Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion

"Energy is a form of life."

Writer: Terrance Dicks

Format: Novel

Released: January 1974

Series: Target 06

Featuring: Third Doctor, Liz, Brigadier

Synopsis

'Here at UNIT we deal with the odd – the unexplained. We're prepared to tackle anything on Earth. Or even from beyond the Earth, if necessary.'

Put on trial by the Time Lords, and found guilty of interfering in the affairs of other worlds, the Doctor is exiled to Earth in the 20th century, his appearance once again changed. His arrival coincides with a meteorite shower. But these are no ordinary meteorites.

The Nestene Consciousness has begun its first attempt to invade Earth using killer Autons and deadly shop window dummies. Only the Doctor and UNIT can stop the attack. But the Doctor is recovering in hospital, and his old friend the Brigadier doesn't even recognise him. Can the Doctor recover and win UNIT's trust before the invasion begins?

Verdict

Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion was an excellent novelisation of Spearhead From Space! I thought this was a terrific read from start to finish and I liked the nostalgia of knowing this was one of the first Target releases. It definitely felt of its time and era which is certainly a compliment and I think Season 7 exists in a strange little vacuum by itself in terms of eras. I say strange because it's only four stories long and I think Liz's departure is what grants it a status of being a little era all by itself. It's great and just fascinating to be reading of the early days of UNIT and how the Doctor came to be their Scientific Advisor. It was a brilliant story and the Brigadier's return was handled terrifically well. The references to The Web of Fear and The Invasion with the Brig recalling the help received by the Doctor to defeat the Yeti and the Cybermen were really good and I loved how the Doctor's enforced change of appearance was incorporated into the plot. With all that was going on with the meteorites in Essex, news of a police box excited the Brigadier as that would mean the arrival of the Doctor. His reaction to the grey-haired man in the hospital bed was marvellous as it wasn't him and the initial take being the Brigadier suspecting an imposter or impersonator was a lot of fun. Of course, the Third Doctor isn't the only first in this adventure as we are also introduced to Liz Shaw as the companion. I think she's wonderful and her introduction here is marvellous. She initially is welcomed by the Brigadier and their relationship is really interesting with the frivolous comments and the Brigadier's general lack of scientific knowledge and thinking with a military mind. Her relationship with the Doctor was outstanding and I just love how they got on with each other right from the off. The shared respect for scientific abilities was tremendous and I also adored how much Liz was enjoying the Doctor getting the better of the Brigadier and quickly asserting himself into command. The Brigadier being convinced that this Doctor was the same man he previously knew with a new face was great stuff and he just had a really enjoyable adventure as a whole. I thought the Auto Plastics factory made a good basis for a setting and the focal point of what was going. The debut of the Nestene Consciousness and the Autons in this story was presented superbly well and one thing that doesn't perhaps come across so much on television is the scale of this plan and the cost it came at to be defeated. The likes of military figures, top officials and then shop window dummies was widespread with Replicas located across the country and many were dying at their hands. The scenes were almost directly written as those that would be repeated in Rose and it's clear they had a lasting impact! I think the novelisation having sketch art throughout is a really fun inclusion and just breaks things up quite nicely and provides some good visuals. My particular favourite was of the Third Doctor in the attire of the Second Doctor. Speaking of which, starting the novel with an in-action recap of the final moments of The War Games was excellent and some good background. The Doctor troubling himself with having the ability to travel in his TARDIS taken away from him was very good and I loved how he wanted his old shoes for the key. General Scobie was a good character and his replication and his true self showing up at a waxworks was brilliant and I liked how the Brigadier at this point had a firm superior as we didn't always get that in UNIT adventures. I loved the perimeter based around Oxley Woods and I also enjoyed the press attention that the Doctor's arrival coinciding with the meteorites received. The only qualm I had was that out of fifty-odd meteorites landing, it was the main one that was not recovered. That just seemed unlikely. Sam Seeley was a fantastic character and I also really liked Munro as a sort of precursor to Yates and Benton. Channing made a chilling villain and his being at one with the Nestene and the collective consciousness nature of the enemy worked marvellously well. I was a big fan and I liked how it was explicitly clear that the whole Nestene was not defeated, almost clearly setting up Terror of the Autons. Overall, a brilliant read! 

Rating: 9/10