Doctor Who: William Hartnell’s 10 Best Episodes

4. The War Machines

Doctor Who The War Machines

Episode: Season 3, Episode 10

Companions: Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet, Ben Jackson, Polly Wright

The TARDIS lands on Earth 1966, and London's post office tower has recently been built. The Doctor and Dodo go to investigate and find that it is for a global computer system named WOTAN (Will Operating Thought ANalogue) that can compute anything in the universe (it even knew what TARDIS stood for!) and would be live the next evening. WOTAN decides that humans are incapable of taking care of themselves and decides to take control over the world. It uses mind control and has humans create "War Machines" programmed to rampage and kill anyone who resists WOTAN's cause. This episode raises the idea of computers, and if they would be safe. This episode is different from the rest because the Doctor is facing a machine. The Doctor has said from the start that it would be unsafe to have such technology and that WOTAN should be shut down. Humans don't listen as always, and guess who was right. This episode is very action-packed, and the first where the army came to the Doctors assistance. The best scene in this episode is when the Doctor turns a war machine against it's creator, and sets it out to destroy WOTAN. This episode is also the first time you meet Ben Jackson and Polly Wright, who also start off as companions for the second Doctor.
Contributor
Contributor

Max Beeman is currently a senior in High School. He is the creator of Hermits United, the first High School Doctor Who club and is a proud geek. He obsesses over things such as Pokemon, Chip music, Walking Dead, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Max plans on going on an epic Youtube adventure of high fiving all people who inflience geek culture after college.