Let’s begin by getting the positive points out of the way. It’s not dull. Well, OK, it’s a bit dull, compared to the all-action extravaganzas of the twenty-first century, but it’s not, say, The Sensorites. Each episode does noticeably advance the story, while Ben and Polly are lively and engaging. Michael Craze, in particular, gives a terrific performance and the scene in the nightclub is fun.

Oh, and they get rid of Dodo. That’s about it, though.

OK, so the basic plot of a computer gone crazy would not have been quite so clichйd in 1966. It would be unfair to expect the writers to accurately predict future developments in future technology, so we can accept quirks such as a sentient computer capable of independent thought but without anyone having invented the monitor. I think making it capable of telepathy and hypnosis is stretching it a little, though.

The plot is so full of holes that it strains credibility far beyond breaking point, which is particularly frustrating because it has no real excuse. This isn’t a complicated story involving time travelling alien invaders – it’s a straightforward computer-goes-mad scenario. A second draft would surely have resolved most of the problems.

In the long list of improbable events, the most glaring is the impossible ascent of the the Post Office Tower by the reprogrammed War Machine at the end. The dead tramp appearing as front page news only hours after his body was dumped is pretty unlikely. The way the Doctor is instantly accepted by everyone as an authority would be fine if even the smallest suggestion of overcoming some initial difficulty, or explanation of how he was achieving this, was presented on screen, but it isn’t.

All of these, though, are minor annoyances. The crucial problem with the War Machines is that WOTAN’s plans make no sense at all. As has been frequently pointed out, if it’s serious about taking over the world, it’s going a pretty strange way about it. Why not simply wait until it’s connected to all of the computers in the world? Why draw attention to itself by shooting people and leaving their corpses outside its secret warehouse, or trying to capture the Doctor? Why have the secret warehouse and the War Machines at all? How does it get all the War Machine parts – complete with logos – so quickly?

In short, WOTAN doesn’t act like a computer at all, and certainly not a supremely intelligent one. Its attributes appear to be an ability to recognise the Doctor and the TARDIS, a rare knack for hypnosis (so good it can even achieve it over the telephone), and an addiction to insane evil schemes ostensibly aimed at world domination.

Sound like anyone we know? That’s right, the whole thing makes perfect sense as long as you imagine that WOTAN is not in fact a sentient computer at all, but is in fact the Master, hiding under a table.

Of all the First Doctor stories, 'The Savages' is perhaps the most overlooked, since no clips exist and the soundtrack has yet to be released commercially. It also lacks a monster, which can help to make lost stories such as 'Galaxy Four' better known to fans. It is notable primarily for the departure of Steven, who as my previous reviews have made clear, is one of my favourite companions. The question remains however, is 'The Savages' any good? 

The answer to the above question is yes, although I wouldn't describe 'The Savages' as a lost classic. At its basic level, it is a nature of evil parable, with a Beauty-and-the-Beast subplot similar to that of 'Galaxy 4', but whilst it has a simple premise, it executes its plot with some charm and is well directed and acted. Initially, it seems that the Elders are a highly advanced people who have created a utopian society, whilst the primitive Savages are an uncivilized threat to this. Indeed, the cliffhanger to episode one plays on this assumption, with Dodo screaming in terror at the sight of a Savage inside the city of the Elders. Additionally, the Elders are so technologically advanced that, uniquely in Doctor Who during this era, they are expecting the arrival of the Doctor, having tracked his travels through time and space, which immediately makes an impression on both Doctor and viewer simply because it is so unusual. As in 'Galaxy 4' however, our initial impressions soon prove false, as it turns out that the Savages are victims of the Elders' vampiric, life-draining technology, which creates their utopia at the cost of human suffering. However, whereas in 'Galaxy 4' the Drahvins ultimately proved to be unremittingly evil, 'The Savages' differs because the Elders are not beyond redemption. Whilst their actions are evil, they themselves are not evil per se, merely misguided. Crucially, when Jano absorbs the Doctor's life-energy and with it his morals, he realises what has happened to him, but rather than fighting against it, he accepts this new view point, seeing his people's actions as cruel and resolving to make changes. This is important, because it shows Jano deciding to embrace this new way of thinking, rather than simply being brainwashed, which would deny him the ability to chose to do good, but rather have it forced upon him. Exorse, who is captured by the Savages with Steven's help, also demonstrates the ability of the Elders to change. Early on during the story, he dismisses the Savages as, well, savages, but after he is captured, he is forced to change his views somewhat. Despite the desire for revenge by some of the Savages, Nanina, whom he captured early on in the story and took for processing, insists on sparing his life and cares for him. Whilst this does not prompt quite the reversal of attitudes that Jano undergoes, he nevertheless starts to appreciate that the Savages are people too, and accepts his planet's new leader at the story's end. This basically summarizes the strength of 'The Savages', which is the characterisation of the supporting characters. 

Of the regulars, neither Hartnell nor Purves disappoint, as usual. The Doctor's confrontation of Jano when he realises how the Elders' society is maintained is marvelous, and my favourite moment of the story. His impassioned announcement that "This, sir, is protracted murder!" seethes with suppressed rage, and forms part of an exchange that deserves fan recognition almost on a par with that accorded his moving speech during the final episode of 'The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve'. Later, after he is forcibly submitted to the Elders' technology and his life energy has been distilled into Jano, he spends most of the last two episodes weak and disorientated, and thus we are denied the clash of personalities that we might expect; instead, as the Doctor recovers, he quietly waits for Jano to turn to his way of thinking, clearly realizing what the transference would do the leader of the Elders. This is an effective story device, but results in the Doctor being sidelined for the latter half of the story. Instead, this again gives centre stage to Steven. Steven has come along way since 'The Chase', as I've noted when reviewing the previous few stories. His departure here is entirely in keeping with his development into a leader and someone who clearly wants to help people. The scene in which he lures Exorse into the caves is one of his finest moments, as he proves to the Savages that they are capable of fighting their oppressors and throwing off the shackles of slavery under which they effectively live. It has been suggested by some commentators that the Doctor abandons Steven without warning, but I feel that this is missing the point. During both 'The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve' and 'The Ark', we saw him railing against the injustices around him; now, finally, when the Doctor nominates him as a new leader to unite both Elders and Savages, he is surprised, but readily accepts, as the Doctor tells him how proud of him he is. I don't think this is said lightly; the Doctor seems to genuinely believe that Steven is equal to the task ahead of him. Steven's departure is actually one of my favourite companion leaving scenes, and hopefully one that will be more widely appreciated once 'The Savages' is released on CD. 

