After the apparently waning ratings of Patrick Troughton's episodes and his decision to step down from the role of the Doctor, this 7th season of Doctor Who with new Doctor Jon Pertwee would be a "make it or break it" season. And as history would show, Jon saved Doctor Who, again.
Besides now being in colour and with a new Doctor, it was decided that the Doctor would be exiled to Earth and travel in the TARDIS would be curtailed for a time. So the Doctor needed a "family" to act with from story to story. Re-enter the Brigadier. Having appeared twice during the Second Doctor's era, be proved a good foil for the Doctor and UNIT worked as an earth-based organization for the Doctor to affiliate with. So now the Doctor was the scientific advisor to UNIT.
The last piece of the puzzle was the Doctor's new assistant. Enter Caroline John as Dr. Liz Shaw. For the first time since the show's inception in 1963, the Doctor has only one proper companion for such a duration, a trend that would dominate the show for the majority of the shows future history. With a heavy dose of Women's Lib, Liz Shaw was a highly intelligent university researcher who was a very confident self-sufficient woman who didn't need the Doctor at all. For her entire tenure over this season, Liz was very much an equal to the Doctor and he never looked down at her. The only shame of the season is that Liz never got a proper trip in the TARDIS. And with the sad passing of Caroline last year, a return to the modern day program would never happen.
As different as Patrick Troughton was to William Hartnell, so to was Jon Pertwee's to Patrick's. The magic of capturing lightning in a bottle happened again and the Doctor was reborn. It is a joy to see Pertwee's early day performances and watching him grow in the role. His witty exchanges with the Brigadier are television screen gold. As every era of Doctor Who is classic in its own way, my mind instantly goes to the Pertwee era when was talk about "classic" Doctor Who.
It is slightly sad to watch these episodes of season 7 especially with its three major stars, Jon Pertwee, Caroline John and Nicholas Courtney, are no longer with us. They all had a long and loving relationship with Doctor Who beyond their tenures and were always great stewards of the programme. But we take great solace in that all the episodes of this era exist and we can enjoy them for generations.
This truly is the GREAT 3rd era of Doctor Who!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spearhead_from_Space
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