Doctor Who: Spearhead From Space (DVD)
Science Fiction Video
Written by Robert Holmes
Starring Jon Pertwee
Publisher: Warner Home Video / BBC Video, $24.98
Spearhead From Space is one of three Doctor Who DVDs to finally be released in America. Hopefully many more will follow.
In this particular series of four episodes, the Doctor, played by Jon Pertwee, makes his debut as the third Doctor. He has been banished to earth by the Time Lords (from the prior War Games episodes), and is literally thrown into another attempt by aliens to take over the world. This time it’s the Auton, those wonderful plastic creatures who wreak havoc wherever they go.
The Doctor’s regeneration doesn't go well, and he is admitted to a local hospital. As his memory slowly returns, he meets up with the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney) and Liz Shaw (Caroline John). Both are part of UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Task Force), which makes its first appearance in Dr. Who. This is also the first time that we discover that the Doctor has two hearts.
During this action, the Autons have taken over a nearby plastics factory, and go into full force to start their conquest. With the Doctor’s help, UNIT manages to locate and attack the factory. As usual with the third Doctor, a contraption is developed to help deal with the Auton menace. At the end, the Doctor decides to stay with UNIT until he can get his broken Tardis working again.
Most of the scenes in Spearhead from Space were shot on film, as at the time the BBC studios where on strike. This is just one of the many interesting little factoids that is available on the DVD. When activated, you get text messages on the bottom of the screen that point out interesting information about various scenes as the series plays on. Some of it is for Dr. Newbies (information that any Dr. Who fan knows), but much of it is rather entertaining.
As for the Commentary feature on this DVD with Nicholas Courtney and Caroline John, I found it extremely boring. Most of this talk was just banter about their careers and didn’t have much of anything to do with what was transpiring on the screen.
Another extra feature on this DVD is the television ads for Spearhead from Space that showed on the BBC in England a few years back when they re-aired these restored episodes. It was fun to watch some Dr. Who commercials with a cool rock music theme going to the action. There's also a spoof UNIT recruitment film on the DVD as well. It is a rather twisted way of hiring new recruits to join the fight against alien invasion.
As Doctor Who goes, this is one of the better episodes in the BBC library. John Pertwee jumps into the role of the Doctor with a convincing and brilliant acting job, along with all the others. There are a few spots that are a bit embarrassing, such as the horrible Tardis landing scene where the shots don’t match. However, there are quite of few good scenes too, such as the one where John Pertwee’s Doctor escapes from the Autons on a wheelchair - doing his own stunts!
This is one of the best Doctor Who’s produced, and comes highly recommended. Whether you’re a Who fan or not, you should enjoy this show.
(review (c) October 2001 / David Flemming)