The Earth is endangered by a renegade Time Lord known as the Master, who steals a dormant Nestene energy unit from a museum. He reactivates it using the facilities of a radio telescope, then uses his hypnotic abilities to take control of a small plastics manufacturer, Farrel Autoplastics, where he organises the production of deadly Auton artefacts, including plastic dolls, chairs and daffodils.
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The episode that introduces Jo Grant, Mike Yates, and the Master to Doctor Who. Also the one with a plastic chair that eats a man.
I actually rewatched this one the other day because I read the target book and I wanted to compare. I thought it was really good. The storyline was interesting, having a piece of dormant technology from UNIT fall into the wrong hands and nearly destroying everything. It was also a brilliant set up to the Master and The Doctor’s relationship. The mutual respect for each other but also the absolute need to defeat the other (or kill in the Master’s case) only to end up working side by side to ensure survival.
There are a lot of things about this episode that I really enjoy.
Actually, I want to gush about this episode a bit more because I really enjoyed this one, especially coming off Inferno
Like Inferno hurt watching, and we start with the Doctor having lost Liz, only to be introduced to Jo. And Jo is different than Liz. I love Liz, but Liz was also a very level headed intelligent person who the Doctor could just leave problems in her hands and go off tinkering. Jo wasn’t science smart, but she was a sharp agent of UNIT who had many other skills, mostly people skills and empathy. And she was a good balance. Having her introduced in this episode was really interesting too. She was the second companion to be directly assigned to the Doctor, and while he didn’t like the idea at first we see how quickly he warms up to her.
The episode also introduces Mike Yates, who is an interesting foil to the Brigadier right off the bat. The Brig is a man who follows his left and right limits, he keeps to the laws and works within his orders. We see Mike is more laid back and more open to interpretation from the start. He is creative too. The canteen is closed? No problem, we’ll just use the burners in the lab to make hot chocolate. No sugar? That’s fine the Brigadier has some in his office. Mike is an interesting character who helps bring balance in the ranks of UNIT.
And of course we get the Master, who you could probably write an entire thesis on. So i will leave that alone.
The episode overall is an interesting one to watch. We have time lords coming to Earth to specifically warn the Doctor about the threat that the Master presents. This is also a new interesting dynamic because previously the Doctor was addressing problems that were coming to Earth or that already existed and people were stumbling on. Now we have this new situation that will set the tone for the season, problems brought to Earth specifically because the Doctor is there.
And I liked how the Autons were experimented in this episode with. The Master and the consciousness spending actual time to come up with actual forms and techniques besides just ‘mannequins with guns’, which is scary but not as scary as a small flower suddenly attacking and killing you, was a neat trick that I wish they had done with again. The concept of having an enemy potentially being all plastic and having the Master being cleaver and actually taking advantage of it to make even an everyday telephone a very real threat was really cool.
It’s not my favorite episode but it is high on the list for iconic characters, creativity in use of antagonists, and storyline. Sorry for the word vomit.
I’ve never quite understood the love for this story, it just feels to similar to Spearhead From Space, which uses the Autons better in my opinion
Straight down the middle for me. 5/10.
This was a very solid story for me. For one it was a good introduction to the Master and Jo, and more UNIT is always good. It was pretty entertaining overall, so strong 7/10 from me.
This story is a lot of fun, I really enjoyed the campiness of it. While not as good as Spearhead from Space, it is distinct enough in its own right and is a good use of the Autons. This also a fantastic introduction to the Master, Delgado is fantastic and really establishes the contrast of silly and sinister. And while I was disappointed to see Liz go, Jo is an absolutely delightful companion. I think this is a strong start for Season 8.
I’ve never quite gotten the hype for Spearhead, so in my mind this is the quintessential auton story of the era, in no small part due to the debut of the Master and Jo Grant. As much as I love the grittier feel of season 7’s stories the era of the Third Doctor and Jo feels like a warm hug, and I think Jo gets to leave a really good first impression here. Expectations be damned, she’s going around sleuthing and saving the Doctor’s skin (and trying to blow him up under the Master’s influence is a delightfully unhinged moment). The Master gets to firmy establish himself too and you really couldn’t ask for a better actor than Delgado here, he plays off of Pertwee so well. The new Autons aren’t as effective as the mannequins but I like how this story goes further with the idea the Nestene can control all plastic like the daffodils and ugly doll, plus the reveal of the policeman as an auton is such a good cliffhanger, can’t imagine how it must’ve felt for kids at the time.
The main thing holding it back is the dodgy CSO, but the Blu-ray version is a night and day difference and a rare instance of the updated effects being outright definitive. Hard pressed to recommend the Collection sets these days but the older releases were golden. Haven’t watched any Doctor Who at all this year (shock horror, bar the two recent recoveries) so I may be due for a revisit to season 8, it feels like exactly what I need right now.
This was a slightly above average for me yet meh. It does give us Jo but I feel like coming off the great last season not having Liz still there was upsetting - granted I understand her (in universe) reason for leaving. But the best part about this is we get introduced to Delgado’s Master and how great he is. He makes this episode - okay him and Pertwees facial expression
But the thing that will live rent free in my head is the first appearance of Labubus in Doctor Who
Because of just how different the tone felt between the end of s7 and the start of s8 I initially wasn’t the keenest, though in hindsight there is a lot of things I like here.
Jo’s introduced here and it’s done well. I really love her. The whole exchange in her first scene where the brigs like “if you want her gone do it yourself” and the Doctor just can’t bring himself to. Great work.
the master is also here and he is great. Though if I’m gonna be honest I remember like 2 scenes of him from this serial and nothing else 
A personal favorite of mine. Its camp, fun, and well paced. Not to mention it gives us Jo and fixes Pertwee’s S7 hair.
A Man is eaten by a plastic chair, what more could you want?
I gave this one a rewatch earlier this year and thoroughly enjoyed it - so much I upped my rating to 4/5. I love Spearhead to but I don’t think this is a lesser story, just different. It expands the Auton menace in interesting ways and introduces us to the Master. Delgado immediately grabs our attention and commands the screen for every scene he is in. The rapport with Pertwee is instant, as is Pertwee’s bond with Katy Manning’s Jo. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Liz but there is a definite warmth between Three and Jo which is apparent from their very first scene. It’s the way Manning plays it.
I don’t think we needed the Master in every story of Season 8 but this is a brilliant opening story for all involved. It’s a shame we never saw the Autons again until the modern series because this one expanded them in some ways which could easily have been developed in a world where plastic was becoming so common place in every day homes.
It’s a great introduction for the Master. It sets the tone for them, but other than that it’s an OK episode. The Master stuff gives it a bit of a bump though.
4/5
This is kinda like The War Machines, really. Great serial overall, botched companion exit.
Though I’ll definitely take The Master over WOTAN…
Actually, both WOTAN and the Master require Doctor Who, don’t they?
A great fast-paced story that provides a great introduction to the master. I think that the way they reuse the Nestene works in a great way. 4/5
The biggest issue I had with this story is the sort of brush under the carpet Liz exit other then that I think it’s fun
I feel if I where to change it it would be liz saying goodbye to the doctor to go to Cambridge and saying she’s left a new assistant for him or summut
Thing is, Caroline John was busy being pregnant/having a baby so that was never going to happen anyway. 
And that baby became Liz we we all truly won really
Sorry, did you say “becoming a baby”? /j
