The story in many ways foreshadows many things to come on the show. A modern day threat to London, this time in the form of the evil computer WOTAN. Check. The Doctor helping out the military to death said threat. Check. A young couple stumbling into the TARDIS for adventure. Check and check!
There's a lovely scene where the Doctor enters the night club Inferno to find Dodo. In his cloak and cap, he stands out in stark contrast to all the swinging 60's kids dancing the night away. This type of scene is seen many times again of the shows 50 years.
A major feature of this story is the Post Office Tower, a then newly opened skyscraper in London and a very identifiable feature of the skyline. When I went to London last year, this was the first major landmark I saw that related specifically to Doctor Who. I was quite slack jawed and in awe of it. I just kept pointing at it and saying "It's the Post Office Tower!" and as I looked around for rogue War Machines.
Series 3 ended as turbulently as it began. With the loss of 5 companions, 2 of which dying, the family unit from the first season is long gone. The stories went further, were more ambitious, had great victories and deeper heart breaking losses. It had become more evident of William Hartnell's ailing health, as his tenure was coming to end. While this last story of the season would more typically have been the Doctor's swan song with the as-yet-unnamed regeneration at the end of the episode, William Hartnell starts season 4 with two more stories.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_Machines
Next non-existent episode: The Smugglers!
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