The name Jon Pertwee means different things to different people. To some, he will always be Worzel Gummidge. To some he was the voice of Children ITVs Little Green Man. He was, also, of course, the father of the actor Sean Pertwee.
He should also be remembered as the unlikely saviour of Doctor Who. I say unlikely not as a criticism, as Pertwee excelled as the third doctor. However, in 1970, when Pertwee took over from an exhausted and cantankerous Patrick Troughton for Spearhead from Space, the first of the two Pertwee era stories included here, the series was at low ebb. Pertwee, who was then best known for comedy roles, was told he should treat his new job as if he was taking over the captaincy of the Titanic: he should not expect to be doing it for long.
In reality, Spearhead From Space was a big success and the show survived (indeed, lasting another 19 years). The story sees the Doctor exiled to Earth in the late 20th century. This actually happened at the end of the last Troughton story and there is no regeneration sequence here as such. Adapting to his new environment, the Doctor soon takes on a new assistant, Liz Shaw (Caroline John), and the military UNIT group led by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Courtney). The Doctor is forced to investigate the connection between a recent meteorite shower and local reports that mannequins have been coming to life and attacking people.
Much of the storys success probably owes itself to the fact that it was one of only two original Doctor series to be filmed on videotape (giving events a more cinematic feel) and also that it was the first ever Doctor Who story filmed in colour, facts explained in detail on the excellent accompanying features, Down To Earth and Regenerations, the second of which focuses exclusively on the change to colour.
The prospect of plastic mannequins coming to life proved a popular one, however. The idea was revived for The Terror of the Autons, a 1971 Pertwee adventure also included here. As The Doctors Moriarty featurette notes, the story saw the first appearance of the Doctors recurring enemy The Master (here played by Roger Delgado) and another new assistant, Katy Manning, contributes to the commentary along with the late Nicholas Courtney. But the story is perhaps most memorable for the sequence in which lifeless plastic shop window dummies suddenly come to life and break through the glass. The allure of this scene which was echoed directly in the first Doctor Who comeback episode with Christopher Eccleston in 2005, is explored in the Plastic Fantastic featurette included here. Although as the producers admit, due to budget constraints, in the original scene, the BBC couldnt actually afford to break any glass.
Overall Verdict: Do you like 1970s science fiction series? Do you also like scenes of plastic automated dolls coming to life and attacking people? Well, youre in luck
Special Features:
Spearhead From Space:
Audio Commentary with Actors Caroline John and Nicholas Courtney
Audio Commentary with producer Derrick Sherwin and Script Editor Terrance Dicks
Down To Earth Feature
Regenerations Featurette
Trailer
Photo Gallery
Coming Soon
Radio Times Listings in Adobe PDF Format
Terror of the Autons
Audio Commentary with Actors Katy Manning and Nicolas Courtney and Producer Barry Letts
Life On Earth Feature
The Doctors Moriarty Featurette
Plastic Fantastic Featurette
Photo Gallery
Coming Soon
Radio Times Listings in Adobe PDF Format
Reviewer: Chris Hallam