Science FictionDramaAdventure

Doctor Who: The War Games in Colour

- The final black and white adventure returns in full colour!

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrive on an unnamed planet. At first believing themselves in the midst of World War I, they realise it to be one of many War Zones overseen by the War Lords, who have kidnapped large numbers of human soldiers to form the greatest army the universe has ever seen. At the helm of this plot is the War Chief, another renegade Time Lord like the Doctor. The creeping realisation sets in that the Doctor cannot solve this problem alone, and that his days of wandering may be at an end...

Release Date : 2024-12-23

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : BBCBad Wolf

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : The Doctor (2) (archive footage)

Original Name : Patrick Troughton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jamie McCrimmon (archive footage)

Original Name : Frazer Hines

Gender : Male

Character Name : Zoe Heriot (archive footage)

Original Name : Wendy Padbury

Gender : Female

Character Name : Lt Carstairs (archive footage)

Original Name : David Savile

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lady Jennifer (archive footage)

Original Name : Jane Sherwin

Gender : Male

Character Name : War Lord (archive footage)

Original Name : Philip Madoc

Gender : Male

Character Name : War Chief (archive footage)

Original Name : Edward Brayshaw

Gender : Male

Character Name : The Security Chief (archive footage)

Original Name : James Bree

Gender : Male

Character Name : The Scientist (archive footage)

Original Name : Vernon Dobtcheff

Gender : Male

Character Name : General Smythe (archive footage)

Original Name : Noel Coleman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Von Weich (archive footage)

Original Name : David Garfield

Gender : Male

Character Name : Major Barrington (archive footage)

Original Name : Terence Bayler

Gender : Male

Character Name : Commandant Gorton (archive footage)

Original Name : Richard Steele

Gender : Male

Character Name : Captain Ransom (archive footage)

Original Name : Hubert Rees

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sergeant-Major Burns (archive footage)

Original Name : Esmond Webb

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sergeant Willis (archive footage)

Original Name : Brian Forster

Gender : Male

Character Name : Military Chauffeur (archive footage)

Original Name : Peter Stanton

Gender : Male

Character Name : German Soldier (archive footage)

Original Name : John Livesey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Redcoat (archive footage)

Original Name : Tony McEwan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Harper (archive footage)

Original Name : Rudolph Walker

Gender : Male

Character Name : Leroy (archive footage)

Original Name : Leslie Schofield

Gender : Male

Character Name : Captain Russell (archive footage)

Original Name : Graham Weston

Gender : Male

Character Name : Arturo Villar (archive footage)

Original Name : Michael Napier Brown

Gender : Male

Character Name : Alien Guard (archive footage)

Original Name : John Atterbury

Gender : Male

Character Name : Alien Technician (archive footage)

Original Name : Charles Pemberton

Gender : Male

Character Name : First Time Lord (archive footage)

Original Name : Bernard Horsfall

Gender : Male

Character Name : Second Time Lord (archive footage)

Original Name : Trevor Martin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Third Time Lord (archive footage)

Original Name : Clyde Pollitt

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tanya Lernov (archive footage)

Original Name : Clare Jenkins

Gender : Male

Character Name : The Doctor (3) (archive footage)

Original Name : Jon Pertwee

Gender : Male

Character Name : The Doctor (10) (picture) (uncredited)

Original Name : David Tennant

Gender : Male

Character Name : The Doctor (11) (picture) (uncredited)

Original Name : Matt Smith

Gender : Male

Character Name : The Doctor (12) (picture) (uncredited)

Original Name : Peter Capaldi

Gender : Male

Character Name : The Doctor (13) (picture) (uncredited)

Original Name : Jodie Whittaker

Gender : Female

Character Name : Victoria Waterfield (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited)

Original Name : Deborah Watling

Gender : Female

Reviews

DanTheMan2150AD

@DanTheMan2150AD

2025-03-28

Oh boy, I knew The War Games in Colour was going to be rough from the moment they announced the runtime, but I didn't know it could go this wrong so fast... with every. passing. minute. Benjamin Cook, I hope you never get to edit one of these ever again. Stay away—far away. I re-watched The War Games only the other day just to remind myself how good the original serial is; The War Games in Colour just amplifies everything wrong with The Daleks in Colour and becomes a truly sour viewing experience. Granted, I can't fault the guys who did the colourisation, some of the choices are utterly tremendous (minus that one moment where the picture inexplicably becomes black and white for a second) but the moment-to-moment editing is completely borked beyond belief utterly destroying any sense of tension, atmosphere or thematic relevance the original serial had in spades. I will say that Mark Ayres' music this time around was a little better, but still very ill-fitting. The original cues from Dudley Simpson are thankfully still here but they get drowned out by a metric cacophony overlaying noises. The kicker for me however, was the use of The Master’s theme for The War Chief, that’s completely unacceptable. The new effects are a huge mixed bag, the new establishing shots of the locations are nice but the big CG “Earth” opening is rough and, of course, the "new" regeneration being the big one is the most egregious, it’s not terribly done but feels so out of place due to the use of the NuWho orange fire effects. The cast is extremely ill-served by Ben Cook's hacksaw approach to editing, Philip Modac's War Lord is basically a passing cameo which annoyed me so much, also wtf did they do to his eyes?! Like I've said a few times in the past, I'm all for seeing Old Who with a new coat of paint, but The War Games in Colour is the wrong way to go about it, it’s utterly barbaric and a total misrepresentation of the original serials' greatness, it’s only saving grace is the colourisation. It started relatively alright but fell to pieces very quickly, Ben Cook should never cook again.