Autons go on a killing spree in Spearhead from Space.
T
he Third Doctor’s debut story,Spearhead from Space, is one of the series’ great perennials, with a high tally of terrestrial repeats and home-video reissues helping to fix it in the popular imagination. It’s also one of the most visually striking serials, thanks partly to having been shot entirely on film but also because writer Robert Holmes’ basic concept – plastic replicas of people coming to life – is so simple yet powerful. It was a strong, confident start to a new era and may just have saved Doctor Who from cancellation in 1970.