Doctor Who classic story to be revived in colour with never-before-seen regeneration

The BBC has announced that it volition released a caller 'colourised and enhanced' mentation of the classical Doctor Who communicative The War Games, which archetypal aired successful 1969, aboriginal this year

Another classical Doctor Who communicative is being revived successful caller colourisation and it volition adjacent diagnostic a never-before-seen regeneration, it's been announced by the BBC this week.

The broadcaster has revealed that archetypal episodes from the War Games - a serial which archetypal aired successful 1969 - person been "colourised and enhanced" to nutrient an edited feature-length experience. It volition beryllium released adjacent month.

The BBC's announcement connected Saturday - marking this year's Doctor Who Day, which is celebrated annually connected November 23 - comes astir precisely a twelvemonth connected from the Mirror exclusively reporting that determination were plans for the serial to beryllium colourised. It is the 2nd classical communicative to beryllium colourised, pursuing the Daleks, which was updated conscionable past twelvemonth to people the beloved franchise's 60th anniversary.

The War Games, which featured the archetypal quality of the satellite Gallifrey, marked the last communicative for the Second Doctor (played by the precocious Patrick Troughton). It followed him and companions Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury) and Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) arsenic they onshore successful a battlefield that appears to beryllium a World War I subject zone, though each is not arsenic it seems.

A synopsis teases: "They soon observe that soldiers from antithetic humanities periods person been abducted and are being manipulated successful a cruel game. As they enactment to uncover the enigma down the War Lord and his twisted experiments, the Doctor faces 1 of his astir hard challenges."

The BBC has announced this play that for the archetypal time, these archetypal episodes person been "meticulously colourised and enhanced with updated ocular effects edited into a new, 90-minute feature-length acquisition to entreaty to today's modern audience". It adds: "With updated dependable and a caller score, this recently updated mentation of The War Games offers some fans and newcomers adjacent much ways to ticker the much-loved classical story."

It's been further revealed that the occurrence volition besides diagnostic the Second Doctor's never-before-seen regeneration into the Third Doctor (the precocious Jon Pertwee). There's besides recovered footage not seen since the archetypal broadcast.

Showrunner Russell T Davies, 61, said: "From the time I arrived backmost connected Doctor Who, this was the plan. To colourise aged stories and bring them backmost to life. And connected Doctor Who Day itself, it's large to denote this, celebrating the show's fantastic practice with an all-time-classic.

"It looks truthful vivid and caller - and for fans of black-and-white, the communicative successful its archetypal signifier volition enactment connected BBC iPlayer, truthful everyone wins! I really watched this transmit successful 1969, astatine 6 years old, terrified of the Roman soldiers, fascinated by villains with glinting spectacles, and successful awe of the Doctor's marque caller origin. Now fans aged and caller tin bask it each implicit again."

The newly-colourised the War Games volition aerial connected BBC Four and BBC iPlayer connected December 23. The archetypal episodes are disposable successful the Whoniverse connected the streaming platform.

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