The Invasion (TV story)

Escaping from the Land of Fiction, the Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe find themselves on 20th century Earth, where they assist Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT in their investigations of the suspicious operations of industrial leader Tobias Vaughn. They soon learn that Vaughn is working with an old enemy of the Doctor's in their plan to invade and conquer Earth.

Summary
SUMMARY

Cast & Characters

 * The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
 * Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines
 * Zoe Heriot - Wendy Padbury
 * Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
 * Tobias Vaughn - Kevin Stoney
 * Isobel Watkins - Sally Faulkner
 * Corporal Benton - John Levene
 * Captain Jimmy Turner - Robert Sidaway
 * Packer - Peter Halliday
 * Professor Watkins - Edward Burnham
 * Lorry Driver - Murray Evans
 * Tracy - Geoffrey Cheshire
 * Patrolman - Walter Randall
 * Gregory - Ian Fairbairn
 * Sergeant Walters - James Thornhill
 * Phone Operator - Sheila Dunn
 * Major General Rutlidge - Edward Dentith
 * Workman - Peter Thompson
 * Policeman - Dominic Allan
 * Private Perkins - Stacy Davies
 * Major Branwell - Clifford Earl
 * Sergeant Peters - Norman Hartley
 * Cybermen - Pat Gorman, Ralph Carrigan, Charles Finch, John Spradbury, Derek Chaffer, Terence Denville, Peter Thornton, Richard King

Influences
The influence of the various spy thriller films and television shows which were popular at this time are very clear. UNIT is in many ways similar to SHADO, the Earth security organization in Gerry Anderson's UFO which premiered the same year as this story. (And elements of which were incorporated in the BBC Past Doctor Adventure novel, "The Indestructible Man.") Tobias Vaughn is similar to villians featured in the James Bond films and The Avengers. The Doctor acting as advisor to a military group dealing with an otherworldly menace is highly reminiscent of the Quartermass serials.

Ratings

 * Episode 1 - 7.3m viewers
 * Episode 2 - 7.1m viewers
 * Epsiode 3 - 7.1m viewers
 * Episode 4 - 6.4m viewers
 * Episode 5 - 6.7m viewers
 * Episode 6 - 6.5m viewers
 * Episode 7 - 7.2m viewers
 * Episode 8 - 7.0m viewers

Location Filming
The cow pasture in which the TARDIS materializes was located at Williamstrip Farm at Coln St Aldwyns. Professor Wakins' house was located at St James' Gardens in Kensington. Kingston Minerals in Kempsford served as the IE compound, while the compound's roof was actually that of the Associated British Malsters' Guinness factory in Wallingford, Oxfordshire. Additional scenes at IE were filmed at the Guniess Factory in London. The canoe sequence was filmed at Lisson Grove and the helicopter sequence at Denham Aerodrome in Buckinghamshire. Other scenes were filmed at Ealing Studios and at various locations in Gloucestershire.

Continuity

 * The first story to feature UNIT and introduce Benton. Lethbridge-Stewart is now a Brigadier, the rank he will hold in most of the UNIT stories. In "The Three Doctors," the Second Doctor refers to Benton as "Corporal," the rank he held in this story, and Benton points out to him that he has since been promoted to Sergeant.


 * Dialogue places this story four years after the events of "The Web of Fear." This story is also placed "some months" before "Spearhead from Space" by dialogue in that story.


 * The Cybermen mention an earlier encounter with the Doctor on Planet 14. They thus have had their first encounter with him before their first invasion of Earth, while the Doctor's first known encounter with the Cybermen was just before the end of his first incarnation in 1986. Similarly, the Daleks had already encountered the Doctor in his second incarnation before the events of "The Power of the Daleks." Cybermen at this point know of the TARDIS ("-he has a machine"-), but apparently don't know of its nature or that he is a Time Lord. They know both by the time of the events in "Silver Nemesis," assuming those Cybermen are not, like those in "Attack of the Cybermen," time travellers from the future.


 * In "Dalek," Henry Van Statten's collection of extraterrestrial artifacts includes the head of a Cyberman from this story. The plate on the display case says it was retrieved from the London sewers in 1975.


 * The prologue of Virgin New Adventure novel "Iceberg" opens during the Cybermen invasion in this story. The Cybermen in that novel are said to be from Planet 14, which was first mentioned in this story.


 * Tobias Vaughn returns in the Virgin New Adventure, "Original Sin," in which it is revealed that not only did he survive, but funded the development of BOSS, Operation Golden Age, and Professor Ketterwell's robot, and influenced the expansion and policies of the Earth Empire.

Story Arcs

 * UNIT
 * Cybermen

Discontinuity
If the Cybermen have already encountered the Doctor and know of the TARDIS's existence, wouldn't the Cybermen who landed at the Snowcap Base in 1986 have recognized the TARDIS and guessed that the Doctor must be present at the base, even if he didn't look like the Doctor they knew?

More Info

 * Story Novelization


 * DVD Release - This story has not yet been released on DVD.


 * Video Release - Released on VHS in the UK, Canada, and the US as "Doctor Who: The Invasion," introduced by Nicholas Courtney, who gives synopses for the missing Episodes 1 and 4. The Reconstruction Team has produced reconstructed versions of Episodes 1 and 4, incorporating the original soundtrack with telesnaps, exisiting snippets of film footage, and subtitles.