Day 253: The War Games Episode 10

And so all good things must come to an end. This Doctor, as played by Patrick Troughton, burst into a dying series, bringing it life and energy, completely revitalising it for a new era. But time has caught up with him, time lords to be precise. They have put the Doctor on trial for his meddling in the affairs of other planets, and so he is forced to prove himself. He shows us clips of monsters from the past: Quarks, Yeti, Ice Warriors, Cybermen, and the Daleks. As an audience, we not only see the reasons why the Doctor should continue, but also why this era was so great. All of these memories come flooding back of fun adventures that we've had battling monsters. From The Dominators, which brought so much unintended hilarity to The Web of Fear showing us true suspense. From The Ice Warriors and the instantly memorable and enjoyable character to The Invasion and an instantly memorable villain. And finally we remember Power of the Daleks, where we first met this Doctor, and we learnt the true meaning of perfection, as we got to witness what is probably the best Doctor Who story of all time.

But as the memories flood back, so they must fade away. Jamie and Zoe are consigned to forget about the TARDIS, and their adventures with the Doctor. This is one of the saddest things ever to occur in all of Who. We realise that Jamie won't remember the relationship that he built up with his best friend, or the heroics that he performed by fighting all manner of outer space villainy. Similarly, we realise that Zoe is doomed to return to her vaguely oppressive regime, and that she will have no idea as to what happened with her friends Jamie and the Doctor. I cried at this bit. Because my favourite characters have been forced to stop, and so we lose the friendship that they developed.

And the Doctor is exiled to Earth, forced to change his appearance. If the previous regeneration was all about confusion, this one is about fear. We don't know what will happen now. We don't know who the Doctor will be. All we know is that the show will change completely. But unlike before, where we were ready for a change, this time we were perfectly happy to stay. But times must change, and so does the Doctor, as we remember that We've Got Work To Do.