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. The serial opened Series 7 of the show and was the first to be produced in colour. The serial introduced Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor. It also introduces Caroline John as the Doctor's new assistant, Liz Shaw. Nicholas Courtney reprises his role as Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart and becomes a regular cast member beginning with this serial. John Devon Roland Pertwee (7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996), better known as Jon Pertwee, was an English actor. ... 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. ... Companion, in the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, is a term used to describe a character who travels with and shares the adventures of the Doctor. ... Caroline John (publicity portrait from 1987). ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... This entry is about the television scriptwriter. ... Terrance Dicks (born 1935 in East Ham, London) is an English writer, best known for his work in television and for writing a large number of popular childrens books during the 1970s and 80s. ... Derrick Sherwin was one of the key figures on the production side of the BBC programme Doctor Who during the late 1960s. ... “Doctor who episodes” redirects here. ... is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the Doctor Who serial. ... Doctor Who and the Silurians is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from January 31 to March 14, 1970. ... “Doctor who episodes” redirects here. ... A broadcast of the long-running and popular British science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... 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... is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... John Devon Roland Pertwee (7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996), better known as Jon Pertwee, was an English actor. ... 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. ... Caroline John (publicity portrait from 1987). ... Liz Shaw, full name Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, is a fictional character played by Caroline John in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Nicholas Courtney Nicholas Courtney (born William Nicholas Stone Courtney on December 16, 1929) is a British television actor, most famous for playing Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. ...

Synopsis

The newly regenerated Doctor has barely enough time to adjust before he gets involved in an alien invasion of Earth. Creatures of living plastic, the Autons, are here to make the planet their own, and only the Doctor and UNIT can stop them. This article is about Earth as a planet. ... The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and adversaries of the Doctor. ... The United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (also known as UNIT) is a fictional military organization from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ...

Plot

The Doctor collapses outside his TARDIS after landing on earth, having had his regeneration forced by the Time Lords.

The Doctor, having had his regeneration forced by the Time Lords (see The War Games), has been exiled to Earth. The Doctor collapses outside his TARDIS and is taken to a local hospital where his unusual anatomy (including an unfamiliar blood type and two hearts) confounds doctors. File links The following pages link to this file: TARDIS Wikipedia:Wikiportal/Doctor Who Template:Wikiportal:Doctor Who/Featured ... File links The following pages link to this file: TARDIS Wikipedia:Wikiportal/Doctor Who Template:Wikiportal:Doctor Who/Featured ... The current TARDIS prop as seen at the BBC Wales reception in 2005. ... Doctor Who or, see History of Doctor Who. ... Doctor Who. ... Doctor Who or, see History of Doctor Who. ... Doctor Who. ... This article is about the Doctor Who serial. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... The current TARDIS prop as seen at the BBC Wales reception in 2005. ...

Concurrent with the Doctor's arrival, a swarm of meteorites falls on the English countryside, and a poacher discovers a mysterious plastic polyhedron at the crash site. In the meantime, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart of UNIT is trying to recruit Dr. Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw as his scientific advisor and investigate the unusual meteorite falls. Shaw, however, is skeptical of the Brigadier's claims of alien invasion and is resentful of being taken away from her research at Cambridge. Soon, the Brigadier is faced with another mystery; not far from where the meteorite impacts were reported, a man in hospital claims to be the Doctor (whom Lethbridge-Stewart last encountered in The Invasion). However this Doctor looks nothing like the Doctor the Brigadier knew. Willamette Meteorite A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives an impact with the Earths surface without being destroyed. ... A polyhedron (plural polyhedra or polyhedrons) is a geometric object with flat faces and straight edges. ... Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. ... The United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (also known as UNIT) is a fictional military organization from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Liz Shaw, full name Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, is a fictional character played by Caroline John in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ... The Invasion is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in eight weekly parts from November 2 to December 21, 1968. ...

