Doctor Who news: New colorized version of the Second Doctor's regeneration story announced

Yesterday, along with a fun watchalong of this year's Fifteenth Doctor episode Boom, (a watchalong that Steven Moffat himself joined in with,) we also received some exciting news. Following the success of last year's The Daleks in Color, it was officially announced that the next black-and-white story to receive the same treatment is The War Games.

Like The Daleks, it's easy to see why this serial was chosen, as The War Games is an incredibly significant story in Doctor Who history. First of all, the serial depicts the first-ever appearance of the Time Lords. In fact, the Doctor's race hadn't even been named before this serial, making their appearance in the story an incredibly exciting one.

Another reason why The War Games is so significant is that it's not only the final story of the '60s, but it's also the last story made in black-and-white. When the following season began in 1970, Season 7 kicked off in glorious full color, right from the brand new title sequence.

But that's not the only way that this story marks the end of an era. The War Games is also the final story of Patrick Troughton's run as the Second Doctor. We also say goodbye to his two companions, Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury). The Second Doctor's regeneration is incredibly dramatic, as the Doctor is sent to Earth in exile and essentially sentenced to death by his own race. It's a major moment in Doctor Who history - a moment that's about to be updated in a big way...

The Second Doctor's regeneration - complete for the first time!

In the original version of The War Games, while the Doctor's regeneration had begun, we didn't get to see the exact moment of Troughton changing into Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor. The key reason for this is that when the exact moment was filmed, Jon Pertwee hadn't been cast yet, so fans didn't get to see the regeneration in full.

This is finally going to change. For the first time ever, fans will finally get to the complete regeneration - at least officially. What's even more amazing is that it'll be based on a fan's take on the scene. Last year, Jacob Booth - under the YouTube username The Confession Dial - uploaded The Second Doctor Regenerates, an amazing mix of editing and effects work that depicts the Second Doctor's regeneration in full. It was a video so good that it's going to be included in the official colorization, as announced by Jacob Booth on X.

It's honestly amazing when the excellent work of fandom is recognized in this way. Especially for something as major as this new release.

As for the colorization itself, I'm excited to see a new take on one of my favorite stories. Again, like The Daleks, I'm curious to see how well it will work. The new version of The War Games has been edited down to just 90 minutes.

This is 15 minutes longer than the color version of The Daleks. However, The Daleks is 7 episodes long, while The War Games is 10. While it could be argued that there's a lot of running back and forth across the serial, I'm still curious to see how well the new edit will work. Regardless, this is an exciting new take on a much-loved classic, and I can't wait to see how it turns out.

The colorized version of The War Games will be released on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer on Dec 23. Currently, there is no announcement of a U.S. release date.