Speared by Blor
The many monsters of Peladon twice invaded the shelves of Fine Fare, Gateway and Liptons, among other 1970s grocery stores.
Supermarkets across the UK must have seen a sudden increase in cereal sales during the second quarter of 1975, and maybe even farmers faced a run on wheat, as kids from Dover to Dundee demanded more breakfast biscuits than had previously been thought possible. Why? Because a Weetabix promotion, between April and June, gave away four illustrated Doctor Who character cards in each pack – with six sets to collect.
Illustrated by regular Weetabix artist Gordon Archer, the cards included two versions of the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, six different Daleks and a number of other alien monsters, mostly from the Third Doctor’s era. The Monster of Peladon (1974) featured heavily, with an Ice Warrior and Ice Lord, Alpha Centauri and Aggedor, and a Cyberman seemingly based on the one featured on the cover of the Radio Times tentth-anniversary special (1973). But the 1974-75 series did sneak in, courtesy of the Giant Robot. In addition, Weetabix packets included a cut-out action setting comprising a moonscape, the TARDIS interior and a vividly detailed swamp.