April 21, 2025
Editor Benjamin Cook and lead colourisation artist Rich Tipple discuss how they brought the Second Doctor’s final adventure to modern audiences with ‘The War Games in Colour’…
The War Games in Colour debuted on BBC iPlayer and BBC Four in December 2024, and now fans can bring home the special colourised edit of the Second Doctor’s finale in a collectible physical release.
We spoke to editor Benjamin Cook and lead colourisation artist Rich Tipple about the process of bringing The War Games to a new audience, making difficult cuts, and adding extra Whoniversal details to the story…
The War Games in Colour is available now on steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon (steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray), HMV (steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray), Zavvi (steelbook and Blu-ray) and Rarewaves (steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray).
What made The War Games a good choice to get the colourisation treatment?
BENJAMIN COOK: Put simply, it's arguably one of the greatest Doctor Who stories of all time. At ten episodes, it's also one of the longest – but that wasn't going to stop us. After The Daleks in Colour [in 2023], we wanted to pick a Patrick Troughton adventure next, and The War Games was crying out. It's epic. It's the Second Doctor's swansong, and Doctor Who's first proper, full-blown season finale.
RICH TIPPLE: We began this journey with The Daleks, so it felt fitting to bookend the black-and-white era by tackling The War Games next. And it means we've now colourised the two longest surviving 1960s stories! But what a story to bring to life with colour: it's a beloved classic, a landmark moment in the history of the show, and absolutely packed with action.
BC: It's got everything. Romans! Redcoats! World War One! Time Lords! Our first-ever visit to the Doctor's home planet. A bonkers line-up of extraordinary villains, including Philip Madoc's smooth-talking War Lord, Edward Brayshaw as the mysterious War Chief, and James Bree – giving us one of Doctor Who's all-time most unhinged performances – as the Security Chief! You've also got one of my favourite ever TARDIS teams in the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe. And huge revelations about the Doctor's past – where's he from? Why's he on the run? Doctor… who? In The War Games, we finally find out! This is the story that changed everything. It's exhilarating, terrifying, joyous, heartbreaking – and now it looks absolutely stunning in colour.
RT: For me, the In Colour range is all about finding fresh ways to open up Doctor Who's archive to new audiences. A ten-part story can feel daunting, and we know black-and-white is a barrier to entry for some viewers, but now there's a recut, restored, colourised version of this absolute masterpiece. And I really hope it inspires people to dive into the original, full-length, black-and-white version too – it's also included on this DVD/Blu-ray release! – and discover what a special piece of television it is.
The War Games in Colour condenses a ten-part serial into a neat 90-minute special. How difficult was deciding what to cut from the original story?
BC: Very. Painfully. Difficult. Because we love the 1969 original. But it's four hours and one minute long – that's the same length as the Snyder Cut of Justice League! My job was to trim it to the length of… Paddington. So, there were tough decisions. But be honest: the original has some padding too – lots of capture, escape, recapture, escape. Even its writers, Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke, thought The War Games ran a few episodes too long. Our 90-minute colourised cutdown is, hopefully, as exciting as the original, but punchier and pacier – rejuvenated for a 2020s audience. For longtime fans, it's a new way to experience a classic.
You had the chance to add to the story as well – including dropping some major musical hints about the nature of the War Chief’s character?
BC: The War Chief and the Doctor have history. 'We are two of a kind,' the War Chief says. 'We most certainly are not!' snaps the Doctor. But they're both Time Lords who ran away from home. The Doctor chose a life of helping people, battling against evil and power-mad conspirators – Daleks, Cybermen, Quarks! – whereas the War Chief chose galactic conquest and a rubbish beard. And anagrams – SIDRAT's one of his. And shrinking things – he tries to crush the Doctor to death in a shrinking SIDRAT. And he's besotted with the Doctor… Remind you of anyone?
The Doctor's old Time Lord flames have a habit of turning up unexpectedly, with a new face and a grudge. That's never really stopped. So, we leaned into that. Fans have debated the War Chief's true identity for decades. We're just stirring the pot.
Tell us all about that exciting new regeneration scene!
