Spearhead from Space

] [cite web
url= http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_3a.htm
title= PAGENAME
publisher = Doctor Who Reference Guide
author =
date =
accessdate = 2008-08-31] [cite web
url= http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/aaa.html
title= PAGENAME
publisher = A Brief History of Time Travel
last = Sullivan
first = Shannon
date = 2008-05-18
accessdate = 2008-08-31] The working title of the serial was "Facsimile", and was based on a story that Robert Holmes wrote for the 1965 film "Invasion", which featured an alien crashing in the woods near a rural hospital, where a medical examination reveals his alien nature. The hospital is later visited by other aliens, seeking a fugitive criminal. Some of the exact lines of dialogue used by human doctors to describe the physiology of the injured alien were re-used.

Due to BBC staff industrial action, "Spearhead from Space" was the only story from the original 1963-89 series to be shot entirely on film, as opposed to the usual mix of electronic video cameras for studio material and film for location work (or all-video in later seasons).

A new logo was introduced for the series beginning with this serial. Unlike the logos used for the First and Second Doctor's eras, which used a generic typeface, the new logo was an attempt at being more stylized, particularly in the presentation of the initial "D" in Doctor and the "H" in "Who." This logo would be used until the final episode of "The Green Death" in 1973, but would make an unexpected return in 1996 when it was adopted as the logo for the US-produced 1996 TV movie. It subsequently became the official logo of the Eighth Doctor, and of the franchise itself, being used on original novels, Video releases (1996-2003) & DVD releases, and Big Finish Productions audio plays. As of 2007 it continues to be the official logo of the 1963-1989 series and Big Finish's "Doctor Who" productions, while a new logo was introduced to symbolize the new (post-2005) series.

Broadcast and reception

This story was repeated on BBC Two in 1999 and, on BBC Four in 2006 as part of the "Science Fiction Britannia" season.

Doctorwhobook
title=Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion
series=Target novelisations
number=6
featuring=


writer=Terrance Dicks
publisher=Target Books
coverartist=Chris Achilleos
isbn=ISBN 0 426 10313 0
set_between=
pages=
date=17 January 1974
preceding=Doctor Who and the Crusaders
following=Doctor Who and the Cave-Monsters|

Commercial releases

This story was released in an omnibus edition on VHS in the United Kingdom in 1986. In early 1995 it was rereleased as an episodic version. A DVD release followed on January 29, 2001. It was rereleased with new outer packaging on july 2, 2007. These DVD releases contain commentary provided by actors Nicholas Courtney and Caroline John.

In the original broadcast, Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well (Part One)" can be heard during scenes of dolls being manufactured at Auto Plastics. This was removed from most of the video and DVD releases due to rights issues. It is present on the 1995 episodic VHS release.

Part 1 was released on DVD in 2006, coming free with The Sun as a promotional item. It was housed in a cardboard case.

All four episodes of this serial have recently been issued for sale along with other selected Second and Third Doctor serials on iTunes.

In print

A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in January 1974, entitled "Doctor Who and The Auton Invasion". This was the first novelisation commissioned by Target following the successful republishing of three books originally published in the mid-1960s; the Target Books novelisation series would run for the next twenty years and see all but a half-dozen "Doctor Who" serials adapted. The Third Doctor era would become the first to be completely novelised with the release of the adaptation of "The Ambassadors of Death" in 1987. This book was translated into Finnish, in the seventies, as "Tohtori KUKA ja autonien hyökkäys", although "Doctor Who" never appeared on Finnish television until the 2005 revival series was sold to the country. There were also Dutch, Turkish, Japanese and Portuguese editions. An unabridged reading of the novelisation by actor Caroline John was released on CD in June 2008 by BBC Audiobooks.

References

External links

*BBCCDW|id=spearheadfromspace|title=Spearhead from Space
*Brief |id=aaa | title=Spearhead from Space
*Doctor Who RG | id=who_3a | title=Spearhead from Space
* [http://www.doctorwholocations.net/stories/spearheadfromspace Doctor Who Locations] - Spearhead from Space

Reviews

*OG review | id=3a | title=Spearhead from Space
*DWRG | id=spea | title=Spearhead from Space

Target novelisation

*DWRG | id=speanov | title=Spearhead from Space
* [http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~ecl6nb/OnTarget/1974/autoninv/74auton.htm On Target — "Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion"]