The plastic polyhedron is actually a power unit for a non-physical alien intelligence known as the Nestene Consciousness. Normally disembodied, it has an affinity for plastic, and is able to animate humanoid facsimiles made from that material, known as Autons. The Nestene have taken over a toy factory in London, and plan to replace key government and public figures with Auton duplicates. The Auton in charge of the factory sends other, less human-looking Autons to retrieve the power units from UNIT and the poacher. “Green people” redirects here. ... The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and adversaries of the Doctor. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

The Auton invasion begins.

After a failed attempt at escaping from the hospital (which results in him nearly being shot dead by an overzealous UNIT trooper), the Doctor discovers that his TARDIS has been disabled by the Time Lords and he is trapped on Earth. He convinces Lethbridge-Stewart that he is the same man who aided him before to defeat the Yeti and the Cybermen, despite his change in appearance. Together with Liz, he uncovers the Nestene plot, just as Auton mannequins are activated across Britain and start killing people. However, the Doctor creates an electroshock device that he believes will disable the Autons. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (883x664, 87 KB)The Autons, deadly mannequins animated by the alien Nestene Consciousness, go on a rampage through London (from Doctor Who - Spearhead from Space). ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (883x664, 87 KB)The Autons, deadly mannequins animated by the alien Nestene Consciousness, go on a rampage through London (from Doctor Who - Spearhead from Space). ... The current TARDIS prop as seen at the BBC Wales reception in 2005. ... The Yeti of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, although resembling the cryptozoological creatures also called the Yeti, are in actuality alien robots. ... The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. ...

UNIT attacks the plastics factory, but the Autons are impervious to gunfire. The Doctor and Liz make their way inside and encounter the octopus-like plastic creature that the Nestenes have created with the power units as the perfect form for the invasion. While the Doctor struggles with the creature, Liz manages to use his machine to shut the creature down, and all the Autons "die" as well, being part of the Nestene gestalt consciousness. Look up gestalt in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The Brigadier fears the Nestenes will return and asks for the Doctor's help. The Doctor agrees to join UNIT in exchange for facilities to help repair the TARDIS and a car like the sporty antique roadster he commandeered during the adventure. At his insistence, Liz stays on as his assistant.

Cast

• Doctor Who — Jon Pertwee
• Liz Shaw — Caroline John
• Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart — Nicholas Courtney
• Channing — Hugh Burden
• Ransome — Derek Smee
• Hibbert — John Woodnutt
• Seeley — Neil Wilson
• Meg Seeley — Betty Bowden
• General Scobie — Hamilton Dyce
• Captain Munro — John Breslin
• Sergeant — Clifford Cox
• Corporal Forbes — George Lee
• UNIT Officer — Tessa Shaw
• Dr Henderson — Antony Webb
• Dr Beavis — Henry McCarthy
• Nurse — Helen Dorward
• Wagstaffe — Alan Mitchell
• Mullins — Talfryn Thomas
• 2nd Reporter — Prentis Hancock
• Technician — Ellis Jones
• Museum Attendant — Edmund Bailey

Doctor Who or, see History of Doctor Who. ... John Devon Roland Pertwee (7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996), better known as Jon Pertwee, was an English actor. ... Liz Shaw, full name Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, is a fictional character played by Caroline John in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Caroline John (publicity portrait from 1987). ... Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. ... Nicholas Courtney Nicholas Courtney (born William Nicholas Stone Courtney on December 16, 1929) is a British television actor, most famous for playing Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... John Woodnutt (3 March 1924 – 3 January 2006) was a British actor. ... Biography Talfryn Thomas was a Welsh character actor best known for a variety of supporting rôles on British television of the 1970s. ... Prentis Hancock (born 14 May 1942) is a British actor, best known for his television roles. ...

