Episode #51 : Spearhead From Space

"All right, all right, I suppose you want to see my pass? Yes, well, I haven't got one. And I'm not going to tell you my name, either. Now you just tell Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart that I want to see him. Well, don't just stand there arguing with me, man! Get on with it!"

 

 

Episode 51:     Spearhead From Space.
Companions:   The 3rd Doctor and Liz Shaw.
Air Date:          Four episodes. 3rd to 20th January 1970.

 

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).

 

This for me is when Doctor Who really takes off. The show has returned in colour, and from here on the show just gets better and better. The writing improves, the acting improves and the effects are usually a lot better. All because the show has gone from black and white to colour. The show features a bit more action than usual and the humerous elements improve the show.

 

Spearhead From Space introduces us to a newly regenerated Doctor and sets up the physiological differences that are from here on often repeated such as having two hearts and his blood being immediately obvious not human.

 

Jon Pertwee's Doctor is immediately likeable and much more charming as a character. His new companion Liz Shaw is a strong female role model. She is a tough, uncompromising scientist and not the usual screamer that we are used to from a female companion.

 

We are reintroduced to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and the soldiers of UNIT who are now in charge of investigating strange occurrences around the world, though the Brigadier's mandate throughout the show seems to be protecting the United Kingdom. UNIT will continue to be the main focus for many stories to come as the Doctor joins them as a scientific advisor until he get can the TARDIS working again.

 

The story introduces us to a whole new recurring villain, the Nestene Consciousness and it's minions, the Autons - creatures of living plastic. Shop mannequins are creepy anyway and this story makes them even more so. These are perhaps the first enemies to play up on children's fears. Daleks are scary but you don't tend to see them on every high street.

 

Spearhead from Space is an excellent story and it is from here that I recommend viewers to start watching the show.