Spearhead from Space (TV story)
Spearhead From Space was the first story of Season 7 of Doctor Who and was the first to feature Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor. The story introduced a new companion, Caroline John's Liz Shaw. Continuing on from the last part of The War Games, it marked a significant change to the premise of Doctor Who. The Doctor would now serve out his Time Lord-imposed sentence of exile on Earth. In a sense, it also continued on from The Web of Fear and The Invasion, in that it continued the story of UNIT, and furthered the Doctor's relationship with Nicholas Courtney's Brigadier. Both would become regular components of this era of the programme.
The story also introduced the Doctor's binary vascular system, which would become an oft-repeated feature of Time Lord physiology thereafter. Moreover, it premiered the Nestene and the Autons, who would reappear in future stories. It also provided a template for Russell T Davies as he wrote the first episode of the 2005 series. It also had some commonality with Steven Moffat's first story as producer, in that both this story and The Eleventh Hour would introduce a new Doctor and new companion after the departure of those from the previous story.
It was also the first Doctor Who story to be broadcast in colour. Behind the scenes, it was the last contribution of Derrick Sherwin and Peter Bryant to Doctor Who, as the BBC transferred them both to another programme in the middle of principal photography. The latter stages of the story were actually produced, uncredited, by Barry Letts. On top of this complication, the BBC employees who operated videocameras decided to strike between the time of location filming and studio recording, since they believed they should get more money for operating the technically more sophisticated colour cameras. This required Sherwin to commit the story to 16mm film, since the film cameramen were in a different union, and therefore not on strike. Spearhead from Space thus became not only the first colour Doctor Who story, but also the only story to ever be shot entirely on 16mm film. Over forty years later, Sherwin's decision to switch to film made it possible for Spearhead to easily adapt to new media. It is the first and currently only Doctor Who story of the classic era to be released in the Blu-ray format.
Synopsis
Exiled to Earth in the late 20th century and forbidden to continue travelling by his own people, the Time Lords, the newly regenerated Doctor arrives in Oxley Woods accompanied by a shower of mysterious meteorites. Investigating these unusual occurrences is the newly-formed United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT for short).
Led by Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, UNIT is soon called into action when people and meteorites start going missing.
Most puzzling of all is the attempted kidnapping of a strange hospital patient: a man with two hearts, who insists that he knows the Brigadier.
The new Doctor soon joins forces with his old friend, UNIT and the recently recruited Dr Elizabeth Shaw, but time is running out. Irregular things are happening at a nearby plastics factory, while faceless creatures lurk in the woods. The Nestenes have arrived, and want to conquer the Earth...
Plot
Episode one
It is the late 20th century on Earth. At a tracking station, a radar technician is scanning the screen and calls for the duty officer. She comes in, and he shows her what looks like a meteor storm - but the meteors appear to be flying in formation, and heading toward Epping, Essex.
There, in Oxley Woods, a local poacher, Sam Seeley, sees the meteors falling to the ground and runs for shelter. As he comes out, he finds one of the meteorites pulsing with energy. The TARDIS also materialises in Oxley Woods, and the newly regenerated Doctor emerges and collapses to the ground.
Meanwhile at UNIT, a car arrives. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart interviews Doctor Elizabeth Shaw of Cambridge University for the position of UNIT scientific advisor. She is rather dubious at the prospect and openly derisive of the Brigadier's claim that Earth has interacted with alien races. The Brigadier mentions a mysterious man known only as "the Doctor" who aided UNIT in the past, but is now nowhere to be found. Captain Munro telephones the Brigadier from Ashbridge Cottage Hospital. Munro informs him that one of his patrols found a man collapsed in the wood next to a police box and brought him to the hospital. The Brigadier tells Munro that he wants the police box to be guarded and that the police are not to be notified on any account.
At the hospital, Dr. Henderson looks over his patient's x-ray films and is incensed that someone in the radiography department played a joke by making him appear to have two hearts. En route to voice his anger, he receives a page from Dr. Lomax in the pathology lab. Lomax is similarly furious with Henderson for sending him non-human blood. Henderson assures Lomax that he took the blood sample himself and even if the patient's blood is different, he still has to look after him. Mullins, a porter who overheard Dr. Henderson's end of the conversation, telephones the press in search of a reward, and tells them about the "man from space" in the hospital.
Meanwhile in Oxley Woods, Sam Seeley has returned for the meteorite, with a shovel and a burlap sack for poaching. He digs up the meteorite, uncovering an object that is not a clump of rock, but a pulsing, beeping orb. He hoists the orb from its earthy resting place and pockets it in his poaching sack. Suddenly, Seeley hears voices and looks through the trees to see three soldiers.
At the hospital, the Doctor wakes up and leans over the side of his bed, looking for his shoes, but his nurse puts him back into his bed just as Dr. Henderson comes in. The nurse tells him the patient tried to get out of bed, but he has fallen asleep again.
