TV Club: Doctor Who, “Spearhead From Space”

“Spearhead From Space” (season 7, episodes 1-4; originally aired 1/3/1970-1/24/1970)

It’s a Whovian truism that whenever the Doctor regenerates, Doctor Who reinvents itself as well. But the debut of Third Doctor Jon Pertwee in 1970′s “Spearhead From Space” was a far more radical refocusing of the series than any other regeneration—not merely adapting the tone of the show for the quirks and strengths of a new lead actor, but massively overhauling everything, from the mood and the look to the kinds of stories the show would tell. If it hadn’t succeeded, I’m not sure we’d still remember Doctor Who today, let alone be publishing articles about it 41 years later.

A bit of background: As the 1960s were winding down, so were Doctor Who‘s ratings. Patrick Troughton had also decided that after three years, it would be wise to leave the show to avoid typecasting. Although there were some creative triumphs in Troughton’s last season, particularly “The Mind Robber,” my impression is that the show was increasing seen as stale and formulaic in comparison to Star Trek as well as other British sci-fi shows of the time, like The Prisoner and The Avengers, all of which had also proven that grownups, not just kids, would tune in to this stuff if the stories appealed to them. And so when Troughton left in 1969′s “The War Games,” the producers took the opportunity to wipe the slate clean. The Second Doctor was captured by the Time Lords, the people from whom he’d been a fugitive all this time. His human companions were sent back to their own times with their memories erased, and the Doctor himself was sentenced to a combination of death (enforced regeneration) and exile to Earth. The last we see of Troughton is him spinning away into a black void, screaming.

When Doctor Who came back, it was grounded, in more ways than one.

Originally published June 19, 2011 on avclub.com. Read the complete article.

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