One thought on “Doctor Who – Spearhead from Space Special Edition [Blu-ray]”
The Start of a Truly Great Decade for Doctor Who 1970’s Spearhead From Space has always been one of the truly great moments in Doctor Who, and for me this is one of my top 10 favorites. From the start of 1970 to the end of 1979 Doctor Who reached its zenith and became the classic show we all love today. Patrick Troughton’s last serial “The War Games” is no doubt a timeless classic but recorded very low viewing figures for the time, so the producers had quite a rough time getting the 900 year old chap on his feet again. Personally, I agree with Terrance Dicks in that Doctor Who was granted a stay of execution because the BBC were starting to broadcast in colour for the first time and the money that was coming in from the television licenses was clouding their evil judgement on possible cancellation. Thankfully, the BBC did not cancel the show and its still going strong 40 years later.Jon Pertwee gets a great first story here and probably the best debut ever for a Doctor. Firstly, the colour really helps, I know some people love black & white but you must admit that colour is luxury. Furthermore, the location filming is fantastic, basically the whole 100 minute feature was filmed on location because of some BBC strikes that were going on. The filmic look really adds to the atmosphere of the serial and sells it better than videotape ever did. Secondly, Dudley Simpson’s incidental music for Spearhead is some of his greatest, the atmosphere he induces from the score is impressive to say the least. The music really adds to the overall enjoyment of the story.Nicholas Courtney’s first appearance since 1968’s Invasion is welcoming, I always loved the Third Doctor UNIT era of the programme and Nic is one of the main parts of that fantastic nostalgic time. His performance here is truly something special and he and Jon bounce off one another superbly. Nic would go on to star in Doctor Who intermittently for the next 20 years and so what we have here is the proper beginning to the whole concept of the Doctor’s family, UNIT. Caroline John’s first “Who” is very high standard stuff, I have always loved Liz and thought she was always one of the Doctor’s best 70’s companions. Although she was to only appear in one 25 part series on Who, she will always be fondly remembered, {mostly for the short skirts though}.The Autons provide a chilling monster for the newly regenerated Doctor, their faceless-ness was always going to be quite chilling and so make a very effective debut here. The quest cast are all on top form and you get the feeling that everyone has their own little story to tell.So, the story is going to be presented in the best possible light as it finally sees release onto Blu-Ray. Since this is the only story from the classic series to be able to be High Definition enhanced, you couldn’t have asked for a better story than Spearhead. The first colour story, the first Pertwee serial, the first serial of the 1970’s. This is a landmark release for the show in it’s 50th anniversary year and I await this release with baited breath. The special features that are by now beginning to bleed out of DWM are also interesting, we have a Caroline John Obituary and a Jon Pertwee Biography. All of interest to me especially.So then, this has been a truly gratifying review of what I think is one of the greatest serials Doctor Who ever made. The BBC Blu-Ray release only adds to my opinion of this classic tale. Wonderful stuff.Highly Recommended by this viewer.Many thanks for your time in reading this review, its greatly appreciated,M.B.
The Start of a Truly Great Decade for Doctor Who 1970’s Spearhead From Space has always been one of the truly great moments in Doctor Who, and for me this is one of my top 10 favorites. From the start of 1970 to the end of 1979 Doctor Who reached its zenith and became the classic show we all love today. Patrick Troughton’s last serial “The War Games” is no doubt a timeless classic but recorded very low viewing figures for the time, so the producers had quite a rough time getting the 900 year old chap on his feet again. Personally, I agree with Terrance Dicks in that Doctor Who was granted a stay of execution because the BBC were starting to broadcast in colour for the first time and the money that was coming in from the television licenses was clouding their evil judgement on possible cancellation. Thankfully, the BBC did not cancel the show and its still going strong 40 years later.Jon Pertwee gets a great first story here and probably the best debut ever for a Doctor. Firstly, the colour really helps, I know some people love black & white but you must admit that colour is luxury. Furthermore, the location filming is fantastic, basically the whole 100 minute feature was filmed on location because of some BBC strikes that were going on. The filmic look really adds to the atmosphere of the serial and sells it better than videotape ever did. Secondly, Dudley Simpson’s incidental music for Spearhead is some of his greatest, the atmosphere he induces from the score is impressive to say the least. The music really adds to the overall enjoyment of the story.Nicholas Courtney’s first appearance since 1968’s Invasion is welcoming, I always loved the Third Doctor UNIT era of the programme and Nic is one of the main parts of that fantastic nostalgic time. His performance here is truly something special and he and Jon bounce off one another superbly. Nic would go on to star in Doctor Who intermittently for the next 20 years and so what we have here is the proper beginning to the whole concept of the Doctor’s family, UNIT. Caroline John’s first “Who” is very high standard stuff, I have always loved Liz and thought she was always one of the Doctor’s best 70’s companions. Although she was to only appear in one 25 part series on Who, she will always be fondly remembered, {mostly for the short skirts though}.The Autons provide a chilling monster for the newly regenerated Doctor, their faceless-ness was always going to be quite chilling and so make a very effective debut here. The quest cast are all on top form and you get the feeling that everyone has their own little story to tell.So, the story is going to be presented in the best possible light as it finally sees release onto Blu-Ray. Since this is the only story from the classic series to be able to be High Definition enhanced, you couldn’t have asked for a better story than Spearhead. The first colour story, the first Pertwee serial, the first serial of the 1970’s. This is a landmark release for the show in it’s 50th anniversary year and I await this release with baited breath. The special features that are by now beginning to bleed out of DWM are also interesting, we have a Caroline John Obituary and a Jon Pertwee Biography. All of interest to me especially.So then, this has been a truly gratifying review of what I think is one of the greatest serials Doctor Who ever made. The BBC Blu-Ray release only adds to my opinion of this classic tale. Wonderful stuff.Highly Recommended by this viewer.Many thanks for your time in reading this review, its greatly appreciated,M.B.