‘We Would Never Take Them Away’: Doctor Who Producer Assures Fans Classic Episodes Are Safe

Doctor Who producer Phil Collinson has reassured fans over the availability of classic episodes. Collinson is responding after the BBC remastered the 1969 serial “The War Games” as a single 90-minute special.

BBC Four in the UK premiered an edited version of the four-plus-hour serial over the Christmas period, complete with colorization and new special effects. This remastered version of “The War Games” also directly nodded to a long-running fan theory that one character is tied to one of the most iconic villains in Doctor Who history.

“The War Games” Has Been Colorized and Remastered For a New Generation

Some fans have been concerned that these condensed versions of classic Doctor Who serials could become the BBC’s preferred method of distribution, since “The War Games” got a prime spot in the Christmas TV lineup. However, Doctor Who producer Phil Collinson has now promised that the full-length serials will remain available on the BBC iPlayer in the UK and home video internationally. “I love those stories. I grew up with them. We would never take them away. They are all there for people to watch,” the producer told Doctor Who Magazine.

Collinson explained that the choice to create remastered editions of classic Doctor Who serials was made in order to appeal to younger viewers. “It’s just that some viewers, especially younger ones, find it difficult to sit down and watch hours and hours of black-and-white material,” he acknowledged. “I love it, and lots of people do. These stories are great. They are as good as anything we’re transmitting now. It’s just that sometimes they need a bit of help to sing to people. That’s what we are doing, and we’re doing it with so much love.”

“I love those stories. I grew up with them. We would never take them away.”

“The War Games” Marked the End of an Era for Doctor Who

Patrick Troughton Completed His Full-Time Stint as The Doctor with the 1969 Serial

Richard Tipple, the lead colorization artist on the “War Games” remaster, expanded on the decision-making process behind shortening the serial. He suggested casual Doctor Who fans might feel “daunted by the thought of taking on 10 black-and-white episodes.” Tipple went on: “But a 90-minute movie, in colour – that’s something they can get on board with. It might open this whole era up to someone, how cool would that be?”

The technical advisor praised the shorter “War Machines” remaster as being “brilliant and epic”, just like the full-length serial. “It’s Troughton in full pomp,” Tipple declared. “What we’ve done is give it a 2024 refit. It’s done with a huge amount of love for the original.”

The 1969 storyline revolved around Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor and his companions Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot forming a resistance army against a renegade Time Lord known as the War Chief. This intergalactic tyrant has brainwashed soldiers from throughout earth’s history to recreate key battles for his own amusement. The action-packed serial culminates in the Second Doctor being forced by the Time Lords to regenerate as punishment for stealing his TARDIS years earlier. “The War Games” was the final adventure for the Second Doctor and served as the set-up for the earth-based adventures of Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor in season 7.

Patrick Troughton Remains a Pivotal Figure in Doctor Who History

• Patrick Troughton made history with Doctor Who’s first-onscreen regeneration in 1966, when he took over as The Doctor from William Hartnell.
• Troughton’s Second Doctor would go on to appear in 119 episodes over his full-time stint on Doctor Who, though 53 of these episodes have been lost from the BBC archives.
• Troughton would later return as the Second Doctor for multi-Doctor specials “The Three Doctors”, “The Five Doctors” and “The Two Doctors” through the 1980s.

Seventh Doctor actor Sylvester McCoy recently confirmed that the Doctor Who production team were investing so much time and equity in past serials as a way to familiarise newer fans with the classic Doctors. Doctor Who has even debuted the spin-off show Tales of the TARDIS, where classic Doctors and companions reintroduce some of the most popular stories. “In the future, [they] may want to use [The Doctors]. Therefore, we will be recognized as we are now and not as we were then,” McCoy told The 50% Doctor Who Podcast.