof. Susan-Mary Grant.

Stripped for Action – The Second Doctor – the continuing series of features focussing on the Doctor’s comic strip adventures looks at the Second Doctor.

On Target – Malcolm Hulke – the first in a series of features on the Target range of TV story novelizations looks at the work of writer Malcolm Hulke.

Devious – for over a decade, a group of friends on England’s south coast met on weekends to shoot an amateur Doctor Who film – ‘Devious’ – which takes place between the events of Patrick Troughton’s swansong ‘The War Games’ and Jon Pertwee’s introduction in ‘Spearhead from Space’, and features their own previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor. To segue back into ‘Spearhead’, the team decided to put up the money to employ Jon Pertwee for a day… in what was to become his last ever appearance as the Third Doctor. This feature also has a commentary from the production team.

Photo Gallery

Coming Soon

Other places of interest…

BBC The War Games guide

BBFC classification information

Wikipedia entry.

Doctor Who locations guide

Doctor Who Restoration Team

Brendan Sheppard Trailers/showreals

Release Date: 6th July 2009

Categorised under: Doctor Who DVDs, DVD