·Spearhead from Space
"Smith. Doctor John Smith."
In this serial, the Doctor lands on contemporary Earth, worse for wear. He is eventually found and taken to a hospital where UNIT discovers where he is. The Brigadier, with new science recruit Liz Shaw in tow, rushes to see his old friend but finds the face of a stranger. The Doctor has regenerated. Eventually, The Doctor is nearly kidnapped by forces that the Brigadier has been investigating. The Doctor escapes (and is nearly killed by UNIT), is taken to the hospital where he escapes again to track down the TARDIS, taken by UNIT. While there, the Doctor promises to help the Brigadier in exchange for the key to the TARDIS.
The investigation leads to a plastics factory where a former worker is telling tales of a creepy dollfaced man who tried to kill him. In investigating, it is revealed that the now automated factory is being run by Autons, plastic golems controlled by an alien force called the Nestene Consciousness. The are looking to create plastic replicas of important leaders to take over the Earth. The Nestene creates a double of an army higher up to try to hinder investigations but the Doctor and Liz figure out the truth. Together, they create a device to turn off the Autons and eventually use it on a creature created to attack the Earth. The creature is defeated and the remaining Autons are deactivated. Stranded on Earth, the Doctor agrees to help UNIT for the time being as it's science expert in exchange for amenities and resources to work on the now trapped TARDIS. And also a car.
Spearhead from Space signifies a huge sea change for Doctor Who and a vision of the future. I'm not talking about UNIT or even Jon Pertwee. I mean the broader idea that the show itself can change greatly in format and still be recognizably it. Like plastic it can be malleable and shaped in bold, exciting new ways. As much as I'll miss the previous era, there is also something of this that is a breath of fresh air. The alien invasion plot itself is not too different than some we've seen before, even if a bit weirder, but I think the tone has changed a bit. There are lines and gags I can see Troughton doing but there's a whole different vibe to Pertwee. Despite being under unit, he feels more like an aristocrat. There was a certain arrogance to the previous two Doctors but Hartnell was more a harsh old man and Troughton definitely felt more free and easy.
This Doctor is more a noble robbed of resources, if not his title. Of course, said title doesn't mean much on Earth but it means a lot to him. He feels far more direct, in a lot of ways. And I think that goes with the "man of action" Doctor he is. This feels more like a response to the Avengers. I've never seen the show but from cultural osmosis, I get the vibe that there's a lot of Steed to Pertwee's performance. He's combining the Doctor's previous elements with a bit more of a Bond figure, though still allowing him to look silly (such as when the Doctor is being smothered by a plastic octopus monster). This Doctor talks but I feel he's also more quick to act to shut things down. I also think that's why at this stage, the Doctor has fewer male companions. Before the Doctor was frailer and it was up to Ian or Jamie or, God help us, Ben to be the intrepid one to move the plot along in the ways Hartnell or Troughton's characters wouldn't,
But I feel like I'm talking about what the serial does and not what it is. This is kind of a wonky serial but not a bad one. I actually was afraid it was going to be stretched out to six episodes so I was pleasantly surprised when it started ending at four (I had seen it before but not for many years). There's almost a remove between the Doctor and the threat until the end. He is talking about it but he's only engaged with it directly when he is kidnapped and when he solves the problem. Mostly it's him in labs or at a wax museum. The reason it manages to work somehow is because this is more about simply establishing the Doctor and the new status quo and that is interesting and watchable. The first two episodes alternate between the threat and seeing the Doctor being wacked out and silly. It's slightly odd in how the stories feel disconnected but it's still watchable TV. It's slightly weaker in episode three, while still being watchable. The final episode isn't perfect but it's quite breezy, even if I'm not a big fan of "I just made this machine" type solutions.
The Autons are interesting villains. They have more staying power than most and I think, ironically, while the Daleks and the Cybermen have rich metaphors (fascism and dehumanizing industrialization), somehow the Autons work by.... not having a lot. The echo the Cybermen (especially in this serial where a fully automated factory is a plot point), but like later monsters, they are also a very fluid sort of enemy where you can plug them into a different situation where they can represent different sorts of evil. But more than anything, there is a creepiness to them and the scene of Autons bursting out of shops to murder the populace. Don't get me wrong, in many ways they are underwritten but for the mechanics of the serial, it works pretty OK.
I will say, I don't have a handle on Liz Shaw. A very different companion; like Zoe, she's a smart young woman but she feels much more of a "woman" than a "girl" than most of the female companions to this point except Barbara. But I do like that she's pretty dismissive of the Brigadier but warms to the Doctor being similarly smart mouthed. I don't know if the chemistry is completely there in all it's forms yet but THAT moment felt natural that these two would feel some kinship. The Brigadier is basically the same but the only-slightly contentious power dynamic has changed. The Doctor is willing to help and to play ball but clearly doesn't like thinking of himself as being under Brigadier and the Brigadier clearly knows he only has as much power over the Doctor as the Doctor will let him have.
It's a different era for sure. The show feels more like the popular case-of-the-week spy shows of the previous decade but with aliens. The fact that it is the first episode of the new decade also feels telling. I can't imagine a show continuing with black and white into the 70s. I also think the whole episode is shot on film rather than video (I suspect this won't last) and while I wouldn't call the sets "vibrant", it doesn't feel quite like the black box theatre the show was or will be again. It's the point of no return. But, to some extent, isn't it always?
Best cliffhanger: Probably the Doctor getting shot on accident. That was a weird one.
Next time:
