Product Details

• Actors: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison
• Writers: Sydney Newman
• Format: Color, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: BBC Warner
• VHS Release Date: July 19, 2000
• Run Time: 99 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004WG8M
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #426,249 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The story that influenced the Terminator? Perhaps., January 26, 2003

By 

Robert Torres "Bobby Shaddoe" (New Port Richey, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor Who - War Machines [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This story is one of many examples of an intelligent concept being utilized in a very exceptional way in the Doctor Who format. This adventure has the good Doctor and Dodo arriving in London of 1966, and soon they would become involved in a very insidious plot put forth WOTAN, the very first example of a thinking computer, otherwise known as A.I., artificial intelligence, and the subsequent construction of an army of robots known as War Machines.

This adventure is something that I believed may have had a hand in influencing the Terminator movies, for in both cases, there is the talk of a super artificial intelligent computer system that has come to the realization that mankind's time is up, and the age of the machines must begin.

However, there is are differences, in the Terminator, the fact that once SkyNet was brought online, it launched nukes that practically destroyed half the world's population and brought about a dismal, dystopia, where there is nothing but wars and fighting, between the human resistance, and the robotic warriors of SkyNet.

In this adventure, the events build up slowly, first learning that WOTAN is a highly advanced computerized problem solver that was envisioned to assist humanity in it's global progress. But as it is connected, in a gothic sort of manner in various thrillers, as the menace is not quite made apparent, but slowly builds up as people of significant importance are brought under WOTAN's control, as more and more people are brought under its control, more of the War Machines are constructed and brought online.

This adventure is also notable for the somewhat abrupt departure of Dodo, and the introduction of two new companions for the good Doctor, Polly and Ben. In addition, there are some rather humorous scenes having the Doctor and his friends in the hottest nightclub in the area, 'The Inferno', as a display of the youthful exuberance of the Swinging Sixties.

In addition, what I thought was great was for the Doctor to be working alongside the military, lending his intelligence to their militaristic strategies, something that served as the first prototype story format that would be utilized during a majority of the 3rd Doctor era. I found this adventure to be very satisfying on an intellectual level, for it serves as an allegorical warning to not allow technology to dominate mankind. A must have for any Dr. Who fan.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dare I say...'Internet', July 2, 2002

By 

Junglies (Morrisville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Doctor Who - The War Machines [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This story is built on the proposition that computers networked together will have a much gretaer capacity. Having a super computer, in this case WOTAN, at the heart of the network allows for the subjugation of mankind by computer. These days we could liken that to the internet.

As others have pointed out this is a thought provoking drama on the dangers of the over-reliance on cold calculationg computers. Recent movies such as Bicentennial Man and AI have sought to couter much of this type of propaganda which is still prevelant throughout the world. Once again, the good old BBC has brought a thorny scientific issue to the fore in the guise of a children's television show.

This is one of the most fab, with it, hip of the shows which was originally broadcast between June 25 to July 16 1966. Polly's fashionable dress and make-up together with the symbols of the swinging 60s, the Post Office Tower, the mini, among others are the touchstones of the new generation that was emerging. This was the year of the Beatles being awarded the MBE by the queen and once again the BBC pays lip service to social developments while helping the British tourist industry with their pictures of London. If you have an attractive outdoor location use it I say!

It's not the best of Doctor Who stories monster wise as others have said but it was a pretty novel idea at the time which certainly is one of the most endearing features of Doctor Who. The scary thing about the mobiles is that their construction was relatively simple and thus could be replicated quickly and easily. An enemy that could grow as fast as you can say 'production line' is scary indeed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Doctor Who Meets The Avengers, August 3, 2007

By 

John Liosatos (Crook County, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Doctor Who - The War Machines [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Doctor Who altered its course with The War Machines. Rather than travelling to a distant planet to meet strange-looking aliens, or to Earth's past to encounter a significant historical figure, War Machines is set in comtemporary London, the swinging mid-60s, and it shows! For the very first time in the series' young history, the Doctor and his companion(s) face a modern-day threat, the first time, that is, when they are large enough to interact with the rest of the characters, unlike Planet of The Giants.

As Professor Brett states, WOTAN is ten years ahead of its time. Well, maybe not ten. Perhaps only five years, which would put it smack down in the beginning of the Pertwee Years, right next to a simlar story, Mind of Evil, about a machine taking over people's minds. If anything, The War Machines foreshadows the Third Doctor's era. Hartnell dabbles with electronic gadgets, works with the military (not UNIT yet, but very UNIT-like), and endures incompetent politicians to prevent a menace from taking over the world. Sound familiar? The Pertwee Years four years early. In fact, if you re-hash this script and use it toward another popular 60s TV program, The Avengers, it would feel right at home. I anticipated John Steed and Emma Peel to show up on my TV screen at any minute.

Incidentally, the notion expressed that Doctor Who finally has taken its intended form with The War Machines is about as bogus the Doctor's background being changed during the McCoy years to be something more than a timelord. The intended course in any series is how it originates, not how it becomes. The originators of any series always deserve the "intended course" label. This is not to say that the new direction of the show is bad, but let's not claim that this is where Sidney Newman & Verity Lambert envisioned Doctor Who going.

Basically, The War Machines steers Doctor Who in a new direction, a very subtle foreboding of the early 70s, worth every one of the four stars I gave it. However this story could have been a five-star beauty. How you ask? Where have you gone Ian & Barbara. The Doctor may as well have been companion-less. Dodo barely features at all, disappearing somewhere in episode two, never to be seen again. We are given the revelation at the end that she has decided to stay in London, and bids the Doctor goodbye by relaying a message through the new companions, Ben & Polly. As the Doctor says, that's gratitude for you, not even showing the decency to see the Doctor off personally after being given the experience of her life. Dodo should have gotten a more substantial exit. As for the aforementioned new companions, Ben & Polly fit in with the swinging 60s era, and Polly is pleasing to the eye, however they are no Ian & Barbara. In retrospect, War Machines could have been the perfect swan song for Ian & Barbara. I can just see them telling the Doctor that "we have decided to remain here" at the end of this story, fate having steered the Tardis back in their own time finally. An opportunity sadly lost...