When the BBC celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of its iconic series by airing “The Daleks” without significant alteration, the only changes made were a trimmed runtime and a subtle hint at future adventures through a carefully crafted conclusion that subtly alluded to the next sixty years of thrilling escapades in time and space. The second outing to tackle Patrick Troughton’s memorable departure as the Second Doctor in… took a dramatically distinct approach, yielding a vastly different outcome. completely different.
In a bold move, BBC Four aired a colorized TV film adaptation of the iconic black-and-white series earlier this week, condensing its four-hour saga into a concise 90-minute package. This creative liberty allowed the filmmakers to cleverly weave in answers to long-standing questions from devoted followers, resulting in an intricate tapestry of nods and winks that not only reward loyal viewers but also cement their place within the ever-unfolding continuity of this beloved franchise. Three significant updates and alterations have been incorporated into the process.
The enigmatic figure of the Conflict Chief held court, his gaze piercing as he grasped the intricacies of the situation.
In a striking narrative twist, the “Conflict Video games” series boldly connects its unique storyline to its immediate future by revealing that the primary antagonist, the Conflict Chief, is in fact an incarnation of the Master himself. Throughout the Conflict Chief’s appearances in the colorization, a newly updated soundtrack seamlessly incorporates iconic composer Murray Gold’s work. When the Time Lords execute the Conflict Chief at the climax of “The Conflict Games,” you can even briefly detect the telltale sound of modern regeneration SFX as his body is being dragged away.?
It was long established within the narrative that the Master, a renegade Time Lord, would later evolve into the role of the Doctor’s nemesis. However, novelizations and ancillary materials have consistently debated the notion that this individual represents an early manifestation of the Time Lord who would eventually become the Master as portrayed by Roger Delgado. Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke, co-authors of “The Video Games,” later drew a connection between their own work and the Doctor Who universe in novelizing Goal episodes. Notably, they hinted that the Master and the Timeless Child were the sole Gallifreyan renegades to ever escape with their own TARDIS, suggesting an intriguing link between the two characters. In later novels comprising the Virgin Books series, the Conflict Chief emerges as a distinct character, having survived the events of “The Conflict Games”. This figure would go on to regenerate into different forms, paralleling developments in the Large End audio dramas, which introduced earlier incarnations of the Master separate from the Conflict Chief.
Physicians’ faces often convey a sense of authority and gravitas, a testament to their rigorous training and professional expertise. In The Trial, Franz Kafka’s protagonist, Joseph K., encounters a series of enigmatic figures who embody this notion: the priest, the lawyer, and the physician all wear masks that obscure their true intentions, leaving Joseph K. feeling disoriented and uncertain about his own fate?
As a sudden, unpredicted twist emerges in the midst of the Time Lords’ trial of the Doctor, radically altering the outcome and thrusting the proceedings into chaos. After negotiating a settlement with the Physician, it becomes evident that numerous perils have traversed the universe, warranting confrontation despite any non-intervention insurance policies (drawn from original sources and supplemented by extracts from other tales). Notwithstanding the colourization, these enigmatic faces – all of which the physician persistently declines for diverse reasons – are no longer mere anonymous entities. As a substitute, the Physician is granted the chance to regenerate into the faces of several of their future incarnations beyond the third Doctor, because the Time Lords consider pictures that depict the Twelfth (rejected as “too old”), Tenth (“too thin”), Thirteenth (“too young”), and Eleventh (“that won’t do at all!” Doctors.
The Doctor’s complex history with the Weeping Angels was left largely unexplored in this particular iteration, leaving many questions about their true motivations and connections unanswered? While Doctor Who’s concept of reincarnated physicians has been extensively explored – from the enigmatic faces in “The Brains of Morbius” to recent additions like John Hurt’s “Warrior” and Jo Martin’s “Fugitive” incarnations prior to William Hartnell’s – it remains an intriguing aspect of the show’s mythology. However, it’s amusing to consider how quickly doctors’ expectations are shattered as they encounter various facial expressions they’ll inevitably deal with later on in their careers.
What secrets lie hidden beneath the façade of regeneration and courting?
The conflict videos culminate in a thrilling new addition, seamlessly integrating rotoscoped footage of Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee’s Doctors to pinpoint the exact moment of the Second Doctor’s regeneration. As the Physician’s distorted visage morphs across a darkened backdrop within the preceding serial, the scene abruptly shifts to the TARDIS, where the Doctor settles into a chair, his senses flooded by fleeting glimpses of his deceased companions. He prepares himself for the transformation as regenerative energy courses through him, slowly reshaping his form into its next incarnation. The second Physician’s off-screen regeneration has been wrapped in disparate ancillary materials beyond the present itself, eschewing Time Lord-sanctioned executions for a more nuanced exploration, albeit one that nods to the era’s depiction of regeneration, with all its attendant implications.
While that canonization isn’t the sole fannish nod the brand-new scene incorporates. As the newly regenerated Doctor emerges, he quickly assesses his surroundings – before we cut to Pertwee’s opening scene in “Spearhead From Space”, where he crashes out of the TARDIS into Oxley Woods – the time-space visualiser flashing erratically between the years 1970 and 1980. This nod towards the “UNIT Courting Controversy” echoes a long-running fan principle, with the Third Doctor’s adventures appearing modern despite their early Seventies broadcast dates. However, two specific mentions of dates surrounding Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, one of his closest allies, raise continuity concerns: his promotion to Brigadier in 1968’s “The Invasion,” which established UNIT’s existence, and his subsequent retirement from UNIT in 1976, as stated in the 1983 Fifth Doctor story “Mawdryn Undead.”
Multiple attempts have been made over the years to acknowledge and repair the perceived continuity error throughout the TV series and tie-in media. Historically, these efforts largely handled the Third Doctor’s time on Earth as taking place within a similar timeframe as its original broadcast. While this isn’t the first time there have been nods to the controversy on-screen, it is the first time in recent memory that it has been explicitly addressed – albeit with the TARDIS throwing up its metaphorical hands in confusion as an amusing response.
What do these adjustments imply for the overall effectiveness of the strategy in achieving its intended goals?
Within the context of each serial’s prior iterations, the colourizations are not the sole means to experience these series—both the distinctive variations of “The Daleks” and “The Conflict Games” are available on physical media, thus regardless of the “verifications” this newest colourization has brought with it, anyone who desires to see the original tales unembellished can do so.
While minor alterations in the grand scheme of things, the proliferation of modifications and “retcons” on the floor paints a striking picture: each new iteration seeks to forge stronger ties within Doctor Who’s vast, sometimes contradictory, universe? The uncertainty of future narratives and potential revisions remains to be unfolded, awaiting the arrival of unforeseen twists. As is often the case, time will tell.
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