Auton trilogy
Encyclopedia
The Auton trilogy is a series of direct-to-video
spin-off
productions based on the long running BBC
science fiction
series Doctor Who
. The three films in the series are Auton (1997), Auton 2: Sentinel (1998; working title, Auton 2: The Rapture) and Auton 3 (1999; working title, Auton 3: Awakening). They were produced by the independent BBV
company and are sequels to the Third Doctor
stories Spearhead from Space
and Terror of the Autons
. All three films have been reissued on DVD.
As with all spin-off productions, the canonicity of these films is uncertain. However, all story elements relating to Doctor Who were licensed from their respective authors. These videos are therefore not considered "fan productions".
facility, a plot for world domination that predates mankind is set in motion.
facility known only as "the Warehouse", Dr Sally Arnold has been studying a Nestene energy unit with no results. As a last resort, she subjects the artifact to cosmic signals from UNIT's most powerful deep space scanning satellite. This causes a violent energy release that kills her assistant, Janice. The energy unit has disappeared.
A containment team, led by a psychic
UNIT operative named Lockwood, has been dispatched. Among Lockwood's abilities is the ability to access all information from any computer mainframe in the world with his mind.
They soon learn that the Nestene energy unity has taken on a mobile form, and that there is an Auton
copy of senior archivist Graham Winslet. The real Winslet is still alive, his mind being used by the Autons as a resource of information. The energy unit then merges with the Auton Winslet.
Several dormant Autons in the Warehouse come back to life and the building becomes a battlefield. They are eventually defeated with the weapon created by the Doctor
and Liz Shaw
in Spearhead from Space. The Auton Winslet then liquefies and escapes through a ventilation shaft.
s from the Warehouse to another UNIT
facility is hijacked by its own cargo. Meanwhile, Lockwood is troubled by extremely active dreams. UNIT learns that the transfer of the Autons was authorized by Lockwood. When he later remembers signing the transportation docket, it becomes evident that the Nestene Consciousness is using Lockwood's psychic abilities to their own ends.
UNIT's Internal Security Division launches an investigation on Lockwood, pairing him with another psychic
operative named Natasha Alexander. While Lockwood's abilities are owed to an alien implant, Natasha claims to have been psychic since birth.
The escaped Autons are traced to Sentinel Island. There the Auton Winslet has installed himself as the local vicar. He has brainwashed most of the island's inhabitants and the Autons have killed those who resisted. They are using the combined mental energy of the church's congregation to awaken a Nestene creature buried beneath.
There are dormant Nestenes lying underground around the world. They were put in place before the development of the human race. Their locations have become known to humanity as holy sites and are connected by ley line
s.
When Lockwood and Natasha arrive at the church, they succeed in reviving the Nestene. The Nestene attempts to awaken the others. Lockwood tries to defeat it, but instead absorbs the creature into his own mind.
Meanwhile, the entire population of Millhampton has disappeared. They have been absorbed into the mind of another revived Nestene below the city. The only survivor is the real Winslet, who is still being used by the Nestenes at the local psychiatric hospital.
Lockwood and Natasha are both being used by another psychic UNIT
operative named Palmer to lead them to the heart of the Nestene activity. Palmer monitors their movements through a constant link with Natasha's mind.
Meanwhile, Natasha is used by the Nestenes to lure Lockwood to the hospital, which the Autons are using as the centre of their operation. There the Auton Winslet is trying to free the Nestene energy from Lockwood's mind so it can infect every computer in the world and revive all the dormant Nestene creatures. Lockwood resists by convincing himself that everything he sees is a dream.
When Dr Arnold arrives, his resolve is broken. He is then forced to sacrifice his own life to destroy the Nestene plan.
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
productions based on the long running BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. The three films in the series are Auton (1997), Auton 2: Sentinel (1998; working title, Auton 2: The Rapture) and Auton 3 (1999; working title, Auton 3: Awakening). They were produced by the independent BBV
BBV
BBV is a video and audio production company specialising in science fiction drama, known for its links with the British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
company and are sequels to the Third Doctor
Third Doctor
The Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
stories Spearhead from Space
Spearhead from Space
Spearhead from Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 January to 24 January 1970. The serial opened Series 7 of the show and was the first to be produced in colour. The serial introduced Jon Pertwee as the...
and Terror of the Autons
Terror of the Autons
Terror of the Autons is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, broadcast in four weekly parts from 2 to 23 January 1971...
