Often remembered for the wrong thing – i.e. the infamously (and inadvertently) fourth-wall-breaking line “DOC-TOR WHO IS RE-QUIRED!” – The War Machines is one of those undersung pivotal moments in the show’s history. For the first time since An Unearthly Child, the Doctor and company returned to a modern-day Earth which wasn’t wildly dissimilar to the real deal, and he also acquired a couple of present-day companions (well, present-day for 1966) into the bargain. In short, this was the first step down the road that inevitably led to the third Doctor’s era; the next big steps in that direction were the episodes which introduced, respectively, Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT. (more…)