The War Games In Colour: Breathing new life into a 55-year-old classic story but not without controversy

Investigating how a team of Whovians brought a classic Doctor Who story back to life 55 years later—and the debates surrounding it.

It was a chilly January afternoon, and lifelong Whovian Richard Tipple was walking the dog before the phone rang. To Tipple’s shock, it was Doctor Who producer Phil Collinson. The part-time YouTuber presumed he was in trouble for copyright because he uploaded colourised clips of the hit sci-fi series to his channel, farfromallover.

Instead, Collinson said: ‘We’re doing some colourisation work on Doctor Who. Do you fancy coming up to Cardiff and chatting with me about it?.’ It was an offer Tipple simply could not refuse.

After reviving 1964s ‘The Daleks’ last year, the BBC announced on November 23 - the show’s 61^st anniversary – that 1969s ‘The War Games’ was the next to be colourised, enhanced with updated visual effects, and re-edited from its original four hours and one minute into a new 90-minute feature-length experience that premiered on BBC Four on December 23.

The 10-part stone-cold classic sees Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor face off against the mysterious War Lord, who is taking soldiers from across history to take part in a cruel game.

Project lead Ben Cook recalled emails with Russell T Davies where the showrunner divulged a ‘grand plan’ for the show’s future when he returned in September 2021. Cook said: ‘He was aware that as the show was approaching its 60th anniversary, there was 60 years’ worth of amazing Doctor Who, but how often do general audiences watch 60s, 70s, or 80s Who? He thought there was so much opportunity to bring it to a new audience.’

Davies desired to have all classic episodes available on iPlayer, a feat that was accomplished last year, allowing viewers to access any episode since 1963 with a single click. The 61-year-old’s attention then turned to revitalising 1960s Who.

‘Classic stories are long, and the pacing is really slow. It’s some of the best TV ever made, but there’s lots of filler. It can be like theatre with a camera pointed at it,’ Cook explained.

BBC Four commissioned ‘The War Games’ in June 2023 before ‘The Daleks In Colour’ was even public knowledge. ‘It was a real vote of confidence,’ said Ben, ‘We could decide the next colourisation, so we settled on The War Games.’ Pre-production began December 1, and the team were contracted up to November 30, 2024.

For nearly 11 months, lead colourisation artist Rich and six others worked from Richard Cheveley’s original black-and-white set design, debating how faithfully to replicate it.

‘Colourising 90 minutes is hard; two three-minute scenes could take four weeks or months and months.

‘You had individual artists painting each frame.

‘The sets were complicated, from rundown French chateaus to futuristic war rooms, and of course military uniforms with different-coloured belts and medals. We actually got a military historian to produce a seven-page document, making sure we got everything right.

‘There were palettes for every scene, detail, chair, and background item, and over 30 different palettes for the characters,’ he explained.

Ben, meanwhile, was responsible for the edit and had it picture-locked by January.

‘It was a terrifying prospect. The Daleks was seven episodes down to 75 minutes, so we were cutting a good 55% out; this was 10 episodes down to 90 minutes, two-thirds had to go, so it was a real challenge.

‘We cut some good stuff, but by and large, we cut the boring bits and left in the more interesting parts, making sure that the story still works. Occasionally you’re leaving something out because you know 12-year-old’s will love it. For example, the Doctor and Jamie getting trapped in a shrinking Tardis. That is cuttable, but it’s so much fun!.’

In September a Radio Free Skaro interview with The War Games original film editor Chris Hayden produced the most incredible discovery. Hayden had kept a 16 mm cutting copy running to about three minutes in storage in America for roughly 55 years.

Tipple said: ‘We located it when we were within eight weeks of finishing the project. It took a phenomenal job to have it shipped over from America, cleaned, scanned, restored, re-edited, and then colourised and Bad Wolf were incredible; they signed off on the additional cost even though there was no more money left, but they found the money because they knew how special this stuff was.

‘Now we have some HD 1960s Doctor Who, fab!.’

For some Whovians, however, the 90-minute edit is robbing newer fans of the full Patrick Troughton experience. While reimagining the Second Doctor’s off-screen regeneration through updated visual effects diminishes the mystery that comes with leaving certain moments open-ended, unnecessarily mollycoddling fans.

Cook argues: ‘Within six months of The Daleks, there was a David Whittaker novel that reworked the opening; within a year, there was the Peter Cushing Dalek Movie; then there was a comic book adaptation where the Tardis is green! These stories have been reimagined and revitalised multiple times.

‘We are trying to ensure that these 60s stories aren’t treated like precious artefacts in glass cases; they should be living, breathing pieces of television.’

The Big Blue Box Podcast’s Garry Aylott believes it’s a great idea and described Doctor Who fandom as a ‘minefield’.

‘The main problem is that fans get extremely attached and protective over their love of Doctor Who.

‘I don’t think the colourisation is a bad thing at all. I’d understand if the BBC said: “We’re going to replace The War Games with this newer version,” but they haven’t. The original version you know, and love is still available.’

Patrick Troughton’s son Michael Troughton agreed with Garry.

‘It’s a clever idea and will look very good. For me, I embrace modern tech and love it as long as the original is not lost,’ he said.

On whether his dad would approve: ‘He (Pat) would’ve loved it. I share his enthusiasm for tech and science.’

Although Troughton did hint that there is a bit of mollycoddling, assuming that modern audiences rely heavily on newly remastered versions of black-and-white classic stories.

‘When I appear at conventions to talk about Dad with fans, young kids and teenagers come up and talk to me about Dad’s Doctor Who. I’m always impressed by how younger fans embrace it.’

Ben remained tight-lipped on any potential future colourisations: ‘We would like to do more of these, and we’re cautiously optimistic. I think we should know soon what’s happening next.’

While the restoration sparked some debate, if it makes just one person give the early years of Doctor Who a chance, then Ben, Richard, and the team have succeeded. Doctor Who gains more than it loses restoring these classic stories.