The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrive on an unnamed planet. At first believing themselves in the midst of World War I, they realise it to be one of many War Zones overseen by the War Lords, who have kidnapped large numbers of human soldiers to form the greatest army the universe has ever seen. At the helm of this plot is the War Chief, another renegade Time Lord like the Doctor. The creeping realisation sets in that the Doctor cannot solve this problem alone, and that his days of wandering may be at an end...
Yeah this is a really fitting way of rounding off the Troughton era and could have been a really brilliant way of rounding off the series had history gone differently. The cast are superb, from the supporting actors to the main TARDIS crew. Jamie and Zoe demonstrate how much they’ve grown as characters, Jamie taking on more leadership responsibilities and Zoe demonstrating more courage in the face of adversity. Patrick Troughton really manages to convey the seriousness of the situation, moving away from clownishness to a frightened a weary performance and he truly sells it. The soundtrack is particularly great and the plot has a solid foundation. It’s themes are interesting (i.e. war is a bourgeois manipulation that the proletariat are blinded to and ultimately die from), the use of foreshadowing is superb and the story is an excellent metaphor for the Doctor’s own struggles against the Time Lords (who are introduced expertly). I particularly adore the way in which the Time Lords are s
