I have a theory that Douglas Adams was profoundly influenced by season 6. In "The Dominators", we have a planet of rubbish aliens who are invaded by aliens who are even more rubbish (and rubbish robot sidekicks). "The Invasion" has rubbish alien invaders (plus the computer and the Cyber-Controller). "The Krotons" has rubbish aliens ruled by aliens who are even more rubbish. Even the twin suns seems an oddly Adamsian touch somehow. "The Seeds of Death" has rubbish alien invaders. The picaresque form and literary references of "The Mind Robber" plus the Master of Fiction as a secret ruler of the world. "The Space Pirates", well, OK, I guess there must be something of Holmes's witty dialogue in there somewhere (I have only seen the one existing episode). But "The War Games" also has something of Adams in the gradual revelation of the layers of mystery and in the tragic absurdity of the soldiers being forced to fight on in their Earthly conflicts unknowingly on an alien planet.
When I was very young, pouring over the Tenth Anniversary Special, I thought that if four episodes were good, 8 or 10 or 12(!) must be even better. It's a pity we don't have more of "The Dalek Masterplan", but there's nothing to suggest it's terribly good. "The Invasion" is probably the best Cyberman story and I was delighted by "The War Games" on my marathon. I feared a dull trudge, but I should have had faith in Hulke and Dick. It really is very engaging, even if it did get the lowest ratings of the 60s (which suggests contemporary audiences did tire of it). What's interesting, a point raised by Miles/Wood in "About Time", is that the story is a conclusion. You can argue whether the series that began in January 1970 is actually a different show that just happens to have the same name (that's obviously false, in the end, in hindsight, for many reasons), but if "Doctor Who" had ended in June 1969, it would have *ended* with a very satisfactory resolution of its nearly six-year arc and an answer to "the first question, the oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight" (OK, a partial one). I often wonder how "Doctor Who" would have been remembered now if it had ended here. I suspect as that weird black and white thing those Dalek film were derived from.
I have a theory that Douglas Adams was profoundly influenced by season 6. In "The Dominators", we have a planet of rubbish aliens who are invaded by aliens who are even more rubbish (and rubbish robot sidekicks). "The Invasion" has rubbish alien invaders (plus the computer and the Cyber-Controller). "The Krotons" has rubbish aliens ruled by aliens who are even more rubbish. Even the twin suns seems an oddly Adamsian touch somehow. "The Seeds of Death" has rubbish alien invaders. The picaresque form and literary references of "The Mind Robber" plus the Master of Fiction as a secret ruler of the world. "The Space Pirates", well, OK, I guess there must be something of Holmes's witty dialogue in there somewhere (I have only seen the one existing episode). But "The War Games" also has something of Adams in the gradual revelation of the layers of mystery and in the tragic absurdity of the soldiers being forced to fight on in their Earthly conflicts unknowingly on an alien planet.
When I was very young, pouring over the Tenth Anniversary Special, I thought that if four episodes were good, 8 or 10 or 12(!) must be even better. It's a pity we don't have more of "The Dalek Masterplan", but there's nothing to suggest it's terribly good. "The Invasion" is probably the best Cyberman story and I was delighted by "The War Games" on my marathon. I feared a dull trudge, but I should have had faith in Hulke and Dick. It really is very engaging, even if it did get the lowest ratings of the 60s (which suggests contemporary audiences did tire of it). What's interesting, a point raised by Miles/Wood in "About Time", is that the story is a conclusion. You can argue whether the series that began in January 1970 is actually a different show that just happens to have the same name (that's obviously false, in the end, in hindsight, for many reasons), but if "Doctor Who" had ended in June 1969, it would have *ended* with a very satisfactory resolution of its nearly six-year arc and an answer to "the first question, the oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight" (OK, a partial one). I often wonder how "Doctor Who" would have been remembered now if it had ended here. I suspect as that weird black and white thing those Dalek film were derived from.
Star Trek first aired on BBC1 on 12/7/69, three weeks after The War Games ended.