It's been almost two years since I've done a Doctor Who marathon. I had meant to delve into the Third Doctor's tenure months ago but then heard about the release of Pertwee's first season on bluray so I waited for its release. That being done, the fun can begin.
The previous Doctors each had 3 seasons but this would be a fiver. I also think the Third Doctor has had a few more novels written about him than his predecessors. Short stories and novellas I'm not so sure of. I was looking forward to jumping into the Pertwee era as it had been a while since I've watched any classic Who and hadn't read much of it in the past year and a half or so either. Plus Pertwee was my brother's favorite Doctor and so I took some comfort in knowing he'd be watching and reading along with me over my shoulder throughout this little endeavor.
When I left off, the Second Doctor was falling headlong into a black void courtesy of some vengeful Time Lords. Jon Pertwee's time on the show began with "Spearhead From Space" and the Doctor falling out of the TARDIS and onto a patch of wildflowers who were probably not happy to be squished by a rogue Gallifreyan. But at least he fell in color!
Not only was it in color, but the story was shot exclusively on 16mm film. And so the visual style is akin to Nu Who's cinematic approach, utilizing a single camera instead of 3. Not only that, but we get a country ton of location scenes with studio sets being kept to a minimum. I never knew why until a day or two ago when I looked it up: apparently shooting on location allowed the show's makers to avoid getting tangled up in a labor action of some kind which apparently only affected BBC HQ.
Legendary Doctor Who scribe Robert Holmes penned the script and the story opens with a shot of a radio tower before cutting to a control room with some fellow diligently looking at a radar screen. His direct superior, a woman no less, enters and I noticed her tie clip - U.N.I.T.!
I also noticed the video quality which was sharp and clean. Perhaps a bit too clean as there seemed to be less grain than I recall seeing previously. It appears to have been upscaled and the frame rate boosted too. Maybe not 48 FPS like The Hobbit but the motion appeared to be smoother than the show ever was on broadcast TV.
The guy watching the radar notices some thingies descending to Earth and landing in sector 5 - Epping. You bet part of my brain started singing "Yes, it's the battle of Epping Forest..." We then cut to an old duffer in sector 5 who witnesses the thingies land and he is adorned with a lovely red cravat. The script continues on its merry way of introducing us to all of the main characters and plot threads. The TARDIS then lands and the Doctor falls out as noted above. In the back of a car Liz Shaw is being taken to her latest assignment - at U.N.I.T. HQ. I noted how the music went from that typical minor key oboe stuff to something jazzy and perky for Liz's intro.
Swinging London meet stodgy military man. Liz is brought to the Brigadier's office and he looks slightly uncomfortable, slightly anxious commanding from behind a desk. It is here that I noticed the use of short lenses. The scene wasn't full of shots and reverse shots but instead we get some nicely composed frames with both speakers in it at the same time with one in the foreground and another in the background. Some nice depth of field here.
The Doctor spends basically all of episode 1 and a good chunck of episode 2 at the hospital in a self-induced coma. While not an ultra-salutary Zero Room, the place has some gorgeous wood paneling and wainscotting going for it. It's hard to blame him, really. He was forced to regenerate, had some of his memory wiped or hidden, at least, and was exiled to Earth in a non-operable TARDIS. He eventually wakes up and effects an escape but not before taking a shower and stealing some aristocrat's duds and an antique car. I guess this is where the Doctor develops a fondness for older automobiles. Bessie, here we come.
We learn that what the U.N.I.T. radar operator saw was the second volley in a few months of these glowing 12(?)-sided shapes that were power units. They reminded me of those old Tupperware Shape O Sorter Balls - and that the bad guys had taken over a plastics factory. There's a nice scene where someone at the hospital says in reference to the Doctor, "Something odd about his face" and we cut to a doll's face being made. I have to admit that I had no recollection of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well" playing over the initial scene at the factory. Considering that song was released around the time "Spearhead From Space" was being shot/assembled, this is a notable injection of contemporary pop culture into a Doctor Who story. Thankfully no one thought it a good idea to feature any Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac in "The Robots of Death" or "The Talons of Weng-Chiang".
We are eventually introduced to the Nestene, a nasty non-corporeal alien who likes to invade other planets. The Nestene apparently ran into Mr. McGuire at some point because they have a thing for plastics. And so they chose to take over Earth by using armed, cravat-wearing mannequins - Autons, some of whom are in the form of various government officials.
The Doctor jury rigs a gizmo out of various parts found at U.N.I.T.'s lab that can deactivate Autons. (Nowadays this would simply be a new function of the sonic screwdriver.) He and Liz, with U.N.I.T.'s help, would infiltrate the factory and put paid to the Nestene's fouls plans. But not before a bunch of Autons posing at shop window mannequins rampage through the streets killing helpless people, including about half a dozen queuing at a bus stop in an orderly line the likes of which has never been seen in this country. In the end, though, the fine citizens of Epping could once again safely window shop for cravats.
"Spearhead From Space" was a ball of fun. At 4 episodes, it may be the shortest story Pertwee ever did. The Third Doctor is friendly and charming yet also a bit haughty. While he may be suffering from memory loss, he hasn't forgotten that he's superior to humans. Liz is skeptical in a Dana Scully kind of way as well as sassy and sarcastic which made it seem like had she traveled back from the 1990's. She's also smart and highly capable. (Also like Scully.) No signs of screaming and cowering in the corner here. A nice feminist counterpoint to the Brigadier's more Victorian(?) demeanor.
There are some nice low angle shots here and I think these along with the glasses worn by various male characters gave the story a vague but palpable The Ipcress File vibe. I wonder who the costumer was. Did this person work on Doctor Who before or after "Spearhead From Space"? I don't recall seeing so many cravats on the show in any other story.
It's not quite true that the Nestene sought to take over the Earth only with maniacal mannequins. It was also growing a big tentacled beastie in a tank at the factory. Although cheesy looking, I loved it, especially what looked like an eye in the center of the malicious membrane adorned with green slime. The giant tentacles that it sports at the story's climax looked straight out of a Muppet adaptation of a Cthulhu tale. A classic Who moment.
I found it interesting that it took about half the plot for the viewer to be told just what the good guys are up against. Similarly, going into the final episode I didn't have much of a feeling that things were coming to a head. The Doc, Liz, and the Brigadier were still sorting things out as opposed to devising a masterplan.
It also occurred to me that it was the Nestene and their Autons who were the bad guys in the first episode of the resurrected Doctor Who 20 years ago. That was their first TV appearance since the Pertwee era and it got me wondering if I shall encounter them in a comic or book at some point in my marathons.
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