Invasion of the Dinosaurs

You’ll forgive me, Minister, if I choose to believe the evidence of my own eyes.

The Third Doctor

Synopsis

Landing in London the Doctor and Sarah are puzzled to find the city deserted. Arrested as looters, they are eventually found by the Brigadier and brought to UNIT HQ.

Review

Whilst Invasion of the Dinosaurs isn’t the last time we’ll see UNIT, this story marks the end of an era in terms of their involvement with the show. The stepping back of UNIT was definitely something that had been on the cards since the Doctor recovered his knowledge of the TARDIS and the ability to travel independently again in The Three Doctors, then progressed through the departure of Katy Manning’s Jo Grant in The Green Death. The show can be seen to be slowly shedding links to Earth, something which would come more to the fore in the Tom Baker era.

The film critic Mark Kermode is very keen on stating that the 1975 Steven Spielburg film Jaws is not about the titular shark, and I think that the same can certainly be said about Invasion of the Dinosaurs. Whilst the dinosaurs might be something to draw in the kids, Malcolm Hulke has actually written a story about an environmental group conspiracy that goes right to the top, even infiltrating the UNIT family, which acts as a response to anyone who thinks that the UNIT era can be a bit too cozy at times. Hulke makes a compelling story by making the real villains, the leadership of Operation Golden Age, be painted in shades of grey rather than making them outright evil, and goes so far as to have the Doctor admire Charles Grover, the head of the scheme, even if he does not like his methods. Hulke has gone to considerable lengths to make sure that both sides come across reasonably. This whole story feels like a return to Season 7, being more grounded especially with its emphasis on conspiracies and human nature rather than alien invasions, and wanting to have a message about the real world.

I think it is important to praise the director of this story, Paddy Russell. This story cannot have been one that was particularly easy to direct, especially considering the reality of how the dinosaurs looked, however, Russell has done an exceptionally good job with this story regardless. Those shots of deserted London are fantastic and set the tone for this story perfectly in the opening part. It was definitely worth the crew getting up early to capture that footage. Russell has ensured that any reaction shots to the dinosaurs capture emotions appropriately, which makes up for the fact that the finished appearance of the creatures is less than impressive and manages to give a semblance that they should be taken seriously. Russell battles through the adversity she faced in the production of this story admirably and the fact that it works so well means that Russell deserves massive plaudits. It is not difficult to imagine this whole story being a mess in someone else’s hands.

When it comes to the villains of the piece, Charles Grover, Whitaker, Butler and Finch, I think that they are depicted well by the actors, and there are no over-the-top performances out of them. I can’t say that the twist about Finch being part of the conspiracy is a particular surprise, given that when we are introduced to the character, he is far more concerned about looters than the dinosaurs. Grover is the mastermind behind the scheme though, and continues the Pertwee era’s tradition of having untrustworthy people in government. As mentioned above, Grover is depicted as someone who has a valid viewpoint but is going about it in the wrong way, with his fake spaceship filled with followers and rewriting history by tampering with files. Yates is the one taken advantage of by the scheme. He states early on in the story that the events of The Green Death necessitated him taking a leave of absence, and despite him falling in line with the conspiracy, he repeatedly states that he won’t do anything to harm the Doctor. Whilst his carer is over by the end of the story, the door is definitely left open to fix his reputation. Ultimately, the Golden Age conspiracy is full of people obsessed with the past and how much better things would have been back then. It is perhaps fitting that Grover and Whitaker end up taken back in time at the end of the story.

The Third Doctor is approaching the end of the lifespan of this particular incarnation, but I don’t think that Pertwee’s performance shows any of that. From his playing up when he and Sarah are being photographed as looters, to his reaction to General Finch when they first meet, Pertwee remains the same figure that he has always been. Pertwee seems to enjoy being in this setting, with an interesting story and plenty of action to get his teeth into, especially in the scenes where he is on the run from UNIT, the closest thing this Doctor has had to a family since his exile to the planet in The War Games. The loyalty that Benton shows him, for instance, in letting him knock him out so he can escape after Finch has framed him, is really lovely to see, and the Brigadier is of course, still loyal to his friend. There is a brief moment when that loyalty is in question, but the audience should know that it is never in doubt.

