Years after he gave up travelling in the TARDIS, Steven Taylor is the deposed king of a distant world.
From the confines of his cell, he shares his story with a young girl called Sida.
And one story in particular – a visit to a whole world at war, which will mark Steven for life…
THE COMPANION CHRONICLES: THE WAR TO END ALL WARS
The final William Hartnell-era story in the monthly series of Companion Chronicles — and the final story in that series by Simon Guerrier before the range moved to box sets – is “The War to End All Wars,” a story that uses a masterful framing device to set itself apart as one of the best in a strong range.
The aforementioned framing device features Steven, years after leaving the TARDIS, on the unnamed planet last seen in “The Savages.” Evidently, despite initially staying behind as a mediator, Steven was made king of this society – and then, even later, was deposed. We spend a good deal of time in this framing device, learning about Steven’s family, about the rivalry between his daughters, and how they contributed to his deposition. It’s hard to discuss how this relates to the TV story, as “The Savages” is one of the least-known Doctor Who stories, but Steven’s conversations with his granddaughter Sida (Alice Haig) flesh out the society even as they tell a story.
The actual story of “The War to End All Wars” takes us to another world, one consumed by a seemingly eternal war, where everyone is drafted into service and sorted into different fighting groups based on their individual fitness and ability. Naturally the TARDIS crew is immediately embroiled in this conflict, and Steven and Dodo are taken away and drafted into the war. What follows is a recreation of World War I, complete with trench warfare, machine guns, futile attacks across no-man’s-land, and so forth. While Steven’s military background enables him to blend in, Guerrier does a masterful job of showing Steven increasingly consumed by hopelessness, culminating in a suicidal nighttime walk toward the opposing trench that turns the entire story on its side.
The twist is fairly predictable, but that doesn’t really matter as the implications of the twist drive the rest of the story. The idea of a central computer using the same population to operate both sides of a war is a straightforward science fiction idea, but Guerrier makes it something special by winding Steven’s personality through the tale. It’s amazing how Doctor-ish he acts, realizing the only way to stop the war is to work his way to the top and immediately deciding to win a civic election to get there. There’s also quite a bit of time spent on his relationship with Dodo, one of the least-explored characters from the classic series, and how evidently they were close enough that she inspired the name of his youngest daughter.
Honestly, the story doesn’t even matter that much. It’s basically resolved off camera, with the Doctor doing what he usually does. (There’s a great moment where the Doctor is offended that Steven even questions how he was able to escape execution.) This story is all about Steven, about his growth while in the TARDIS and how he employed the lessons he learned there after he left. When things circle back around to the framing device, we learn that there’s still an ersatz Doctor running around, and Steven knows he must be stopped. It’s a final exam of sorts, and the story ends just as he resolves to take it on. I’m not sure if this will be resolved in the box sets, but it doesn’t need to be – it’s an abrupt ending but an entirely appropriate one.
The production is first-rate, from director Lisa Bowerman to sound designer Simon Robinson. Peter Purves is magnificent as always, and Alice Haig is an able supporting performer. Overall, “The War to End All Wars” is another fantastic example of the Companion Chronicles at their best. Intelligent, character-driven drama will never get old.
Excellent.
9/10