As an introduction to a new incarnation of the Doctor, Spearhead from Space is phenomenal. As a new direction for the series, it is even better. After two full incarnations of the Doctor, Jon Pertwee's era starts off with a bang and really pushes things off with a new sense of energy beyond even the addition of colour.

Pertwee's introduction is tightly written and a lot of fun in establishing the new status quo that would define the series for the next era. I had heard so much about this time with Doctor Who being the series just trying to be James Bond and so much of this content being otherwise written off, but Jon Pertwee is pretty amazing as the Doctor on the whole and this story is an excellent example of that. The Nestene and Autons are relatively simple, and that's exactly what is required of a story that is mostly focused on getting us used to the rapid changes in the series. I can see why the came back in a similar fashion for Rose all those years later.

While the special effects, even by the standards of this time period, leave something to be desired, little else does. Pertwee is great right out of the gate, the Brigadier returns for a long string of episodes that would cement his legacy as a character for decades to come, and even Caroline John, who I feel was persistently wasted as Liz Shaw going forward, is quite fun here as a new companion. A great series of episodes that really knock it out of the park from start to finish.