Neil Gaiman has long made it clear that he’s a huge Doctor Who fan – and now the Good Omens and The Sandman writer has revealed which episode made him fall in love with the sci-fi series in the first place.
Gaiman – who penned the Who episodes The Doctor’s Wife and Nightmare in Silver in 2011 and 2013 respectively – explained on Twitter that the final part of the season 6 serial The War Games had captivated him as a child.
“It unpeeled my mind and left me in love with the infinite possibilities inherent in the story,” he wrote. “21st of June 1969. I was 8.”
Doctor Who. The final part of The War Games. It unpeeled my mind and left me in love with the infinite possibilities inherent in the story. 21st of June 1969. I was 8. https://t.co/FXcPEVj8PI
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) January 15, 2023
The comments were made in a thread responding to a meme that encouraged children to head outdoors because “kids won’t remember their best day of television”.
Other people replying to the initial post mentioned that episodes of ThunderCats, Jim Henson’s Storyteller and He-Man had been extremely formative moments for them when they were younger.
The War Games consisted of 10 parts and was the final serial of the show’s sixth run, marking Patrick Troughton’s last regular appearance as the Second Doctor alongside his companions Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) and Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury).
It centered on an unnamed alien race led by the War Lord (Philip Madoc) who was determined to kidnap and brainwash soldiers from wars throughout Earth’s history to fight in war games on another planet.
The serial culminated in the Doctor’s trial by the Time Lords – the first time other members of his race had appeared on the show.
Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer with episodes of the classic series also available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.
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