Doctor Who’s Final Black-and-White Story Gets a Technicolor Regeneration

BBC’s Doctor Who has ne'er been acrophobic to return to its past erstwhile the concern calls for it. Usually, this comes successful the signifier of bringing backmost aged friends oregon foes, oregon a plotline from not that agelong ago, but the newest travel backmost to representation lane aims to adhd immoderate colour to an important portion of the franchise.

Earlier today, BBC revealed it’ll beryllium re-releasing 1969’s “The War Games,” the last 10-part black-and-white serial that made up Doctor Who’s sixth season. That’d beryllium notable connected its own, but the network’s going the other measurement by presenting it successful colour for the archetypal time. In the serial, the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and Companions Jamie and Zoe larn an alien called the War Lord has plucked soldiers from Earth past and brainwashed them into warring each different truthful helium tin usage the survivors arsenic an service to conquer the galaxy. In the decades since, it’s been dubbed 1 of the astir important Who episodes, and we were beauteous precocious connected the cliffhanger for its penultimate episode backmost successful 2010.

But this caller mentation of “War Games” isn’t conscionable getting a splash of color, it’s besides coming with an updated people and visuals. Interestingly, those changes whitethorn besides impact however the Doctor regenerates into Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor. Whereas the original version is simply a trippy, astir nightmarish series arsenic he’s forced into his caller look and pleads for the translation to stop, the trailer for the technicolor airing hints astatine a process much successful enactment with the show’s present default glowing flames astir his body.

While this makes consciousness connected a applicable level and provides consistency with what Doctor Who has go now, it whitethorn besides spell against the constituent of the Doctor’s regeneration astatine the time. Unlike astir of the transformations successful aboriginal seasons, this is simply a punishment for breaking the Time Lords’ non-interference rule: it has to beryllium horrifying for some him and the audience, particularly since this was besides our archetypal clip seeing different members of his race.

If the thought of BBC changing this regeneration doesn’t beryllium close with you, current Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies said the black-and-white “War Games” volition beryllium accessible successful its archetypal signifier connected BBC iPlayer. The colored mentation volition travel to the level and aerial connected TV connected the aforesaid day: December 23.

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