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Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...

Day 264: Spearhead From Space, Episode Four

Dear diary,

For the longest time, I couldn't tell the difference between the Great Intelligence and the Nestene Consciousness. I always thought that it came down to a mixture of having not seen the Yeti stories and not paying attention to this one, but actually… they're the same thing, aren't they? When the Doctor is musing about what kind of alien they're dealing with, Liz offers up several suggestions before the Doctor confirms that it's 'more like an intelligence'. He then goes on to comment that the creature probably doesn't have physical form, but it can create 'shells' for itself to inhabit. It's even transported in a set of alien spheres! With tensions between the Doctor Who production office and the writers of the Yeti stories at breaking point last season, I'm surprised that tempers didn't flare at this point. Heck, I'm even a little surprised that they allowed the Brigadier to turn up as a regular character (maybe that's why the Doctor name checks the Quarks first at his trial - it was all part of the negotiations…)

This episode is home to another one of those really famous scenes from Doctor Who history. The Autons smashing their way out of the shop windows on Ealing Broadway is perhaps the best remembered of all the iconic scenes. I have to confess that I don't think I've ever actually seen it before, so can only assume that on my first viewing of the story, when that strange mixture of co-codemol and milk was making me feel so unwell, that I'd given up by this point and gone for a lie down. It's actually quite an under-stated affair, and you never actually see the glass in the windows smash. Twice we know that the Autons have burst out from the windows, but twice we cut away to a reaction shot to avoid the expense of replacing the glass.

That doesn't take away from it, though. Partly because I know how iconic this scene is supposed to be, it's effective the second we switch to the panning shot of the street. Watching the plastic creatures suddenly jerk into life - and not all in perfect sequence - is suitably creepy, and those blank faces really do help to sell the horror. I also found myself enjoying the shot of the facsimiles at Madame Tussaud's coming to life and filing out of the room. One of the downsides to the quality of image in the blu-ray master for the story is that you can see every hint of movement from these supporting artists throughout the episode, so it's clear from the outset where this is going. That doesn't stop it from working very well, so I can't really complain.

We also finally get the epic UNIT battle at the International Electromatics compound that I was hoping to see! There's several similarities between the onslaught of the Autons and that of the Cybermen last season, and there's things I love about both invasions. The effects of the smoke explosions here is particularly effective, both when it's coming from a recently shot soldier (or passer-by for that matter!) and when it's being used to blow up the surroundings. Tinting the smoke a fairly lurid orange seems to be taking full advantage of the new colour cameras, too!

And then we've got Jon Pertwee, in the closing moments finally recovered fully from his regeneration and ready to kick into action. I love that he draws attention to the fact that he'll be needing a whole new wardrobe, and that he even specifically asks the Brigadier to take him shopping for a vintage car. These are things that I've spent years simply taking for granted as part of the Third Doctor's tenure, so I'm glad to see them being given a proper introduction.

Overall, I've ben really surprised by Spearhead From Space. I'm so pleased, considering my not entirely happy past with the story. As you well know, I've not been hugely looking forward to reaching the Third Doctor's era in this marathon, but they've started with a real belter to get us going. I know that they can't all be like this, and I'm really going to miss the HD sequences that I've been treated to over the last four days, but it's set me off on the right foot for the next few months.