Continuity

• The concept of regeneration is not named in this serial. It was finally named in Planet of the Spiders.
• While the Doctor is taking a shower, a tattoo of a cobra is clearly seen on his forearm. In reality it belonged to Pertwee, who got it when he served in the Royal Navy. No explanation is given for the tattoo in the television series, and it does not appear on any other Doctor; it has been theorised in fandom that it is a Time Lord criminal brand^[1], a theme expanded upon by the spin-off novel Christmas on a Rational Planet.
• At the beginning of Episode 3, an Auton is seen running very quickly after a victim in the factory. This is an unusual trait, not only because most Doctor Who monsters seem to prefer a slow, lumbering gait, but because they appear to lose their ability to run in their next appearance in Terror of the Autons. In the episode "Rose", however, they are seen jogging after the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler.
• The Doctor's exile would last until The Three Doctors, although the Time Lords would move the TARDIS through space and use the Doctor as their agent in Colony in Space, The Curse of Peladon, The Mutants and The Time Monster.
• The Autons would return in Terror of the Autons (1971) and Rose (2005) (both of which are the first story for a new companion, namely, Jo Grant, and Rose Tyler, while Spearhead From Space was Liz Shaw's first story), and also have a cameo in a specially-shot flashback scene in the 2006 episode Love & Monsters (which briefly revisits the events of Rose). The latter two stories contain scenes that deliberately echo the shop window dummy scenes in this story.
• This was the first serial to reveal that the Doctor has two hearts. The Doctor is also revealed to have blood that cannot be identified by Earth doctors, and a heartbeat that can lower to as little as 10 beats per minute.
• The Doctor claims to be conversant in the eyebrow-twitching language of the planet Delphon. This language also features in the Big Finish Productions audio play ...ish.

Regeneration, in the context of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, is a biological ability exhibited by the Time Lords, a race of humanoids originating on the planet Gallifrey. ... Planet of the Spiders is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from May 4 to June 8, 1974. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... To Brand a person means to burn a symbol into a living persons skin using a hot or cold iron, with the intention that the resulting scar makes the symbol permanent. ... Christmas on a Rational Planet is an original novel written by Lawrence Miles and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... 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. ... Rose is an episode in the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 26 March 2005. ... The Ninth Doctor refers to the ninth official incarnation of the fictional character known as the Doctor, in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Rose Tyler was a fictional character played by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... The Three Doctors is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast in four weekly parts from the December 30, 1972 to January 20, 1973. ... Colony in Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in 6 weekly parts from April 10 to May 15, 1971. ... The Curse of Peladon is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from January 29 to February 19, 1972. ... For the Brazilian tropicalia band see Os Mutantes The Mutants is a serial from the ninth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, featuring Jon Pertwee as the Doctor. ... The Time Monster is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from May 20 to June 24, 1972. ... 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. ... Love & Monsters is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... This is a list of planets, fictional or otherwise, that are mentioned in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces audio plays released straight to compact disc, based on British cult science fiction properties. ... ...ish is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ...

Production

• The working title of the serial was Facsimile, and was based on a story that Robert Holmes wrote for the 1965 film Invasion, which featured an alien crashing in the woods near a rural hospital, where a medical examination reveals his alien nature. The hospital is later visited by other aliens, seeking a fugitive criminal. Some of the exact lines of dialogue used by human doctors to describe the physiology of the injured alien were re-used. Invasion may have also served as a source of inspiration for the later Doctor Who episode Smith and Jones.^{[citation needed]}
• Due to BBC staff industrial action, Spearhead from Space was the only story from the original 1963-89 series to be shot entirely on film, as opposed to the usual mix of electronic video cameras for studio material and film for location work (or all-video in later seasons).
• A new logo was introduced for the series beginning with this serial. Unlike the logos used for the First and Second Doctor's eras, which used a generic typeface, the new logo was an attempt at being more stylized, particularly in the presentation of the initial "D" in Doctor and the "H" in "Who." This logo would be used until the final episode of The Green Death in 1973, but would make an unexpected return in 1996 when it was adopted as the logo for the US-produced 1996 TV movie. It subsequently became the official logo of the Eighth Doctor, and of the franchise itself, being used on original novels, Video releases (1996-2003) & DVD releases, and Big Finish Productions audio plays. As of 2007 it continues to be the official logo of the 1963-1989 series and Big Finish's Doctor Who productions, while a new logo was introduced to symbolize the new (post-2005) series.

