Doctor Who (1963) 8.01.04

Terror of the Autons - Episode Four

The Doctor shouts and the Brigadier comes rushing back into the lab and saves him from the constricting phone wire.

Someone spots the van full of men in weird masks. The Brigadier goes after them with Captain Yates. The plan is to have the RAF blow up the van with a missile after it stops in a quarry.

The Doctor and Jo stay behind. The Doctor studies the plastic daffodil. He tries to figure out what it does. It turns out that it is activated by radio waves. Jo almost gets killed by the daffodil.

The Master shows up at UNIT HQ and insists that the Doctor and Jo come with him. The three of them go to the quarry. The Brigadier is forced to call off the missile strike on the van. The Autons tie up the Doctor and Jo.

The Master, the Autons, and their prisoners drive back to the radio telescope at the Beacon Hill Research facility. The Doctor and Jo escape from the van. The Master climbs to the top of the radio telescope and uses it to make contact with the Nestene.

The Doctor and the Brigadier catch up to the Master. The Doctor convinces the Master that the Nestene will probably kill him once they take over Earth. The Master quickly switchs sides and helps the Doctor to reverse the polarity and prevent the Nestene from materializing on Earth.

The Master takes off running. For a moment it looks like they've got him but he gets away in the end. The Doctor suspects that it will only be a matter of time before they see the Master again.

Thoughts

What happened to the plan to use the daffodils to kills large numbers of people? It seemed like that was a big threat but then that possibility was forgotten. I don't get it.

I didn't find the Autons to be scary, just clunky. Maybe if I had seen this story when I was much younger then I would feel differently.

This is a decent story. I don't love it. I'm glad it wasn't any longer that it was. I bought the Blu-Ray set for Season 8 so I will be watching the rest of the episodes from this season. Hopefully it gets a little better or at the very least the Master gets a little more to do in future stories.