The War Machines (1966) Review

Oh hello, David, it's me! No, I'm not a very old John Simm, why do you ask?

As Season 3 comes to the close, the Doctor and Dodo end up in a Jon Pertwee story(The War Machines)... oh, dear, dear, dear, dear... this season has been as stable as an Omega molecule from Star Trek!

Anyway, they arrive, by chance, in 1960s London(fate mocks Sir Ian and Barbara) where some people have invented WOTAN, a supercomputer that can tell the square roots of numbers! OMG!
WOTAN is supposedly able to think for itself, without any political overtures. As such, it quickly makes the decision that humans are incapable of further evolution(he has a point: humans still look the same at the end of the universe) and he's taking charge straight away.
In a scene that paradoxically seems like a parody of all the mad computer cliches, WOTAN hypnotises a scientist who's like "Oh, you're taking over? We humans all bad? And if we resist, you're totally gonna kill us, huh?". It's great.

WOTAN also somehow knows about the TARDIS. Now, I'd let it go because the Doctor gets around and he easily might've acquired that knowledge some way, but back in 1966, before the Doctor(outside the show) had been there for every star's birth and death, how was the computer supposed to know?

The Doctor and Dodo easily blend into the upper class despite it being only the Doctor's second proper trip to the 60s. What, did he not only leave the Hand Of Omega behind, but also the means to get around in case something happened there? Again, how was this supposed to work in 1966 Who?

Dodo gets hypnotized(without any explanation as to how) and is tasked by WOTAN to bring the Doctor back, Hartnell or Cushing. Of course, she fails and gets de-hypnotized and sent away to recuperate.
Meanwhile, the Doctor works together with UNI- I mean, the army to stop WOTAN's War Machines(which look great when they're not moving).

After the threat is stopped, the Doctor sets to leave and gets a message from two completely inconsequential characters whose only useful contribution to the story was telling the Doctor where the first Machine was. Oh yeah, and the message is as follows: "Hi, Doc! Been playing cricket! You and your TARDIS can sod off. Love, Dodo."

NOTES

*The direction is appalling at times. The battle scenes are basically just close-ups of the War Machines using their giant hammers and steam guns(I so hoped I'd never see those again after the Cushing movies).

*WOTAN has very little to do in the latter half of the story. After he's got his people hypnotized, the War Machines take over. I personally would've scrapped the Machines altogether and focused the story on WOTAN and his hypnotic followers who try to reshape the Earth civilization.

*As The Smugglers is missing and he's got very little to do in The Tenth Planet, this is basically Hartnell's final hurrah. In a twist of fate, it's also the only story besides his first and last where his full costume appears.

*London looks just as great as in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth. I love the on-location shooting. Also, it's just brilliant to have Hartnell wandering around night clubs and calling for taxis and stuff.

*Why do they kill the rather healthy-looking beggar, but instead give a speech to Ben? And why do they not hypnotise him when they employ him to work?

*How can Polly resist the hypnosis, but not Dodo and the rather ethical scientist?

*The explanation for how the first War Machine is disabled is that it was inadequately programmed for its' tasks. Err, programming isn't fuel. When a computer is halfway programmed, it doesn't just stop, it tries to fulfill whatever halfway orders it was given, in this case, killing the soldiers. It could've been a glitch or something.

*I love how a War Machine breaks free from WOTAN's control and goes amok. It's hilarious if you think about it.

*The Doctor mentions that he added a new set of programming for a War Machine. I love the idea of the Doctor writing code, subroutines etc.

CONCLUSION

Overall, The War Machines is a rather entertaining and unusual story for the Hartnell era. I'm looking forward to having Ben and Polly as companions(especially Polly).