This entry is about the television scriptwriter. ... Smith and Jones is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... The First Doctor is the name given to the first incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... The Second Doctor is the name given to the second incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... The Green Death is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from May 19, 1973 to June 23, 1973. ... Doctor Who (also unofficially known as Enemy Within by fans, as labeled by the films executive producer Philip Segal) is a television movie based on the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... The Eighth Doctor is the name given to the eighth incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces audio plays released straight to compact disc, based on British cult science fiction properties. ...

Outside references

• Several elements in this serial are reminiscent of Nigel Kneale's 1955 television serial Quatermass II, including such plot elements as an alien intelligence falling to Earth in the form of meteorites, invasion via impersonation, and an alien monster growing inside a tank.

Nigel Kneale (born Thomas Nigel Kneale on April 18, 1922 in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, UK) is a Manx television and film scriptwriter, who has worked mostly in the UK. He is best known for his creation of the character of Professor Bernard Quatermass, who has appeared in three... The opening title sequence of Quatermass II. Quatermass II is a British television science-fiction serial, the second in the popular and influential Quatermass series written by Nigel Kneale. ...

In print

Doctor Who book
Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion
Series	Target novelisations
Release number	6
Writer	Terrance Dicks
Publisher	Target Books
Cover artist	Chris Achilleos
ISBN	0 426 10313 0
Release date	17 January 1974
Preceded by	Doctor Who and the Crusaders
Followed by	Doctor Who and the Cave-Monsters

A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in January 1974, entitled Doctor Who and The Auton Invasion. This was the first novelisation commissioned by Target following the successful republishing of three books originally published in the mid-1960s; the Target Books novelisation series would run for the next twenty years and see all but a half-dozen Doctor Who serials adapted. The Third Doctor era would become the first to be completely novelised with the release of the adaptation of The Ambassadors of Death in 1987. This book was translated into Finnish, in the seventies, as Tohtori KUKA ja autonien hyökkäys, although Doctor Who never appeared on Finnish television until the 2005 revival series was sold to the country. There were also Dutch, Turkish, Japanese and Portuguese editions. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... by David Whitaker, published in 1964, was the very first Doctor Who novelisation. ... Terrance Dicks (born 1935 in East Ham, London) is an English writer, best known for his work in television and for writing a large number of popular childrens books during the 1970s and 80s. ... Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. ... Chris Achilleos (born 1947) is a painter and illustrator . ... The Crusade is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from March 27 to April 17, 1965. ... Doctor Who and the Silurians is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from January 31 to March 14, 1970. ... by David Whitaker, published in 1964, was the very first Doctor Who novelisation. ... Terrance Dicks (born 1935 in East Ham, London) is an English writer, best known for his work in television and for writing a large number of popular childrens books during the 1970s and 80s. ... Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. ... The Ambassadors of Death is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from March 21 to May 2, 1970. ...

Broadcast, VHS and DVD releases

• This story was released in an omnibus edition on VHS in the United Kingdom in 1986. In early 1995 it was rereleased as an episodic version.
• A DVD release followed on January 29, 2001. It was rereleased with new outer packaging on July 2, 2007.
• In the original broadcast, Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well (Part One)" can be heard during scenes of dolls being manufactured at Auto Plastics. This was removed from most of the video and DVD releases due to rights issues. It is present on the 1995 episodic VHS release.
• This story was repeated on BBC Two in 1999 and, on BBC Four in 2006 as part of the Science Fiction Britannia season.

Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed Top view of VHS cassette with front casing removed The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS is a recording and playing standard for analog video cassette recorders (VCRs), developed by Victor Company of Japan, Limited (JVC) and launched... Size comparison: A 12 cm Sony DVD+RW and a 19 cm Dixon Ticonderoga pencil. ... January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... This article is about the band. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

References

1. ^ Cornell, Day and Topping: Doctor Who: The Discontinuity Guide, p.109.

External links

• Spearhead from Space episode guide on the BBC website
• Spearhead from Space at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel)
• Spearhead from Space at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• Doctor Who Locations - Spearhead from Space

Reviews

• Spearhead from Space reviews at Outpost Gallifrey
• Spearhead from Space reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide

Outpost Gallifrey is a fan website for the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ...

Target novelisation

• Spearhead from Space reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide
• On Target — Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion