Spearhead From Space - Episode 1

I am really excited today as I embark on the seventh season of Doctor Who. It’s not that it’s the first time that we see Jon Pertwee in the role, its not that it’s the first time we see Caroline John as Liz Shaw and its not that this is the first episode of Doctor Who in colour but it’s the fact that I regard the seventh season of Doctor Who as the best ever. I don’t think that theres a weak story in the season. Whether this opinion will change, only time will tell. This story is unique because it’s the only four part story of the season (the rest being seven parters) but it’s the first time in Doctor Who history that an entire story was filmed outside of a studio. This marks the first time that we see the Autons and it also sees Robert Holmes return to the show after his less than successful start with ‘The Krotons’ and the dire ‘The Space Pirates’. I remember the first time that I saw this story and it was one of the first stories of Doctor Who that I saw on video.

I like the fact that we are introduced to Pertwee’s Doctor straight away. Its three long minutes before we get to see him fall out of the TARDIS and we don’t get a proper look at his face. This was clearly designed to tease the viewers of 1970. We have several things to try and get our heads around, such as the fact that the Doctor appears to have two hearts and that his blood isnt like human blood. Add this to the fact that unlike with the last time no one saw the Doctor regenerate means that the transformation isn’t going to be a smooth one.

Jon Pertwee’s first episode is an interesting one. He spends most of it in bed (bit like Tennant), and the episode feels like its moving at a rather pedestrian pace until the twenty minute mark when the Doctor is kidnapped and there begins a chance to see what sort of Doctor Jon Pertwee would become. It’s the first time that the Doctor has done anything this action driven. Liz Shaw comes across as a rather cold and snobbish person in this episode which isn’t how she would end the story. The first scene with the Brigadier shows that Liz has certain ideas about how a woman should be treated.

It’s good to see Nicholas Courtney back and this is the beginning of a five year involvement in the show. It feels like only five minutes since the last time that we saw him in ‘The Invasion’. I like the scene with the Brigadier and Munro which seems a lot like ‘The West Wing’. The look of disappointment when he goes to the Doctor expecting to see Patrick Troughton and instead sees Jon Pertwee. It’s something that the Brigadier’s going to get use to but on this occasion its like the Brigadier doesn’t know what to do.

Captain Munro is the Benton of this story and I personally don’t really like him because he doesn’t have much charisma and its clear why he didn’t have much of a lifespan in the show. Sam Seeley is a character which seems very much like Clancy in ‘The Space Pirates’. He’s designed to be a larger than life character but unlike Clancy, I find Seeley to be far more interesting and nowhere near as irritating as Clancy.

The cliffhanger is quite good as after just twenty five minutes the Doctor could be dead. Could this be the shortest tenure of any actor playing the role? Of course not but I think that it tells us that the style of the 1960’s has definelty been replaced by the new vibe of the 1970’s. It’s a good opening episode for everyone involved in the show and all the different aspects are introduced well and I have a good feeling that my view about this story and this season is going to remain true.