Classic Doctor Who: Spearhead from Space
Briarheart Reviews: Spearhead from Space
Spearhead from Space is one of the most important serials in Doctor Who history. It essentially acted as a reboot for the series as it was now in color, there was a new Doctor, a new story format as the Doctor was exiled to Earth, and a bigger (but still pretty low) budget.
The story itself actually introduced quite a few ideas and details that would become important parts of the series such as the Doctor has two hearts and post-regenerative trauma (although it wasn't called that). The plot itself is a pretty solid one. A Great Old One known as the Nestene Consciousness decides it's a nice week to invade Earth with plastic dummies, will the new Doctor and his friends at UNIT bicker with each other until the end of the world or will they stop the invasion just in the nick of time? It's a pretty good one that's paced really well and looks beautiful due to the type of film they had to use when making this one.
As for the characters, we are yet again reintroduced to the Brigadier who is still in charge of UNIT at this point and depending on who you ask, becomes a companion from this story to Robot. The Brig is, of course, amazing as always, but he's not the only amazing protagonist we're introduced to in this story. Enter Doctor Elizabeth Shaw, or Liz, one of the best companions since sliced bread who really deserved more than one season's worth of stories. The Doctor and these two make for an excellent... team, can't say TARDIS team because, well, they don't have access to it, but an excellent team nonetheless.
The villain of this story is also pretty iconic. The Nestene is an individual from the same race of beings as the Animus from The Web Planet, and the Great Intelligence from The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear. The Nestene is probably the most well-known out of these villains because of the way it manifests itself through plastic, specifically shop window dummies. It's such an over-the-top 70s' idea that it just works for some odd reason. The Nestene and its Autons were certainly one of my favorite villains growing up as they were actually pretty scary to a kid. I think it's just admirable the way Doctor Who can make everyday items and objects into horrific nightmares. It's genius.
Overall, this story looks great, has a great concept and great characters. I have no doubt in my mind that it is up there with some of the best stories. Go watch it.
Spearhead from Space is one of the most important serials in Doctor Who history. It essentially acted as a reboot for the series as it was now in color, there was a new Doctor, a new story format as the Doctor was exiled to Earth, and a bigger (but still pretty low) budget.
The story itself actually introduced quite a few ideas and details that would become important parts of the series such as the Doctor has two hearts and post-regenerative trauma (although it wasn't called that). The plot itself is a pretty solid one. A Great Old One known as the Nestene Consciousness decides it's a nice week to invade Earth with plastic dummies, will the new Doctor and his friends at UNIT bicker with each other until the end of the world or will they stop the invasion just in the nick of time? It's a pretty good one that's paced really well and looks beautiful due to the type of film they had to use when making this one.
As for the characters, we are yet again reintroduced to the Brigadier who is still in charge of UNIT at this point and depending on who you ask, becomes a companion from this story to Robot. The Brig is, of course, amazing as always, but he's not the only amazing protagonist we're introduced to in this story. Enter Doctor Elizabeth Shaw, or Liz, one of the best companions since sliced bread who really deserved more than one season's worth of stories. The Doctor and these two make for an excellent... team, can't say TARDIS team because, well, they don't have access to it, but an excellent team nonetheless.
The villain of this story is also pretty iconic. The Nestene is an individual from the same race of beings as the Animus from The Web Planet, and the Great Intelligence from The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear. The Nestene is probably the most well-known out of these villains because of the way it manifests itself through plastic, specifically shop window dummies. It's such an over-the-top 70s' idea that it just works for some odd reason. The Nestene and its Autons were certainly one of my favorite villains growing up as they were actually pretty scary to a kid. I think it's just admirable the way Doctor Who can make everyday items and objects into horrific nightmares. It's genius.
Overall, this story looks great, has a great concept and great characters. I have no doubt in my mind that it is up there with some of the best stories. Go watch it.
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