WAR GAMES COLOURISED!

[Jaspal Cheema]

Apparently the official BBC DR WHO channel states that the production will include 'recovered footage not seen since it's original broadcast'.What would that or could that be exactly?

[Richard Bignell]

Take a listen to Radio Free Skaro Episode 980.

[Jaspal Cheema]

Nov 23, 2024 19:44:01 GMT Richard Bignell said:

Take a listen to Radio Free Skaro Episode 980.

Thanks Richard. On my to do list!

[Marie Griffiths]

The sample seemed like natural colourisation. Great work. I wonder how it was done.

[barneyhall]

I've got to be honest and say frankly I'm disappointed. Now I really enjoy the war games…….but I can not think of a more inappropriate story to get down to 90 mins. Like i know we arnt spoiled for choice when it comes to troughtons to do this with because some many have holes in but still. Like tomb it make sense being only a 4 parter and has the draw of a big monster, but when you think about it if you coloured tomb, it’d still be very grey. Just the setting, quarry planet metal rooms white icy caverns not very wow look at the colours so that rules that out.
If Web 3 existed there’s massive potential there but it doesn’t so let’s move on. Enemy of the world would work and would be a great way to show off pat. It’d belle psyedo Sci fi bond film and very exciting in colour….only posible risk of chopping it down is it get confusing who’s doc and who’s scaramanga so that could be that. Then dominators, it’s not overly exciting it’s not well loved and again very grey fairly obvious why you skip it. For me the obvious choice would be mind Rober. At 5 eps once you pull out episode repreeives and titles you haven’t got to lose too much more to get down to 90, in fact most of ep 1 can go as although I like the creepy white wilderness it doesn’t advance the plot. And it would look glorious in colour it would give that story so much life. For me obvious choice. Krotons, see what I said about the dominators. After that you’ve got seeds of death…..which is another great choice….there’s already an omnibus edit which I think is 100 mims so you havnt got to do too much more trimming. Has a headline monster and I think would be visually exciting the green of the ice warriors should stand out nicely. Still prefer mind rober but I’d have no issue with seeds of death.
But war games? As soon as s you say it can’t be longer than 90 mins it’s out the question without creating some hollow story. It jsut doesn’t have the pace issues. And as for taking up precious seconds with an added regeneration scene….I’m just disappointed that something that could of been really cool is likely gunna suck.

Also for context I liked the dalek one I get the criticism about the overly loud music and agree but on the whole thought it was a good bringing it up to modern audiences
I just don’t see this one working it’s too drastic…and I don’t get it when there were more obvious and easier choices. Unless they want to book end the 60’s earliest available story(since Unearthly child has rights issues) and the last. Poor reason that thoughppointed.

[Richard Bignell]

Nov 23, 2024 22:04:23 GMT barneyhall said:

But war games? As soon as s you say it can’t be longer than 90 mins it’s out the question without creating some hollow story.

I don’t think so. The War Games was originally intended to be a four-part story that got enlarged to six and then ten episodes as more and more planned stories collapsed. Terrance Dicks always said that it was vastly overlong at ten episodes and that every time they had to increase the length they just bunged additional time zones into it to fill the time up. This is a good chance to pull it back and try and create something closer to the way the story might have originally been.

Thee isn’t an omnibus version of The Seeds of Death, by the way. Just the original VHS version of the six episodes with the extra opening and closing titles cut out.

[barneyhall]

Ah, it has been a long time since I watched my vhs of seeds, and I knew it had no episode breaks and was on a single tape so thought there'd been some condensing.ighr be some misremembering and so assumptions on my part there.

I don't debate that war games has some fat to trim but more than half of it is pretty drastic. And even if it was planned as 4 then stretched to a 6 did it have so many elements in it like one of doctors own race helping the aliens and the time Lords having to get involved? Fair play if it did just feels like a lot to try and get in. Or was it as the episode count grew so did the stakes needed to make the story work. There's definitely bits where the story goes in circles,getting captured escaping getting captured again which can go but is thst more than half the story. I suppose we'll see, at the end of the day il be watching it as it interests me and gives me an actual doctor who special I want to watch so for that im grateful.and il go in with an open mind with the kids who very much enjoyed the daleks. I hope to be proved wrong. I just think there were better and in my opinion easier options.


And opinions are like rear ends, we all have them

[Darren Jones]

While I'll watch it, I'm not looking forward to the reimagined episode. To get the war games down to 90 minutes means losing a lot of material, with some of it possibly vital to the plot.
Yes, there are some scenes that could be excised, but not 3 hours worth!
Nor am I looking forward to seeing the regeneration, I think it takes away the mystery of what the timelords are up to.
To end on a positive note though, the colour does look gorgeous in the trailer.

[markperry]

So I take it Season 6 (and 1) won't be out any time soon.

[clive]

Wasn't Pertwee cast after Troughton had finished? (or I could be mis-remembering too) So how is there a 'proper' regeneration if none was filmed? Are we looking at deep-fake, or AI?

[Jaspal Cheema]

I watched some of the colourised Daleks and it just seemed as if it were an extended trailer by the way it was edited-scenes piled on top of each other in quick succession. The War Games will be the same as the producers will try to get all the essential plot points in an hour and a half.The BBC had introduced a colour service in the late 60s so perhaps this will be a way of correcting the fact that Dr Who should have been part of that and perhaps increasing it's ratings?So many thoughts and feelings about a serial whose opinion in fandom has increased so much in the intervening years since it's transmission.

[John Green]

Blackadder Goes Forth, the WWI series, ends on a freeze-frame. Perhaps a few minutes could be added to that story?

But War Games really is too long.10 flippin' episodes.

[barneyhall]

Nov 24, 2024 10:54:28 GMT John Green said:

Blackadder Goes Forth, the WWI series, ends on a freeze-frame. Perhaps a few minutes could be added to that story?

But War Games really is too long.10 flippin' episodes.

I don't think I've seen a single person anywhere not agree that it's long and there's definitely some fat to trim...but taking it down to a 3rd is more than a little fat trimming...

[John Green]

I get your point Barney, though I wonder how many people at the time managed/chose to watch all ten episodes.

[Rob Moss]

As I’ve said elsewhere, the thing with these is that they’re *alternative* versions, not replacements for the uncut black and white originals. They’re also very easy to not watch if you find yourselves offended by their very existence…

It’s futile to say this, but FFS, if you don’t like the idea, then don’t watch it, there’s really no need to pi55 on the bonfires of people who’ve worked very hard to produce nice things for people who appreciate them.