A car pulls up outside the hospital, and the Brigadier and Liz Shaw step out of it. Inside the hospital, the lobby is overrun with the press who are asking Captain Munro about the hospital's mysterious patient and what UNIT is doing there. The Brigadier offers them only the cliché explanation, "training exercise," which the press do not believe. Among the press is a mysterious gentleman named Channing. The Brigadier and Liz Shaw enter, and the press ask the Brigadier about the "man from space." He tells them he knows nothing about a "man from space". They also ask him about the meteorites, but the Brigadier tells them he is busy and will talk to them later. The Brigadier and Liz enter the room and introduce themselves to Doctor Henderson. He tells the Brigadier and Liz that his patient has dual hearts and blood that can't be identified.
Liz asks the Brigadier if he knows the patient, but, owing to Doctor's changed appearance, the Brigadier doesn't recognise him and asserts that he has never seen the man before in his life. The Doctor awakens and recognises the Brigadier, however. He borrows a little mirror from Liz and examines his new visage before falling asleep again. The Brigadier tells Munro that he wants the Doctor taken to UNIT HQ as soon as he is ambulatory, although Dr. Henderson is not sure when that will be. The Brigadier further directs Munro to look for the meteorites.
Dr. Henderson directs the Brigadier to the rear exit in order to avoid the press. Journalist Michael Wagstaffe sees Lethbridge-Stewart leaving and tells his colleague Jimmy that the Brigadier must have left from the back door. Jimmy asks Mullins when he and the press can be let in, but Mullins tells them they will have to wait. Wagstaffe goes to telephone the office, but then discovers Channing in a telephone box. He asks which newspaper he is on, but Jimmy says he does not know. Mullins comes over and says Channing must have come in with them. Wagstaffe kindly asks Channing if he could use the telephone box so Channing crossly leaves.
Meanwhile, Sam Seeley is leaving Oxley Woods, but he is stopped by Corporal Forbes. Forbes tells him the woods are restricted and expresses his displeasure with Sam's poaching activities. Forbes asks Seeley if he saw the patrols; Seeley responds that they didn't see him. Forbes declines Seeley's attempt to sell him fresh rabbit, instead telling him to leave and not to come back into the woods until they are de-restricted. Seeley asks Forbes about the "thunderballs" (the meteorites) and asks if there is a reward for finding one of them. Forbes demands to know if Seeley knew where one landed, but Seeley replies that he was just asking. Forbes tells him to push off, and Seeley does so.
At the hospital, the Doctor wakes up and leans over the side of his bed again looking for his shoes, but the nurse tells him he's not going anywhere. Dr. Henderson enters again, and the nurse tells him the Doctor's pulse has settled down – to a mere ten beats per minute. Dr. Henderson asks the Doctor how he's feeling but the Doctor says only, "Shoes." The nurse tells Dr Henderson that he is worrying about his shoes and presumably thinks someone has stolen them. Dr. Henderson asks where they might be, and the nurse tells him they are probably in his locker. Dr. Henderson takes them out and gives them to the Doctor who snatches them out of his hands and hugs them, pretending to be unbalanced but harmless. The nurse remarks that the Doctor has been behaving very oddly, so Dr. Henderson tells he will take the Doctor's blood pressure again.
His caregivers' backs turned, the Doctor looks in his shoes and finds the TARDIS key which he conceals in his fist. Channing's associates appear, knocking out Dr. Henderson and putting tape over the Doctor's mouth before sitting the latter into a wheelchair and kidnapping him. Dr. Henderson wakes up and discovers the Doctor has gone. As Dr. Henderson chases after him, he is intercepted by Captain Munro whom he alerts to the situation. Outside the hospital, Channing's associates move the Doctor and his wheelchair into the ambulance, but the Doctor escapes in his wheelchair. The ambulance drives off with Channing at the wheel. Munro orders a soldier to shoot the tyres but they escape. The Doctor meanwhile leaves his wheelchair and returns to the TARDIS on foot. Captain Munro and a soldier find the Doctor's wheelchair and start searching for him. The Doctor reaches Oxley Woods but as he crashes through the trees, he is shot down by a UNIT soldier guarding the TARDIS, and collapses once again. Corporal Forbes is incensed by the soldier's actions.
Episode Two
Captain Munro, Corporal Forbes, and the private who fired the shot all converge over the unconscious Doctor. The Doctor is returned to the hospital, and the Brigadier questions Dr. Henderson about the Doctor's condition. The bullet only grazed the scalp, but the Doctor is in a deeper coma than Dr. Henderson has ever seen – which Henderson speculates is self-induced. Before the Brigadier leaves the hospital, Dr. Henderson shows him the TARDIS key, and says the unconscious Doctor's hand had to be pried open in order to get it. The Brigadier tells Captain Munro that he can double the guard at the hospital, as the police box is now en route to UNIT Headquarters. Munro shows him the broken up meteorite and says it was destroyed when it hit the ground; then orders Private Hawkins to carry the case to the Brigadier's car, and shows the Brigadier a picture of Channing.