It’s interesting to note that Sarah and the Doctor spend quite a lot of this story apart, and this allows Sarah to prove her worth as a companion. The two characters shine when they’re on screen together and seem to have formed a quick and easy chemistry. Sarah does not come with the Doctor to the first two dinosaur sitings and is instead exploring scientists with theories relating to time travel and underground bunkers with power supplies. It’s nice to see a companion bring her experience, in this case as a journalist, to allow her to progress the plot.  She proves her resourcefulness and ability to look after herself when on the fake spaceship.

Verdict: A gem in the late Pertwee era, Invasion of the Dinosaurs really shines. Look past the titular dinosaurs and it is a grounded conspiracy thriller. 8/10

Cast: Jon Pertwee (The Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart), John Bennett (General Finch), Richard Franklin (Captain Yates), John Levene (Sergeant Benton), Ben Aris (Lieutenant Shears), Dave Carter (Sergeant Duffy), Martin Taylor (Corporal Norton), George Bryson (Private Ogden), John Caesar (R/T Soldier), Gordon Reid (Phillips), Trevor Lawrence (Lodge), Terry Walsh (Warehouse Looter), Noel Johnson (Charles Grover M.P.), Peter Miles (Professor Whitaker), Martin Jarvis (Butler), James Marcus (Peasant), Pat Gorman (UNIT Corporal), Terence Wilton (Mark), Carmen Silvera (Ruth), Brian Badcoe (Adam), Colin Bell (Private Bryson) & Timothy Craven (Robinson).

Writer: Malcolm Hulke

Director: Paddy Russell

Producer: Barry Letts

Composer: Dudley Simpson

Parts: 6

Original Broadcast Dates: 12th January – 16th February 1974

Behind the Scenes

• Working titles included The Bridgehead from Space and Timescoop.
• The final story to be written by Malcolm Hulke. Hulke listed this story as the favourite he wrote for the show.
• Part One, Invasion, is the first episode to have an individual episode title since Episode 4 of The Gunfighters, The O.K. Coral.
• The story marks the first appearance of the Whomobile.
• The first day of location was filming was approved by neither the BBC nor relevant government officials, and instead director Paddy Russell and her camera team posed as tourists and set out early in the morning to capture footage of the seemingly deserted capital.
• Episode One of this story is the only telerecording of Season 11 that exists. It is also the only black-and-white telerecording not to be re-colourised.
• Terrance Dicks wanted to kill off Mike Yates in this story, but Barry Letts wanted to keep him on the board to revisit the character in a future story.

Cast Notes

• John Bennett would go on to play Li H’sen Chang in The Talons of Weng-Chiang.
• Dave Carter had previously appeared in Doctor Who and the Silurians, Inferno, Terror of the Autons, The Mind of Evil, The Time Monster and would go on to appear in The Android Invasion.
• Martin Taylor had previously appeared in a Skybase Guard in The Mutants.
• John Caesar had previously appeared in The Romans, The Ark, The Macra Terror and The Sea Devils.
• Terry Walsh was a stunt arranger for a number of Doctor Who stories. He appeared as an actor in Terror of the Autons, The Sea Devils, The Time Monster, The Green Death, The Monster of Peladon, Planet of the Spiders, The Sontaran Experiment, The Power of Kroll and The Creature from the Pit.
• Noel Johnson had previously played Thous in The Underwater Menace.
• Peter Miles had previously played Dr. Charles Lawrence in Doctor Who and the Silurians and would go on to play Nyder in Genesis of the Daleks. Miles would go on to appear in audio plays, including Big Finish stories such as Whispers of Terror.
• Martin Jarvis had previously appeared in The Web Planet as Hilio and would go on to play the Governor of Varos in Vengeance on Varos. Jarvis would also play Nigel Rochester in Jubilee, the Big Finish audio play that would go on to become Dalek.
• James Marcus would go on to appear as Rask in Underworld.
• Pat Gorman played 73 roles in Doctor Who, giving him the accolade of having appeared in the seventh most serials.
• Carmen Silvera appeared as Clara the Clown, Mrs Wiggs and the Queen of Hearts in The Celestial Toymaker.
• Colin Bell had previously appeared as CPO Summers in The Sea Devils.
• Timothy Craven had previously appeared as a cell guard in Frontier in Space and would go on to play Short in Robot.

Best Moment

The opening scenes of the deserted London are superbly eerie, evocative and spooky.

Best Quote

Well, I never thought I’d find myself blowing up a tube station. If you’re wrong, Doctor, I’m going to have a job explaining this to London Transport.

Well, don’t worry, Brigadier, I’m never wrong. If we don’t get down there, there won’t be a London Transport to explain to.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and the Third Doctor

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