SPEARHEAD FROM SPACE

Written by Robert Holmes.

Directed by Derek Martinus.

Transmitted originally: 3 January to 24 January 1970.

"In the last decade, we've been sending probes deeper and deeper into space. We've drawn attention to ourselves, Miss Shaw." 'The Brigadier'

THE STORY

The TARDIS arrives on Earth in the middle of a meteorite shower and the newly regenerated Doctor is found by UNIT troops and taken to a nearby hospital. The Brigadier is faced with having to cope not only with the mysterious swarm of meteors, but also with Ransome, an ex-employee of a local plastics factory, who claims to have seen a walking mannequin. The meteorites turn out to be hollow globes containing the Nestene consciousness, a disembodied but alien intelligence with an affinity for plastic, which is intent on colonising the Earth.

A Nestene agent, Channing, has infiltrated the plastics factory and is using energy from the globes to animate Autons - mannequin-like figures and realistic replicas of senior establishment figures - with the aim of preventing resistance. Aided by the newly-recruited UNIT scientist Dr Elizabeth Shaw, the Doctor stops this scheme by sending the Nestene intelligence into space, therefore depriving the Autons and the monstrous tentacled form prepared for the Nestene of power. Channing, a more advanced form of Auton, is likewise neutralised. The Doctor, realizing he is trapped on Earth, agrees to become UNIT's special scientific advisor.

CAST:

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

FACTS:

'Spearhead from Space' is one of only two Doctor Who stories to be originated entirely on film as opposed to videotape.

This story is the first to be made in color, as well as being Jon Pertwee's debut.

The Nestene and the Autons returned the following year in 'Terror of the Autons'.

OTHER FORMATS:

The Third Doctor Novelisations

Third Doctor Videos

Back to the Third Doctor Programme GuideForward to 'Doctor Who and the Silurians'.