At Auto Plastics' nearby factory, John Ransome visits the manager, George Hibbert, tailed by Channing. Ransome argues with Hibbert over his sudden termination and the cancellation of the production of the new doll which Ransome had designed and sold an American company on financing. Ransome also demands to know why everything has changed in the factory and what was going on inside his old workshop. Hibbert tells him they have developed a new process and to stay away; they'll send Ransome his things. Just then, Channing appears in the room and watches Ransome leave the factory, before refreshing Hibbert's hypnosis.
Meanwhile, Sam Seeley removes the meteorite from an old trunk in the garden shed and is taking a look at it; out of the trunk, its energy alerts an Auton in the woods. Seeley's wife Meg comes into the garden, and Sam hurriedly pushes the meteorite out of sight into the shed. Meg inspects the trunk to make sure Sam isn't hiding stolen goods in it. After seeing that it contains only an old blanket, she tells Sam she won't have the dirty old trunk in the house. After she goes back in the house, Sam again hides the meteorite in the trunk.
At UNIT, Liz Shaw tells the Brigadier that he will be able to open the police box with the key. The Brigadier welcomes Major General Scobie and introduces him to Liz. Scobie asks what the police box is doing inside the lab, and with an ironic look, Liz tells him it is a spaceship.
Back at the hospital, Forbes is guarding Dr. Beavis' car at his request. Captain Munro orders him into a jeep; they're off to join Section 3 who have turned up a meteorite. The Doctor sneaks into the doctors' locker room in search of clothes. When Drs. Henderson and Beavis enter, the Doctor takes the opportunity to shower, thus hiding his face from them and avoiding a conversation. The Doctor's new body has come complete with a tattoo on the lower right arm: a snake coiled into the shape of a question mark. On his way out, the Doctor steals a suit and Dr. Beavis' hat and cape, escaping from the hospital in Dr. Beavis' car.
At UNIT, the Brigadier tries to open the TARDIS again, but fails; Liz suggests that he has the wrong key. Meanwhile, Captain Munro's soldiers dig up another meteorite; freed from the ground, its signal alerts the Auton in the woods, who sets off toward them. Munro orders Corporal Forbes to deliver it to UNIT HQ. On his way, Forbes swerves to avoid the Auton and crashes the jeep into a tree, killing himself. The Auton takes the meteor. In Ransome's old workshop, now full of Autons, Hibbert tells Channing that General Scobie will soon arrive.
Meanwhile, the Doctor drives into UNIT's vehicle entrance. Before the commissionaire can even ask to see his documents, the Doctor berates him, declares that he hasn't a pass, and demands to see Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart at once. The commissionaire telephones the Brigadier and is told to send the Doctor up. The Doctor enters the lab and shows the Brigadier his wristwatch which doubles as a TARDIS magnet. The Doctor says that he will try testing on the TARDIS. The Brigadier tells him to stay where he is, as he has a lot of questions to ask the Doctor, but the Doctor tells him he has lost his memory. The Brigadier asks the Doctor hows he is he to know the Doctor is not an impostor, but the Doctor tells him that only he himself knows that. The Doctor looks at himself in a mirror and thinks he looks very smart, and opines that his new face would be quite useful on Delphon, whose inhabitants communicate with their eyebrows. The Brigadier introduces the Doctor to Liz Shaw, to whom the Doctor expresses "How do you do," with his eyebrows.
The Brigadier notes that Doctor arrived concurrently with the meteor storm, in the same wood, and is not certain that the two are not connected. The Doctor investigates the broken bits of the meteorite, and finds them rather exciting; given the shape of the fragments, he deduces that they were hollow spheres, carrying something to Earth. The Brigadier asks the Doctor if was going to assist UNIT. The Doctor asks him if he will give him the key to the TARDIS, to which the Brigadier replies, "Possibly". The Doctor then asks him how many meteorites came down and the Brigadier says there were fifty of them. The Doctor then asks him if there were any fragments, and the Brigadier says there was one which caused an accident and disappeared. The answer to the Brigadier's question obvious to the Doctor: the meteorites had been collected and taken somewhere by the time the soldiers arrived to to look for them, The real question is "Where?"
Ransome returns to the Auto Plastics factory and climbs over a high wall to enter the factory grounds. In Hibbert's office, Channing and Hibbert are showing General Scobie a plastic dummy before leading him out of the office. Ransome enters the factory, climbs up the staircase and breaks into his old workshop to find it full of new modern electronic equipment and a line of blue suited Autons. As he inspects a strange computer-like device, he hears a noise from behind him. He turns around and is horrified to see an Auton step down from a plinth and stop in front of him.
Episode three
The Auton takes the cover off its hand, showing a small nozzle. It tries to shoot Ransome with an energy bolt, but he gets out of the way. He escapes from his workshop and runs down the fire escape next to the factory with the Auton chasing him. Outside the factory, the Auton prepares to shoot Ransome again, but it sees Channing coming and re-enters the building. General Scobie bids goodbye to Channing and Hibbert. Channing tells Scobie that he can take a look at at the model once before it is shipped out. Meanwhile, Ransome climbs over the factory wall and runs out into Oxley Woods where he collapses and is rescued by UNIT. Channing discovers that the Auton lost Ransome. Channing intends to send an Auton to kill Ransome.
In a UNIT tent, Captain Munro telephones headquarters and is confident that his cordon will keep whoever took the meteor from getting far. Sam Seeley insists on knowing the reward for a "thunderball" and Munro demands to know where he found one. Hibbert is concerned that the "swarm leader" meteor is still missing, but – like Munro – Channing is confident that it will be found.
Ransome reports what he has seen at the factory to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Meanwhile, the Doctor tricks Liz into retrieving the TARDIS key from the Brigadier's office. His attempt to escape, however, is fruitless, as the Time Lords have changed the dematerialisation codes.
At Brook Cottage, Meg Seeley opens a trunk in the shed and discovers the meteorite – the swarm leader. Suddenly, she hears a strange noise coming from inside the house. She enters the house and encounters an Auton that has broken in and is knocking things over in its search for the swarm leader. Meg runs outside into the garden and gets Sam's shotgun out of the shed. When the creature emerges into the garden, Meg loads the gun, aims it and warns the Auton that if it doesn't leave, "I'll blow a hole in you!" The Auton ignores the warning, and keeps advancing. Meg opens fire, but the blast has no effect on the Auton. The creature knocks Meg aside and goes into the shed.
When UNIT arrive at the cottage, they enter the living room looking for Meg. They run out into the garden and find the Auton standing over Meg's unconscious body. The soldiers and the Brigadier shoot at the Auton; it escapes, but is forced to leave the swarm leader behind. Liz puts a blanket over Meg Seeley while the Brigadier goes to telephone for an ambulance. The Doctor investigates the meteorite and tells Liz the signal for it must have been muffled by the metal from the trunk it was in. Liz tells him to be careful with it as it might explode, but the Doctor tells her it will be alright as long as they treat it gently. Liz is worried that the swarm leader will return for it.
In Channing's workshop, Channing tells Hibbert the swarm leader has been taken by some UNIT soldiers. Hibbert asks why the Auton didn't kill the soldiers and Channing tells him he recalled it because it is too early for a major confrontation. He then tells Hibbert that UNIT must be delayed.
The Auton discovers Ransome in the UNIT tent; Channing orders total destruction, "Destroy! Total destruction!" There is a flash of light as the Auton obliterates Ransome's body without a trace remaining. The Brigadier is infuriated with the the sergeant whom he had left in charge. The sergeant had posted a guard at the front of the tent, but left the back exposed, allowing what appears to have been Ransome's abduction. The Doctor presumes Ransome has been taken to the plastics factory, and off they go to investigate.
The Doctor, Brigadier, and Liz meet Hibbert in his office. The Brigadier tells him about Ransome's story, omitting that they too had encountered the Auton. Hibbert denies everything and insists that Ransome was making up stories to discredit Auto Plastics after being let go for his supposedly impractical ideas to produce electronic dolls.
At UNIT HQ, the Doctor uses an electroencephalogramme and finds the the Nestene sphere is emitting brain waves. The Brigadier telephones Major General Scobie to ask for authority to raid the factory. Scobie agrees to meet the Brigadier and hangs up to attend to the knock at his front door. He opens the door to reveal an exact replica of himself, which enters and advances towards Scobie.
Episode Four
At UNIT, the Doctor and Liz are investigating the meteorite. The Doctor says that inside it is a brain. Just then the buzzer sounds and the Brigadier picks up the telephone. It is General Scobie's replica. He tells the Brigadier the factory is locked and that he has some important work to do at the moment. Before the Brigadier can argue with him, he hangs up. The Brigadier crossly puts the phone down. He tells the Doctor the replica of General Scobie must have been made by Madame Tussauds, a waxworks in London. The next morning, the Doctor and Liz visit Madame Tussauds, and discover hundreds of dummy replicas of important people. The Doctor discovers that all the replicas are made of plastic. He investigates a model of General Scobie and discovers a watch on his wrist. He realises it is the real General Scobie, whom the Autons have immobilised. The Doctor telephones the Brigadier, but Captain Munro tells him he is not in.
The Doctor then tells Munro he will call him later. In the factory workshop, Channing shows Hibbert a tank containing a body of an alien called the Nestene Consciousness. He tells Hibbert that the meteorites have created a body for the creature. Hibbert says the swarm leader has vanished, but Channing tells him they have the help of General Scobie's replica. He also says that tonight, the Autons will be activated. In the Doctor's lab, General Scobie's replica is with Captain Munro and orders him to give him the last meteorite. Meanwhile at the waxworks, Hibbert turns off the lights and leaves the room. The Doctor enters the dark room with a torch. Liz is frightened, but the Doctor tells her there is nothing to be scared of.
Just then, the Doctor and Liz hide behind a curtain, and Channing and Hibbert enter the room. From behind the curtain, the Doctor and Liz watch as the dummies leave the room. The Doctor meets Hibbert and tells him about the Auton that killed Ransome. Hibbert tells the Doctor he had to kill Ransome because Channing told him to, but the Doctor hypnotises him to believe that Channing is controlling his mind and that he is Hibbert's enemy. Hibbert says that Channing is his partner. The Doctor tells Hibbert he has to escape from Channing and asks him to come to UNIT so he can help him. But just then, Channing enters the room again and finds Hibbert standing around, so Hibbert leaves the room.
The Doctor and Liz tell the Brigadier that Channing and Hibbert have left the waxworks, and tell him he has to move against the factory quickly. In Channing's workshop, General Scobie's replica tells Channing that if the Doctor and UNIT move against him, he will stop them. Channing takes the meteorite and puts it under a pipe. It sucks the meteorite into the Nestene's body. Channing tells Scobie's replica that in the morning, the Autons will be activated. In the lab, the Doctor is building a device to destroy the Autons.
At dawn the Autons are activated. They break out of a shopping centre and kill many people. Back in the lab, the Brigadier tells the Doctor that the invasion of the Autons has started. The Doctor shows him the weapon that will destroy the Autons. The Brigadier tells the Doctor his headquarter staff can help the Doctor destroy the Autons. In Channing's workshop, Hibbert, who is now free of Channing's control, uses a metal pipe to open the tank containing the Nestene, but breaks a small button on the tank. Channing enters and stops Hibbert and tells him he should not have left the factory grounds but Hibbert tells him that he has been controlling his mind. Channing tells him that he is part of the Nestenes.
The Nestenes have been colonising other planets for a thousand million years, and now they will colonise Earth. Meanwhile, the Doctor and the soldiers leave UNIT and head for the factory. Channing tells Hibbert there is nothing he can do. Hibbert attempts to kill Channing and the Autons by hitting the tank with the pipe, but an Auton sees what he is doing so it shoots him with an energy bolt and he dies. Channing gives his orders to the Auton: "Destroy! Total destruction!" and Hibbert explodes.
The Doctor and the soldiers reach the plastics factory. The Doctor opens the door, and everyone enters the factory grounds. Just then, General Scobie's replica arrives with his men, and tells the Brigadier that he and his men are under arrest. The Doctor points his device at General Scobie's replica and the replica falls. A soldier accuses the Doctor of having killed General Scobie, but the Doctor tells him he was never really alive.
Meanwhile, the real General Scobie awakes and finds himself in the waxworks. The Doctor and Liz enter the factory and the Doctor uses his device on a passing Auton. An army of Autons enter the grounds. The soldiers attack them but they discover the creatures can not be destroyed by gunfire. The Doctor and Liz enter Channing's workshop. The Doctor discovers the Nestene's body and tells Channing that with his device, he can destroy him and the Autons, but Channing says that "No one can destroy the Nestenes!" and turns up the tank to full power.
The Doctor discovers that the Nestene Consciousness has created a monstrous tentacled body for itself. He tries to destroy it with his weapon, but discovers it is not working. The creature roars in anger, and wraps its tentacles around his mouth. As the Doctor struggles with the creature's tentacles, Liz finds the trouble: a loose connection. She repairs it and uses the Doctor's machine to shut the Nestene Consciousness down and send it back into space. Without the motive power of the Consciousness, the Autons have no more power and they collapse. Liz is glad to see the Doctor is alright, but then she discovers Channing. He has been revealed to be nothing more than a sophisticated Auton, and has likewise been deactivated.
At UNIT HQ, the Doctor remembers that he has to return the hat and coat, as he "borrowed" them from the hospital. Similarly, he must return the car as well... although he has taken quite a liking to it. The Brigadier floats the offer to the Doctor to let him work on a means to repair the TARDIS, while also helping UNIT stop future alien invasions. The Doctor, with misgivings, agrees - once the Brigadier agrees to help him find a car similar to the one he likes so much. Liz also agrees to become his new assistant. The Brigadier goes to prepare the paperwork, but stops, realising that he doesn't know the Doctor's name. "Smith", says the Doctor, with a smile. "Doctor John Smith".
