Doctor Who (TV Series) Spearhead from Space: Episode 2 (1970) User Reviews

There was something odd about their faces.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 13 September 2020]

Salesman John returns to the plastics factory he works at to find he's been sacked, and a whole new setup there, a very dangerous threat exists at the Factory.

There is so much happening here, it's so rich, and jam packed with intrigue, just what on Earth is going on at that factory? It still has the horror factor.

Even now those autons look terrific, they are so creepy, they hold up better than almost every monster from the classic series.

Pertwee is terrific, all of that charisma and humour, when he's on screen, you watch. You can see how enjoyed working with Courtney and John.

Hugh Burden is great as Channing, what an absolutely marvellous, sinister face.

Liz is a marvellous introduction, she was such a progressive companion, not a screamer, not a fool, she was intelligent, smart, and well up to the men in power, she handles The Brigadier very competently.

Love it, 9/10.

"There is a possibility outside of your cosy little world other things could exist." Pertwee's first story.

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 9 March 2007]

Doctor Who: Spearhead from Space: Episode 2 starts as an unconscious Doctor (Jon Perwee) is checked & it is discovered that the bullet only grazed the side of his head, therefore he is still alive & taken back to the hospital. Meanwhile a disgruntled plastic doll factory worker named John Ransome (Derek Smee) confronts his ex-boss Hibbert (John Woodnut) who sacked him for no apparent reason & have gotten rid of most of the other staff, he gets few answers except that it isn't safe to be there & is told to leave. Back at the hospital & the Doctor steals some clothes & takes a car in a attempt to get back to the TARDIS, when he does he finds Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) & Dr. Liz Shaw (Caroine John) working on the meteorite problem which they convince him to help with. Back at the plastics factory & Ransome has broken in to take a look in his old workshop, inside he makes a shocking discovery...

This Doctor Who adventure was episode 2 from season 7 that aired here in the UK during early 1970 & was Jon Pertwee's first story, directed by Derek Martinus Spearhead from Space is a fine first story for Pertwee. The script by Robert Holmes like all good Doctor Who stories is moving along at a nice pace, the plot continues to unfold as a little bit more is given away but not too much as so to make you want to watch the final two episodes which were originally broadcast a week apart from each other. This is coming along nicely although it seems to taking itself pretty seriously, it's still bags of fun & has great entertainment value though.

After a bit of trouble with his latest regeneration the Doctor fully recovers in this episode & by the end of it Pertwee is the new Doctor complete with his cape, frilly shirt & he even gets to drive his car which would later be known as 'Bessie' for the very first time which he technically steals. We get our first glimpse of a murderous mannequin & they're actually pretty creepy, they almost look human but have a definite cold emotionless appearance. Spearhead from Space was the first Doctor Who story to be filmed in colour.

Spearhead from Space is shaping up rather nicely, once the necessary business about the Doctor's regeneration is over it starts to settle down into a cracking story.

A UNUSUAL DOCTOR WHO SERIAL OF ITS TIME

[duncanbrown-76733 · 9/10 · 19 March 2021]

This is one of the most interesting Doctor Who stories ever made. Plus it is different from any Doctor Who that was made at the time. Firstly it had a totally new look with a new Doctor Who and a new assistant. It was so different to the way it was before in the 1960's. This one was the first to be shown in the 1970's. It had its TV debut on BBC 1 on Saturday 3rd January 1970. It was the first one to be shot on film and to be made and transmitted in colour. Spearhead From Space is similar to the BBC's Quatermass 2 which was made fifteen years earlier. Plus in episode two when the Doctor makes his escape from the hospital, it is reminiscent from chapter one of the book An Actor Prepares. There are many characters in this serial from all walks of life. Firstly you the scientists in the form of the new Doctor Who, played by Jon Pertwee and his lovely new assistant Elizabeth Shaw. Next you have the military being UNIT headed by The Brigadier and his sub-coordinate Captain Munro. In charge of them is the charming General Scobie, superbly played by the late Hamilton Dyce. Next you have the babbies being The Autons. In charge of these killer mannequins is there leader Channing. Hugh Burden who plays Channing gives a boring and emotionless performance. He is not of the calibre of Hamilton Dyce. Next up you have the victims in the form of factory manager George Hibbert and his associate John Ransome, who both end up getting killed by The Autons. Next you have the hospital staff being the bad temped Doctor Henderson and the long suffering nurse wonderfully played by Helen Dorwood. Plus you have got Mullins the nosy and gossiping hospital porter. Finally there is Sam and Meg Seeley, the old country folk, who dominate the story, despite having false country accents which don't match up to their environment of living in a remote rural area. The interesting thing about Spearhead From Space, it was twice released on video. It was the very first Doctor Who story to come out on DVD in 2000. Then it was release on DVD again in 2011 as part of a box set alongside its sequel Terror Of The Autons. Finally it came out on BLU-RAY in 2013. It is a very tense and action packed TV serial, a product of its time. It looks more realistic then any of the Doctor Who stories that were to come. Every time I watch or Studied it, i find it enjoyable and exciting.

Spearhead of a new era!

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 20 September 2014]

Review of all 4 episodes:

Spearhead From Space marks perhaps the biggest combination of changes in Doctor Who history:

• the change from the Patrick Troughton era to the Jon Pertwee era.

• the change from black and white to colour.

• the change from constant time and space travelling to an exile leaving The Doctor stranded in contemporary Earth.

• the change from two or three traditional companions to a whole organisation (UNIT) regularly working with The Doctor.

These changes are made even more striking by the fact that Pertwee's Doctor, having been forced to regenerate as a punishment from the Time Lords and subsequently getting injured, spends much of the early part of the story inactive in a hospital bed. Yet the story manages to be interesting enough and contains enough action, humour and thrills to make this big transition go very successfully.

The story involves the new Doctor finding himself stranded on Earth and suffering from his regeneration then having to deal with an invasion attempt by the Nestene Consciousness using their power to control plastic and creating armies of shop dummies.

The production is a peach with a superb look (recorded beautifully on film rather than the usual video), excellent direction by Derek Martinus and thrilling special effects (shop dummies coming to life and attacking through shop windows etc.) believably and excitingly executed.

The story is brilliantly written by Robert Holmes with superb plotting and dialogue. The acting from Pertwee and the whole cast is impeccable. Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart) and Caroline John (Liz Shaw) do fantastically well in their roles beginning already to get audiences to strongly sympathise and relate to them.

It is not absolutely perfect but it is perfectly entertaining and interesting with thrilling, scary moments. All 4 Episodes 10/10.

Better than the last episode.

[ianweech · 8/10 · 7 March 2020]

I enjoyed this episode more than anything from the first two doctors. Maybe it's because it has color? The autons are mysterious and i can't wait to see more of them in the next two episodes.