The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and adversaries of the Doctor. First appearing in Jon Pertwee's first serial as the Doctor, Spearhead from Space in 1970, they were the first monsters on the show to be presented in colour. Auton (Guardian ad litem of) v. ... An Auton, from the television series Doctor Who (from Spearhead from Space) This work is copyrighted. ... This is a list of planets, fictional or otherwise, that are mentioned in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Spearhead from Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from January 3 to January 24, 1970. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Doctor Who is a long-running award-winning British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The series depicts the adventures of a mysterious time-traveller known as the Doctor who travels in his TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space) time ship, which appears from the exterior... John Devon Roland Pertwee (7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996), better known as Jon Pertwee, was an English actor. ... “Doctor who episodes” redirects here. ... Spearhead from Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from January 3 to January 24, 1970. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Autons are essentially life-sized plastic dummies, automatons animated by the Nestene Consciousness, an extraterrestrial, disembodied gestalt intelligence which first arrived on Earth in hollow plastic meteorites. Their name comes from "Auto Plastics", the company that was infiltrated by the Nestenes and subsequently manufactured their Auton shells in Spearhead. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... An automaton (plural: automata) is a self-operating machine. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A group mind or group ego in science fiction is a single consciousness occupying many bodies. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... Willamette Meteorite A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives an impact with the Earths surface without being destroyed. ...

Autons conceal deadly weapons within their hands, which can kill or vaporize their targets. The typical Auton does not look particularly realistic, resembling a mannequin, being robotic in its movements and mute. However, more sophisticated Autons can be created, which look and act human except for a slight sheen to the skin and a flat sounding voice. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

History

The Nestenes are one of the oldest beings in the Doctor Who universe, described as creatures which existed in the "Dark Times", along with the Racnoss, Great Vampires and Carrionites.^[1] Eventually, they sought to invade the Earth, using more human-looking Autons to replace key government figures, although these plans were thwarted by UNIT with the help of the Doctor, who also destroyed their invasion form, a multi-tentacled cephalopod. // The Whoniverse, a portmanteau of Doctor Who and universe, is the fictional universe in which Doctor Who, Torchwood and other related stories take place. ... This is a list of monsters and aliens from the television series Doctor Who. ... State of Decay (1980) is a four-part serial in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, starring Tom Baker as the Doctor and Lalla Ward and Matthew Waterhouse as the Doctors companions Romana and Adric respectively. ... This is a list of monsters and aliens from the television series Doctor Who. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... The United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (also known as UNIT) is a fictional military organization from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Orders Subclass Nautiloidea †Plectronocerida †Ellesmerocerida †Actinocerida †Pseudorthocerida †Endocerida †Tarphycerida †Oncocerida †Discosorida Nautilida †Orthocerida †Ascocerida †Bactritida Subclass †Ammonoidea †Goniatitida †Ceratitida †Ammonitida Subclass Coleoidea †Belemnoidea †Aulacocerida †Belemnitida †Hematitida †Phragmoteuthida Neocoleoidea (most living cephalopods) ?†Boletzkyida Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida The cephalopods (Greek plural (kephalópoda); head-foot) are the mollusk class...

The Nestenes subsequently returned in the first serial of Pertwee's second year as the Doctor, Terror of the Autons, which also featured the introduction of the Master. In this attempt, the Nestenes also made use of more mundane objects, animating plastic toys, inflatable chairs and artificial flowers in addition to their Auton servants. The Doctor convinced the Master that the Nestenes were too dangerous to be reliable allies, and they reversed the radio beam the invasion force was coming in on, sending it back into space. Terror of the Autons is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from January 2 to January 23, 1971. ... The Master is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ...

Early drafts of The Five Doctors (1983) featured a scene where Sarah Jane Smith encountered some Autons and is rescued by the Third Doctor, but it was dropped before filming for reasons of time and expense. A third appearance was planned for the aborted 1985 season during Colin Baker's tenure as the Doctor, but never materialized. Titled Yellow Fever and How to Cure It, it was supposed to be set in Singapore, with appearances by the Rani and the Master. The story, which was to be scripted by veteran writer Robert Holmes, only exists in outline form. The Five Doctors was a special movie-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programmes twentieth anniversary. ... Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its related spin-offs. ... The Third Doctor is the name given to the third incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... For the Wales international football player see Colin Baker (Welsh footballer) Colin Baker (born London, June 8, 1943) is an English actor who is best known for playing the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986. ... The Rani is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... This entry is about the television scriptwriter. ...

