In 1969 Doctor Who was in trouble, the show faced cancellation following the Second Doctor – Patrick Troughton’s era. The production team was given the chance to try one more series. The Doctor’s world even gained colour for the very first time, but the budget had to be drastically cut. By grounding the Doctor to present-day Earth and allying him with a military organization called UNIT under the command of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) as seen in prior stories “The Web of Fear” and “The Invasion,” not only was the show given a new lease on life, but fans might have been forgiven for thinking they were watching a completely new series with little to connect it to the past apart from the TARDIS police box.
This was a major transition point for the series, with huge revelations about the Doctor’s background and a forced transformation and exile by his fellow Time Lords. There was also a shift towards darker, edgier stories. The whole feeling was to bring out something similar to the Quatermass Experiment and nod’s to 1950’s American horror movies like The Blob.
In “Spearhead from Space,” the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) falls to Earth and is taken to a local hospital, his arrival accompanied by a shower of meteorites containing a malevolent alien intelligence called the Nestene. By using mannequin-like plastic forms called Autons, the alien consciousness intends to take over Earth. With the recovering and erratic Doctor’s help, and the input of a scientific adviser named Liz Shaw (Caroline John), the Brigadier hopes to hold back doomsday. But can he trust this man who looks nothing like the Doctor he’s met twice before?
Jon Pertwee’s Doctor is instantly likeable, he feels ‘right’ for the role and combines a mixture of comedy and drama. Two qualities essential for the role of the eccentric Doctor. In his initial story, he begins to show his difference from his previous incarnation, becoming more action orientated. It is these elements that make Pertwee’s Doctor distinctive and memorable, His relationship with Liz Shaw, although short in his incarnations history, shows chemistry. The Auton menace is skin crawling, especially in locations like the Wax Museum after hours and the famous scene where the shop window dummies crash through the windows.
DVD Extras
The extras kick off with the first of two audio commentaries. Here script editor Terrance Dicks and producer Derrick Sherwin discuss the influence of the Quatermass series on this storyline and note how they tried to go in a new direction with Dr. Who this time around. They discuss the contributions of the various cast and crew members in the show and evaluate their performances both good and bad, but also get into the changes that the series was undergoing at this time in its history. Though the pair occasionally go off topic from time to time they have a great chemistry here and this turns out to have the right mix of humor and information delivered in a really enjoyable and easily digestible way.
The second commentary features actors Caroline John and Nick Courtney and it covers a pretty wide range of topics including everything from how Caroline John had to get foxy bikini pictures taken for her portfolio to get into the acting business to what it was like working with Pertwee on the series. They go into some details about preparing for the roles they play here, about what it was like on set, and their thoughts on this particular storyline as a whole. They too have a nice chemistry together here and a genuine warmth comes through in the track that makes it a nice listen for fans of the series.
Also of interest is the featurette Down To Earth – Filming Spearhead from Space, which spends just over twenty minutes with input from Derek Sherwin, Jon Pertwee (in vintage interview clip form, obviously), Christine Rawlins and a few others and some great vintage clips and photographs doing a great job of telling the story behind the story. We also get a four minute Unit Recruitment Film that was originally done for the show’s thirtieth anniversary but which is appropriate as an inclusion here. Another featurette entitled Regenerations – From Black And White To Color lets some of the team involved in the show and some Whophiles discuss the shift to color TV for the series.
Rounding out the extras are trailers for a few other Doctore Who releases, a Production Notes subtitle track that pops up various bits of trivia as the series plays out on screen, and a still gallery. Animated menus and both episode selection and chapter selection options are included. For those with a DVD-Rom drive, some PDF materials are also included that you can access on your computer including some radio times listings.
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