BC: In 1969, we never saw the Second Doctor regenerate. The War Games ends with – spoiler! – his headless torso spinning into the void as he screams, 'No! No! No!! NO!!!' No transformation, no Jon Pertwee. So, after 55 years, we finally wanted to show it.
In September 2023, I was about to start work on The War Games in Colour, and I'd earmarked some Troughton and Pertwee clips we could use for the regeneration… when an amazing VFX artist named Jacob Booth, aka The Confession Dial on YouTube, uploaded a video called The Second Doctor Regenerates. He'd used old clips, and newer clips, and lots of rotoscoping and VFX tricks, to brilliantly recreate Troughton's 'missing' regeneration. Russell [T Davies, showrunner] messaged me and Phil [Collinson, executive producer] going, 'Have you seen this?? We've got to work with this guy.' So, we reached out, and Jake was thrilled to join the team.
I made a few tweaks to Jake's regen' sequence – and Jake refined some of his VFX – but what you see in The War Games in Colour is pretty close to his YouTube original, which we love. It's gorgeous. Anyone who's spent more than five minutes on the internet knows what a dark, terrible place it can be… but it can also showcase the most extraordinary talent, and shining creativity, and Jake's regeneration is absolutely that.
After The War Games, what would be your next dream colourisation project?
RT: Honestly? Any of them. Or all of them! What story wouldn't you want to see in colour? The Aztecs would look incredible, with its vibrant palette. Or that bleak, haunting atmosphere of The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Or the chilling, icy tones of The Tomb of the Cybermen. Or The Web of Fear! Or The War Machines! I could go on forever. I'm like a kid in a sweet shop – I want to colourise them all.
BC: Shamefully, I used to think some stories worked better in monochrome – maybe. The Web of Fear, for example, with its moody London Underground tunnels. Then I dropped a couple of Web clips into The War Games in Colour, and Rich's team sent them back colourised… Suddenly, Yetis with glowing red eyes loomed out of the darkness! It was scarier and more brilliant than ever. Yetis on the Underground! In COLOUR!! It just works. So, I'm a convert.
No 1960s Who director chose to shoot in black-and-white. They did the best they could with what they had, but any one of them would've jumped at colour had it been an option. Pretty much as soon as Doctor Who could be made in colour, it was. When Rich, Russell, Mark [Ayres, composer] and I recorded the commentary for The War Games in Colour with Doctor Who legends Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury [who played Jamie and Zoe], both actors said the same: they wished their episodes had been made in colour. Now, at last, they have.
The physical release of The War Games in Colour comes with a bonus six minutes of footage. Is there anything in particular that fans should look out for?
RT: For broadcast, we had a tight 90-minute time slot, so Ben had to make some difficult decisions. One particular sequence – behind German lines, featuring the sonic screwdriver! – we were so sad to lose, I spent a year pestering Ben to find a way to include it on the DVD and Blu-ray release. And he did! What a hero. A small team [of colourisation artists] – Scott Burditt, Aaron J Climas, and me – carved out just enough time to colourise this beautiful little slice of Doctor Who history. I'm so thrilled we were able to include it.
BC: Me too. A bonus six minutes of colourised footage, not in the BBC Four and iPlayer broadcast. Troughton's Doctor wielding the sonic! David Garfield's von Weich getting a bigger, juicier entrance – and extra time to chew the scenery! All lovingly restored, and colourised, with new music by Mark Ayres. Plus, a couple of rare, colourised surprises…
Elsewhere on the release, there's a ton of special features: a host of brand-new VAM [Value Added Material, or extras], including a 96-minute commentary – we had a blast recording it – and behind-the-scenes featurettes, extended model shots, newly discovered 16mm film footage, an interview with The War Games' original film editor Chris Hayden courtesy of our friends at Radio Free Skaro, colour palettes, concept art, Easter eggs… and all ten episodes of the original black-and-white story are included too. This DVD, Blu-ray and Steelbook release is a love letter to The War Games. In colour, and the original.
The War Games in Colour is available now on steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon (steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray), HMV (steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray), Zavvi (steelbook and Blu-ray) and Rarewaves (steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray).