Dodo gets very little to do in 'The Savages', and despite tackling armed and dangerous gunfighters during the previous story, she is here reduced to a generic screamer, reacting rather hysterically to the sight of a Savage in the Elder's city. For the rest of the time, she plays sidekick to either the Doctor or Steven and is virtually superfluous to the plot, except when she discovers the Elders' processing centre and tells her companions about it. Even then though, the Doctor has already deduced what is going on. Of the guest cast, the most notable is Frederick Jaeger as Jano. His impersonation of the Doctor, for which Hartnell apparently coached him in rehearsals, is very impressive, and makes him a memorable character. The main problem with 'The Savages' is that, despite some decent scripted characterisation, his is the only memorable guest performance. The rest of the guest cast is adequate enough and there are no cringe-worthy performances, but nobody else particularly stands out. Having said that, they may have fared better on television, although I get the impression that 'The Savages' transfers quite well to audio. What does stand out is the incidental score, which creates a magnificent air of tension and is very sinister in places.

In summary then, 'The Savages' is not a classic, but is a decent enough story and provides a decent departure for the criminally underrated Steven Taylor. The release of the soundtrack will hopefully improve its reputation (and will be a welcome replacement for my rather poor quality bootleg recording!).

Following his interesting little story “The Savages,” Ian Stuart Black pulls a double-header with “The War Machines” - Doctor Who’s first real ‘contemporary invasion’ story. New producer Innes Lloyd had decided that he wanted to strive for greater realism within the series, and as such it was scientist Doctor Kit Pedler (who would go on to co-create the Cybermen) who pitched the idea for “The War Machines”, which for the first time sees the Doctor in the unfamiliar position (at least thus far) of liasing with the proper authorities to stop a self-aware computer, WOTAN, from taking over the world. 

Kit Pedler’s input to the storyline is evident throughout, the concept of ‘techno fear’ that runs throughout much of his work forming the backbone of this story. Whereas Pedler’s Cybermen would seek to replace their organs (and ultimately their very souls) with technology, WOTAN (pronounced VOTAN, apparently. Very German!) simply decides that mankind cannot progress any further and should be wiped out. The Post Office Tower makes a very good setting for this story, and is another example of how much more disturbing a story is when it is set somewhere familiar. In the previous season, the Daleks in the centre of London really helped raise the fear factor, and the production team had obviously taken that on board and even taken it a step further, setting the story in the present day – something that would be backbone of the series in years to come. The eponymous ‘War Machines’ themselves are the mechanical servants of WOTAN, which look like the sort of little tanks that you might come across in Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers. They may look quite imposing on Blue Peter, but in the story come across as utterly feeble - defeated by everyday things like rope!

Also in line with Lloyd’s desire for realism, this serial introduces two new companions who are very much in tune with the ‘swinging sixties’ – seaman Ben Jackson (Michael Craze) and fun-loving secretary Polly Wright (Anneke Wills). Best of all, the second episode of this story sees Jackie Lane makes her final appearance as the dreadful Dodo. Appropriately, she isn’t given a decent send-off. In fact, she isn’t given a send of at all! After being brainwashed by WOTAN, she takes off somewhere to recuperate and then at the end of the story, when she’s no more than a bad memory in the minds of viewers, Polly passes a message to the Doctor that Dodo has decided to stay in 1966! In marked contrast to my feelings about Dodo, I am a huge fan of both Ben and Polly – two very underrated companions. Polly is introduced very early on and is cheeky, sexy and forward – a totally different breed of companion to the likes of Susan, Vicki and Dodo. In the Inferno Club that she takes Dodo to, we also meet Ben who at first seems to be the complete opposite of Polly – sullen, boring and withdrawn. Polly tries to cheer him up, and in the end he ends up rescuing her from a sleazy guy who won’t take no for an answer and hey presto, a very rocky friendship is born. He thinks she’s stuck up and christens her ‘Duchess,’ and she thinks that e has no sense of humour. How these two never got together on screen I have no idea… they’re the perfect match!

On the whole, I enjoyed “The War Machines” a great deal. Some of it has dated very badly, for example the Doctor ‘testing’ WOTAN by asking him to work out the square root of a massive number; a modern calculator could do it in seconds! There’s also some cringe worthy stuff, like WOTAN addressing the Doctor as ‘Doctor Who’ (perhaps he picked up some of those ‘Doctor Who Discovers…’ books а la “The Kingmaker”!) and the Doctor frequenting a nightclub, but on the whole “The War Machines” entertains throughout. After a very varied season in terms of quality, this story represents a definite step in the right direction for Doctor Who.

Moreover, from watching the VHS release of the story I couldn’t tell that there were still several minutes of footage missing; the Restoration Team did an absolutely first class job in restoring this one. The DVD-style bonus ‘Blue Peter’ clip was also a nice little touch, though it made ‘Totally Doctor Who’ seem positively grown-up!