Death and Doctor Who-7.1
Spearhead from Space
Nothing like starting a set of posts seven seasons in. But the project was started at the beginning of the year and I’m just now experimenting with putting it up on Tumblr. I may go back and do a retrospective on a Hartnell or Troughton era story, but probably not the entire run. The writing sucks up all available time as it is.
So the project is all about how death has been portrayed in Doctor Who and the ramifications of it on the various characters. Let’s take a look at a section that’s in every essay—the list of things you will see in a particular story.
So, in Spearhead from Space, there’s some of the normal methods like using a pistol, a rifle, or a shotgun and maybe just trying to kill someone with your bare hands. But there are also some methods of lesser distinction. Like that last one, 1 attempt of strangulation with tentacles. The bold/italic means that this is the very first time in Doctor Who that method was ever used. Just like the hand-gun that is unique to the Autons.
There’s also information about the Production Crew and some interesting things regarding the story’s History. This is the very first story that Robert Holmes got a viewer complaint about the violence. What a foreshadowing.
I list all the Players who killed someone/thing or who themselves got kills. If a character did none of the above, then they aren’t included in the Player’s List.
I Discuss how Morals and Ethics come into play. But be warned. Since morals and ethics are totally subjective, these are my views on the subject. And as always, YMMV (You Mileage May Vary.)
I look for some interesting Quotes that deal with death or dying.
Brigadier: “At least he won’t get very far.” Liz: “You mean, before your men shoot him again.”
The main section is, of course, Death. And the main sub-section is called Murder by Death. Death also contains sub-sections for any particular items like sightings of Blood, Genocides, and in this one, Tentacles.
Each essay is rounded out with sections like Locations (place that are considered scary,) Things to Notice (self-explanatory,) and Final Thoughts.
Essays for Hartnell (Seasons 1-3) and Troughton (Season 4) are available for free download at LinkTree
https://linktr.ee/greenpear
This is my (current) passion project and I intend to make it to Jodi Whitaker’s third season—and beyond. So I figure it ain’t gonna be done by the Solstice.
Anyway, enjoy the reads—I enjoy the writing.















