Doctor Who: Spearhead from Space

It's time for the 3rd Doctor! When a new Doctor starts, it usually takes them a story or two to get their characterization down, but Jon Pertwee pretty much has his right away. The TARDIS materializes in the middle of the woods, and the Doctor exits and collapses. It just so happens that at the same time, the Brigadier (hooray!) is interviewing a scientist, Liz Shaw, to join UNIT (huzzah!). She is skeptical. The Brigadier gets a phone call and thinks the Doctor is in town.

Who is this person?

The Brigadier is disappointed. He says it's not the Doctor. The Doctor wakes up for a few minutes, recognizes the Brigadier, looks at his new face, and passes out again. Baddies try to kidnap the Doctor but are thwarted. And now the Brig believes he's the Doctor, although he's still unconscious.

the Brigadier and Liz Shaw

Liz has been testing mysterious objects that have been landing nearby. She says they aren't meteorites. Liz is generally pretty straight-laced, but so far she has been downright unlikeable. Snotty, rude, snarky in a bad way. I hope that changes by the end of the episode. Also, UNIT HQ looks different! Well, different than what I'm used to. They must change the look at some point during the 3rd Doctor's era. Anyway, the Doctor steals clothes and a car and heads to UNIT HQ.

the Brigadier and the Doctor

Now that the Doctor has arrived, Liz is acting nicer but still doesn't believe he's not human or that he travels in the TARDIS. She steals the TARDIS key from the Brigadier and gives it to the Doctor, who discovers that the TARDIS doesn't work and the Time Lords really have trapped him there.

oops

Meanwhile, these creepy plastic things are roaming around the countryside, taking those not-meteorites and killing people. There's some fishy business going on at the plastic factory.

an Auton

This story is kind of light on plot. It introduces us to the new Doctor and his new companion and reintroduces UNIT. The Doctor uses the alias John Smith again. That's about it. I don't find the Nestene Consciousness or the Autons particularly compelling villains, but they will show up again in the future.

THE RUNDOWN

Doctor: Third
Companions: Liz Shaw
Episode: #51, "Spearhead from Space," four parts
Adversary: the Nestene Consciousness/Nestenes and the Autons

Classic Lines: the Doctor, to the Brigadier: "What do you think of my new face, by the way? I wasn't too sure about it myself to begin with, but it sort of grows on you." 

Tuck This Away to Impress Your Friends: This is the first time we hear that the Doctor has two hearts.
Next Up: "Doctor Who and the Silurians"