The Autons had proven to
be a huge success in Spearhead from Space so it was only natural that they
should return for a rematch. And what a rematch it is this time round. We go
from plastic Autons to plastic daffodils to plastic troll dolls and plastic
phone lines! And all within the space of ninety minutes.
Terror of the Autons is a
first on many scores. First it sees the introduction of the buffoonish but
highly loveable Jo Grant. Katy Manning must be applauded for the role which she
just slots into without any remote trouble at all. The Doctor has his assistant
who will become one of his most cherished companions, after a few episodes of
him being stand offish with her due to the departure of Liz Shaw from the show.
(Something that still irks for me because of the lack of any goodbye scene!)
All their future closeness has its birth here, and it doesn't take long for Jon
and Katy to get on like a house on fire!
Secondly is the
introduction of Captain Mike Yates as played by Richard Franklin. Richard would
go on to be the most fairly and brilliantly developed UNIT member of the team,
and here he does make an impressive debut, already on hand to protect Jo from
the attentions of the troll doll when it is activated! Richard would also go on
to have a great pairing with John Levene as Benton, and they are both excellent
in this story.
Thirdly is the important
and marked brilliant performance of Roger Delgado as the Master. Honestly the
performance this man has here is utterly amazing. He is suave, cool and super
menacing with his dark eyes and piercing gaze. He truly sells the notion of his
being a tyrant renegade of the time lord race, and indeed A Moriarty to the
Doctor's Sherlock Holmes. He and Jon would become great friends through the
show and it does show on screen. They are absolutely sublime together. No other
Master actor has quite nailed the amount of panache that Roger had as the
Master I feel. They have all been splendid, but none have ever matched Roger.
Harry Towb is really good
and even if he is only in the story for ten minutes, he does have one of the
most vivid and memorable deaths from Doctor Who ever. Being swallowed and
suffocated by a plastic chair is an appalling and wicked way to die. But this
death has gone on to be one of the most remembered deaths in all the history of
the show.
Michael Wisher is also
incredibly good as the conflicted Rex Farrell, who is always trying vainly to
resist the Master's influence over him throughout the story. His ending is sad,
and just re-iterates how callous the Master is when he sends him out in
disguise to distract UNIT.
The Autons this time are
given the room to speak! And when I was young, I thought their voices were
amazingly chilling and gravelly as hell. They also look lumpier and more
unfinished than the first Autons in Spearhead from Space, and when wearing the
creepy carnival masks, they look striking and utterly malignant.
Jo's near suffocation
scene by the plastic daffodil was a pretty stark moment too, and Katy acts
these moments extremely well indeed, selling the total peril Jo finds herself
in until the Doctor quickly comes to the rescue.
The Doctor in this story
is rather rude and abrasive more than usual. But its delightful to see. His run
ins with Brownrose are particularly funny, as is his childish outburst when he
boots the TARDIS in frustration when it won’t work with a different materialisation circuit! Jo chides him for being childish, to which he
replies "What's wrong with being childish? I like being childish!!!".
I just love the simmering disdain the Doctor holds for his exile, and Jon is
awesome in these scenes!
Perhaps my only two
niggles for this story are the somewhat rushed and last-minute ending, and the cavalier
manner in which the Doctor says he is looking forward to tussles with the
Master. After The Master has murdered several people and this comment by the
Doctor makes him seem unfeeling and unmoved by what the Master has done. I
suppose we must allow for alien nature being different from human nature
though. And there's that frankly appalling death where the Master dispatches a
technician to a quick death just because he is in his way on the radio
telescope. Roger injects so much malice and raw evil into the Master!
Minor niggles aside
though, this is still always in my top Jon Pertwee stories. It packed with
action and superb storytelling and some excellently nuanced performances. One
can see how Barry and Terry Dicks and the team may have got in trouble for this
story rather a lot. It’s alright to have scary things that aren't normal come
to life, but when everyday things come to life that brings the terror that one
step closer to home. But as for me it marks the story out as a superb start to
Season 8 and an absolutely superb show of how creepy and brilliant the show can
be. Not even the little niggles can really degrade my 10/10 for this story as
it is just so almost nearly perfect and I adore it!!
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