Although the Autons only made two appearances during the original television series run, they remain one of the more memorable monsters associated with Doctor Who. The image of store mannequins coming to life in Spearhead, in full colour and shooting people down in the street, is one of the series' iconic moments, and is often cited as an example of the series' ability to make everyday things terrifying. The use of even more ordinary objects in Terror of the Autons — including the unmasking of a police officer as an Auton — caused public controversy about whether the programme was too frightening for children. The story also featured in a discussion in the House of Lords, where Baroness Bacon expressed worries about it being too frightening even for older children. The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as the Lords. The Sovereign, the House of Commons (which is the lower house of Parliament and referred to as the Commons), and the Lords together comprise the Parliament. ...

The Ninth Doctor encounters the Nestene Consciousness

When the series was revived in 2005, producer and writer Russell T. Davies chose the Autons as the first monster to be featured. The Nestenes infiltrated Earth once more, using warp shunt technology, in the opening episode of the 2005 series. In "Rose", it was revealed that the Nestenes lost their food supply in a war when their protein planets rotted. Their intent was to overthrow and destroy the human race, as Earth was ideal for their consumption needs, being filled with smoke, oil and various pollutants. The Doctor eventually defeated them when a vial of his "anti-plastic" solution spilled into the vat of molten plastic which housed the main bulk of the Consciousness, causing it to explode. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1002x576, 37 KB) Summary The nestene consciousness, a monster from the Doctor Who story Rose. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1002x576, 37 KB) Summary The nestene consciousness, a monster from the Doctor Who story Rose. ... Russell T Davies, interviewed for the documentary series Doctor Who Confidential in 2005. ... Faster-than-light (also superluminal or FTL) communications and travel are staples of the science fiction genre. ... “Doctor who episodes” redirects here. ... Rose is an episode in the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 26 March 2005. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... Many of the compounds which are dangerous to the environment can also be harmful to humans in the long-term range and come from mineral and fossil sources or are produced by humans themselves. ...

"Rose" also featured an Auton facsimile that could change the shape of its features and limbs, and established that the Nestenes animate the Autons by means of telepathic projection. When duplicated, the originals are kept alive to maintain the copy. It is not yet clear if the war mentioned was also the motivation behind their earlier invasions or a recent development, but it is likely to be the same war as the Time War that is mentioned in subsequent episodes of the 2005 series. Telepathy, from the Greek τῆλε, tele, remote; and πάθεια, patheia, to be effected by, describes the hypothetical transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the five classical senses. ... Combatants Time Lords Dalek Empire Commanders President of Gallifrey Dalek Emperor Casualties Virtually the entire Time Lord population; the Doctor and the Master are known survivors. ...

The Autons appeared in a segment of the 2006 series episode "Love & Monsters". The sequence, specifically filmed for the episode, was a flashback to the climactic events of "Rose". “Doctor who episodes” redirects here. ... Love & Monsters is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... In literature and film, a flashback (also called analepsis) takes the narrative back in time from the point the story has reached, to recount events that happened before and give the back-story. ...

Other appearances

The Nestenes have also appeared in the Doctor Who spin-off novels (which linked the Consciousness with the Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos, in particular as an offspring of Shub-Niggurath). Doctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... A Great Old One is a type of fictional being in the Cthulhu Mythos based in the stories of HP Lovecraft. ... Cthulhu and Rlyeh The Cthulhu Mythos encompasses the shared elements, characters, settings, and themes in the works of H. P. Lovecraft and associated horror fiction writers. ... Artistic portrayal of Shub-Niggurath, along with her Thousand Young. Shub-Niggurath, often associated with the phrase The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young, is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. ...