Cast
- Dr. Who - Jon Pertwee
- Liz Shaw - Caroline John
- Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
- Channing - Hugh Burden
- Sam Seeley - Neil Wilson
- Mullins - Talfryn Thomas
- Captain Jimmy Munro - John Breslin
- Doctor Henderson - Antony Webb
- Nurse - Helen Dorward
- Corporal Forbes - George Lee
- UNIT officer - Tessa Shaw
- Technician - Ellis Jones
- Michael Wagstaffe - Allan Mitchell
- Jimmy "2nd reporter" - Prentis Hancock
- Major General Scobie - Hamilton Dyce
- Doctor Beavis - Henry McCarthy
- George Hibbert - John Woodnutt
- John Ransome - Derek Smee
- Meg Seeley - Betty Bowden
- Sergeant - Clifford Cox
- Attendant - Edmund Bailey
Uncredited cast
- UNIT soldier - Iain Smith (uncredited on-screen for episodes one and two but credited in Radio Times)
Crew
- Assistant Floor Manager - Liam Foster
- Costumes - Christine Rawlins
- Designer - Paul Allen
- Film Cameraman - Stan Speel, Robert McDonnell
- Film Editor - William Symon, Adam Dawson
- Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
- Make-Up - Cynthia Goodwin
- Producer - Derrick Sherwin
- Production Assistant - Peter Grimwade
- Script Editor - Terrance Dicks
- Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
- Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
- Visual Effects - John Horton
References
The Doctor
- The Doctor can communicate with his eyebrows in the language of the planet Delphon.
- The Doctor uses the name John Smith, first used in The Wheel in Space.
- Unlike the Fourth, Fifth and Seventh Doctors (TV: Robot, Castrovalva, Time and the Rani), the Third Doctor immediately recognises someone he's known in his previous body. In this instance, he recognises Lethbridge-Stewart the first time he sees him. On the whole, the Third Doctor endures the effects of regeneration in much the same way that the Tenth Doctor did (TV: The Christmas Invasion).
Species
- The Nestene Consciousness is a species or faction of a species that colonises worlds using encased clear balls of organic matter. Some of the specific balls, called Swarm Leaders, have properties that must be present for the colonisation to continue.
- The Nestene Consciousness can animate plastic bodies, which are then called Autons.
- The equivalent of a Nestene Consciousness nervous system can grow or have tentacles with suckers.
TARDIS
- The key to the TARDIS is provided with a "metabolism detector" that let the Doctor use it and prevent the Brigadier (and, supposedly, other strangers) from doing the same.
- The Time Lords have changed the dematerialisation codes for the TARDIS.
Time Lords
- The Doctor passes out and remains unconscious for some time due to his regeneration.
- The Doctor has a binary vascular system, his blood type isn't comparable to any human one, and he can willfully go into a coma.
UNIT
- UNIT have monitoring stations and a London HQ.
- The rationale the Brigadier gives Liz for aliens suddenly being interested in Earth is used, almost word-for-word, by the Tenth Doctor, when he tries to explain to Prime Minster Harriet Jones why the Sycorax won't be the last aliens to visit Earth. (TV: The Christmas Invasion)
Story notes
- This is the first story featuring Jon Pertwee as the Doctor, as well as the first appearance of companion Liz Shaw. It is also the first appearance of the villain known as the Nestene Consciousness and its servants the Autons.
- There is a new title sequence designed by Bernard Lodge (who designed the previous title sequence).
- Though the title sequence that debuted in this story remained the same over the next few years, it was only in this story that the title of the story zoomed towards the screen; this was only repeated for The Ambassadors of Death. (However unlike this story, only part of the story's title-"The Ambassadors"-zoomed towards the screen while the other words-"of Death"-appeared in full size when a 'sting' sound was heard.)
- There are scenes featuring real waxworks shot at Madame Tussaud's in London.
- This story had the working title of Facsimile.
- Due to a scene-shifters' strike, this story is completely shot on film and almost completely on location. Discounting the 1996 TV movie, it is the only Doctor Who story in franchise history to be shot completely on film; the 2005-present revival is actually shot on videotape, which is digitally remastered to look like film.
- The Radio Times programme listing for episode one in certain regions was accompanied by a black and white head-and-shoulders publicity shot of the Doctor and the Brigadier in potholers' helmets from the following adventure, Doctor Who and the Silurians, with the accompanying caption "Dr. Who? Or is it? Find out at 5.15".
- Radio Times credits Ellis Jones (Technician) as 'UNIT Technician', Prentis Hancock (2nd Reporter) as 'Reporter', Betty Bowden (Meg) as 'Meg Seeley', Clifford Cox (Sergeant) as 'UNIT Sergeant' and Edmund Bailey (Attendant) as 'Waxworks Attendant'.
- The actor playing the Doctor is credited for the first time as 'Doctor Who' in the closing credits as opposed to 'Dr. Who' which had been the norm since 1963. This form of credit would continue until the end of the Tom Baker era in 1981, after which the credit became the correct form, 'The Doctor'.
- Among the props seen on the Doctor's workbench is the Morok freezing machine from The Space Museum (which was recycled previously as an x-ray laser in The Wheel in Space), and a control panel from one of Tobias Vaughn's machines, from The Invasion, in addition to which one of the original studio models of the Cyber Ship from The Invasion would later appear as a large piece of lab equipment in this story.
- This was the first of two times that a new incarnation fought the Autons; also, this was the first of three times the Autons appeared in a season opener. The Daleks are the only other adversary to have started at least three seasons/series.
- This serial first establishes that the Doctor has two hearts. Before this, it was suggested that he only had one.
- The story was chosen by BBC America to represent the Jon Pertwee era during their 50th anniversary programming. Edited into an omnibus format, it was aired by BBCA on 31 March 2013, after the debut of their homegrown special called The Doctors Revisited - The Third Doctor. It also aired in the United Kingdom later in the year on 19 October, along with the Revisited special, on the Watch channel.
Ratings
- Episode 1 - 8.4 million viewers
- Episode 2 - 8.1 million viewers
- Episode 3 - 8.3 million viewers
- Episode 4 - 8.1 million viewers
Filming locations
- Location filming took pace at the BBC facility of Wood Norton near Evesham and in the nearby pub in Radford.
- Madame Tussauds in London
- Kings Cross Station (Underground Car Park shots)
- Ealing, London (specifically Ealing High Street, Ealing Broadway, and Lancaster Road - the Auton attack starts in the Shop window of John Sanders' Department Store in Ealing Broadway: a Marks & Spencers Store now stands on the site)
- Favourite Dolls Factory, Holloway, London (Auto Plastics Factory)
- Royal Horticultural Society Gardens, Wisley, Surrey (where the TARDIS first materialises)
- Hatchford Park, Hatchford, Surrey (= "Ashbridge Cottage Hospital")
Production errors
- The freshly regenerated Doctor has a visible tattoo on one arm (which can be seen during the shower sequence). PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet retroactively suggests that this mark was left by the Time Lords to indicate the Doctor as an exile or criminal.
- The TARDIS materialisation in episode one has a disjointed cut from model footage to location footage.
- In the beginning of episode one, the Doctor almost pulls the TARDIS' doors off when he faints.
- Liz Shaw states, "Most meteorites don't survive, they burn up in the atmosphere." While this would be correct of meteors or meteoroids, with the knowledge they're attempting to establish she should know that - by definition - it is not actually a meteorite unless it lands on the earth.
- During the briefing at UNIT HQ in episode one between the Brigadier and Liz Shaw, listen carefully to the Brigadier's voice following the line, "Aren't you being a bit alarmist?" His reply, "Since UNIT was formed there have been two attempts to invade this planet" is in a higher pitch due to film rate speed up, this has now been pitch corrected by the restoration team.
- While a chest x-ray would show at least the shadow of the heart, the image used appears to be a graphic of the skeleton within a regular human torso and not an x-ray - there is no soft tissue or soft tissue shadow of the heart or diaphragm. So, when the hospital doctor and nurse point out two hearts, there are actually no hearts in the picture.
- At the start of episode two, the Doctor clutches his head before being shot.
- At the start of episode three, there are three errors: the Auton takes the cover off its hand, Ransome turns around quickly, and he has a different gasping noise.
- In episode four, when Meg Seeley walks into the little cottage to find an Auton it cuts to the Auton and then back to the woman when she screams. Then to an extreme close up of the Auton. Look carefully and you can see that its right eye blinks.
- When Mrs. Seeley shoots the Auton, she does so without cocking the gun and without bracing the stock against her body. She also does not react to the gun recoil she would have felt when shooting an unbraced firearm.
- One of the wax work models opens her eyes, in episode 4, before the wax works actually come to life.
Continuity
- These events appear to continue on immediately from the Doctor's trial, in which we last see the Doctor apparently beginning his regeneration and being sent to Earth to begin his exile. (TV: The War Games)
- The Autons and the Nestenes encounter the Doctor again. (TV: Terror of the Autons, PROSE: Synthespians™, PROSE: Business Unusual, TV: Rose, TV: The Pandorica Opens, TV: The Big Bang)
- UNIT again encounters the Doctor. (TV: The Invasion)
- The Doctor's exile lasts until he saves the Time Lords from Omega. (TV: The Three Doctors)
- The freshly regenerated Doctor has a visible tattoo on one arm (which can be seen during the shower sequence). PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet suggests that this tattoo was applied to the Doctor by the Time Lords to mark him as an exile or criminal.