In the Sixth Doctor novel Business Unusual by Gary Russell (which gave Melanie Bush a belated introduction story), the Nestenes used computer games and plastic toys in another bid for world conquest. In Synthespians™ by Craig Hinton, a far-future television station's artificial actors were not what they seemed. This novel also featured the Time Lords launching an assault on the Nestene homeworld Polymos, which may or may not be connected to the war mentioned in "Rose". The Sixth Doctor is the name given to the sixth incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... The Past Doctor Adventures (sometimes known by the abbreviation PDA or PDAs) are a series of spin-off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and published under the BBC Books imprint. ... Business Unusual is a BBC Books original novel written by Gary Russell and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... This is an article about writer/actor Gary Russell, the boxer is found under Gary Russell Jr. ... Melanie Bush, or simply Mel, is a fictional character played by Bonnie Langford in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Synthespiansâ„¢ is a BBC Books original novel written by Craig Hinton and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Craig Hinton (born 1964 in London) is an author most associated with his work for various spin-offs from the BBC Television series Doctor Who. ... Doctor Who. ... This is a list of planets, fictional or otherwise, that are mentioned in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ...

In the Doctor Who Annual 2006, an article written by Russell T. Davies mentions the loss of the Nestene Consciousness's planets during the Time War, and states that it "found itself mutating under temporal stress". This may be a reference to the difference between the portrayal of the Consciousness in Spearhead from Space and "Rose".

In the late 1990s, BBV released a trilogy of made-for-video films, titled Auton, Auton 2: Sentinel and Auton 3. These stories featured UNIT battling the Consciousness. In the first film, a Nestene energy unit and several Autons captured by UNIT in Spearhead from Space are accidentally reactivated. In the sequels, the escaped Autons attempt to awaken several dormant Nestenes put in place since before the development of human civilization. Though BBV was licensed to use the Nestenes, Autons and UNIT by the writers who created them, as with all spin-off productions the canonicity of these films is unclear. BBV is a video and audio production company specialising in science fiction drama, known for its links with the British science fiction television series Doctor Who (founder Bill Baggs is a fan, and BBV productions often feature characters and/or actors from the series). ... The Auton trilogy is a series of direct-to-video spin-off productions based on the long running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who. ... Canon, in the context of a fictional universe, comprises those novels, stories, films, etc. ...

In the first series of the televised Dead Ringers, in a sketch with Jon Culshaw visiting The London Eye (calling it an Interstitial Time Delay Helix) in the persona of the Fourth Doctor, he humorously accused two tourists: "You are Autons from the planet Tosos!" A dead ringer is slang for a doppelgänger. ... Jonathan Peter Culshaw (born 2 June 1968 in Ormskirk, Lancashire) is a British impressionist and comedian. ... The London Eye is, as of December 2003, the largest observation wheel in the world (though often erroneously called a Ferris wheel). ... The Fourth Doctor is the name given to the fourth incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ...

In 2006, a sketch on The Charlotte Church Show showed the Doctor examining the inner thigh of a scantily clad female mannequin; when confronted by Church (playing his companion), he claimed that he thought it was an Auton. The long running science fiction television series Doctor Who has over the years been the subject of many comedy sketches and especially made comedy programmes, from Spike Milligans memorable Pakistani Dalek to the Comic Relief episode Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death. ... The Charlotte Church Show is an entertainment television show presented by Welsh singer Charlotte Church broadcast each Friday on Channel 4 from September 1, 2006. ...

The Autons appear in John Smith's A Journal of Impossible Things in the episode "Human Nature".

They appeared in issue 15 of Doctor Who - Battles in Time in which they were the main theme of the issue. Doctor Who - Battles in Time is both a trading card game and the supplementary fortnightly magazine from the partwork publishers, GE Fabbri who have the license to produce Battles in Time for a two-year period. ...

Other uses

In the film Alien: Resurrection (1997) the girl Call, when being revealed for being a robot, is noted by another character to be "an Auton, a robot designed by other robots". Film poster Alien: Resurrection Alien: Resurrection (1997) is the fourth movie in the Alien series, preceded by Alien, Aliens and Alien³. Synopsis Spoiler warning: Alien: Resurrection takes place 200 years after the events of Alien³. Ellen Ripley has been cloned using blood samples from Fiorina 161, on ice so that...

Autons, the name of a portsmouth / southsea band with a unique blend of electro/rock/punk.

References