- When asked by Liz what discipline he is a doctor of, the Doctor replies, "Practically everything." He again states that he is a doctor of "everything" in his fifth incarnation (TV: Four to Doomsday) and reportedly gives a similar response during his tenth incarnation. (TV: Utopia)
- The Doctor mentions the Delphon language which only uses eyebrow movement. This language is mentioned again by the Tenth Doctor. (TV: Planet of the Dead)
- The Doctor has two hearts, as is later often noted. (TV: Robot, Genesis of the Daleks, Dalek, The Christmas Invasion, etc.)
- Under the pseudonym "Victor Magister," the Master was charged with having caused the attack on Black Thursday, among other incidents, after being captured in Devil's End. Stevens notes that his terrorist activities were little remembered by most British people in 1996. (PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy)
Home video and audio releases
Blu-ray release
Spearhead From Space was released as a Blu-ray Special Edition in July 2013. The back cover states, "This classic Doctor Who story is the first to be upgraded into stunning HD". The blu-ray was released in 1080p full HD with DTS-HD Master Audio.
Intended as a companion piece to the 2011 Special Edition DVD, the blu-ray release carries none of the extras from the previous releases of this story, but does feature several newly commissioned special features, mastered in HD.
Contents:
- A Dandy and a Clown - exclusive documentary looking at the life and career of Jon Pertwee, with contributions from actors Katy Manning, Judy Cornwell, David Jacobs, Geoffrey Bayldon and Kenneth Earle, Doctor Who writer and script editor Terrence Dicks, and long-time friend Stuart Money.
- Carry On: the life of Caroline John – a tribute to the actress who played the Third Doctor’s companion Liz Shaw.
- Title sequence raw material - raw, mute test and build-up material produced during creation of the Jon Pertwee title sequence.
- Restoration comparison - This release was mastered in 2K from the original 16mm camera negatives and interpositive prints for the best possible quality. This short feature compares the results against previous versions and looks at some of the problems encountered during the remastering.[1]
- Coming Soon Trailer: The Green Death - a trailer for the Special Edition DVD of The Green Death. The Coming Soon trailer is in Standard Definition Video.
UK Blu-ray cover
US Blu-ray cover
DVD release
Released as Doctor Who: Spearhead from Space, this release was slipped into the DVD schedule by BBC Worldwide so that a second DVD could be released in 2000. In the event, the DVD was delayed till the following year.
Released:
- Region 2 - 29 January 2001
- PAL - BBC DVD BBCDVD1033
- Region 4 - 15 April 2002
- Region 1 - 11 September 2001
- NTSC - Warner Video E1120
Contents:
- UNIT Recruitment Film
- Trailer
- Photo Gallery
- Production Subtitles
- Easter Egg (Test Footage for the titles sequence.)
- Commentary: Nicholas Courtney and Caroline John
Rear Credits:
- Starring Jon Pertwee
- By Robert Holmes
- Produced by Derrick Sherwin
- Directed by Derek Martinus
- Incidental Music composed by Dudley Simpson
Notes:
- The Fleetwood Mac song "Oh Well - Part One" was removed from the 2001 DVD release due to music licensing issues - becoming the first of several stories (others include TV: The Chase and Remembrance of the Daleks) to require re-editing to remove certain pieces of music.
- Editing for DVD release completed by Doctor Who Restoration Team.
Region 2 DVD cover
Region 4 DVD cover
Region 1 DVD cover
Special Edition DVD release
Released as Doctor Who: Spearhead from Space: Special Edition
Released:
Contents:
- Commentary by Derrick Sherwin and Terrance Dicks.
- Down to Earth documentary
- Regenerations - From Black and White to Colour documentary
- Radio Times Listings - PDF
- All previous special features
Notes:
- This was also released as part of a boxset called Mannequin Mania, which includes the first DVD release of Terror of the Autons. The Fleetwood Mac song "Oh Well Part One" appeared on the DVD, having been removed from the previous releases of the story (except the 1995 VHS release).[1]
Region 2 cover
- Mannequin mania australia dvd.jpg
Region 4 Box Set
VHS releases
Released as Doctor Who: Spearhead from Space.
Released:
Notes: Released in an edited movie-format, with the Fleetwood Mac song "Oh Well - Part One" removed and replaced by factory machinery sound effects.
- Second Release:
- PAL - BBC Video BBCV5509
Notes: Released unedited. However, the Fleetwood Mac song "Oh Well - Part One" was included by mistake.
1987 release (BBCV 4073)
1987 Cover
1990 AUS VHS cover
External links
- Spearhead from Space at the BBC's official site
- Spearhead from Space at BroaDWcast
- Spearhead from Space at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- Spearhead from Space at Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel)
- Spearhead from Space at The Locations Guide
References
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