. All three films have been reissued on DVD.
As with all spin-off productions, the canonicity of these films is uncertain. However, all story elements relating to Doctor Who were licensed from their respective authors. These videos are therefore not considered "fan productions".
Synopses
When a Nestene energy unit and several Autons are reactivated at a UNITUNIT
UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
facility, a plot for world domination that predates mankind is set in motion.
Auton
At a top secret UNITUNIT
UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
facility known only as "the Warehouse", Dr Sally Arnold has been studying a Nestene energy unit with no results. As a last resort, she subjects the artifact to cosmic signals from UNIT's most powerful deep space scanning satellite. This causes a violent energy release that kills her assistant, Janice. The energy unit has disappeared.
A containment team, led by a psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
UNIT operative named Lockwood, has been dispatched. Among Lockwood's abilities is the ability to access all information from any computer mainframe in the world with his mind.
They soon learn that the Nestene energy unity has taken on a mobile form, and that there is an Auton
Auton
The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and adversaries of the Doctor. First appearing in Jon Pertwee's first serial as the Doctor, Spearhead from Space in 1970, they were the first monsters on the show to be presented in colour.Autons...
copy of senior archivist Graham Winslet. The real Winslet is still alive, his mind being used by the Autons as a resource of information. The energy unit then merges with the Auton Winslet.
Several dormant Autons in the Warehouse come back to life and the building becomes a battlefield. They are eventually defeated with the weapon created by the Doctor
Third Doctor
The Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
and Liz Shaw
Liz Shaw (Doctor Who)
Dr. Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw is a fictional character played by Caroline John in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs...
in Spearhead from Space. The Auton Winslet then liquefies and escapes through a ventilation shaft.
Auton 2: Sentinel
Two years after the Warehouse incident, a lorry transporting AutonAuton
The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and adversaries of the Doctor. First appearing in Jon Pertwee's first serial as the Doctor, Spearhead from Space in 1970, they were the first monsters on the show to be presented in colour.Autons...
s from the Warehouse to another UNIT
UNIT
UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
facility is hijacked by its own cargo. Meanwhile, Lockwood is troubled by extremely active dreams. UNIT learns that the transfer of the Autons was authorized by Lockwood. When he later remembers signing the transportation docket, it becomes evident that the Nestene Consciousness is using Lockwood's psychic abilities to their own ends.
UNIT's Internal Security Division launches an investigation on Lockwood, pairing him with another psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
operative named Natasha Alexander. While Lockwood's abilities are owed to an alien implant, Natasha claims to have been psychic since birth.
The escaped Autons are traced to Sentinel Island. There the Auton Winslet has installed himself as the local vicar. He has brainwashed most of the island's inhabitants and the Autons have killed those who resisted. They are using the combined mental energy of the church's congregation to awaken a Nestene creature buried beneath.
There are dormant Nestenes lying underground around the world. They were put in place before the development of the human race. Their locations have become known to humanity as holy sites and are connected by ley line
Ley line
Ley lines are alleged alignments of a number of places of geographical and historical interest, such as ancient monuments and megaliths, natural ridge-tops and water-fords...
s.
When Lockwood and Natasha arrive at the church, they succeed in reviving the Nestene. The Nestene attempts to awaken the others. Lockwood tries to defeat it, but instead absorbs the creature into his own mind.
Auton 3
Lockwood and Natasha have returned from Sentinel Island, coming on shore in the town of Millhampton. Computers around the world are failing. They are being invaded by the Nestene Consciousness through Lockwood's implant.Meanwhile, the entire population of Millhampton has disappeared. They have been absorbed into the mind of another revived Nestene below the city. The only survivor is the real Winslet, who is still being used by the Nestenes at the local psychiatric hospital.
Lockwood and Natasha are both being used by another psychic UNIT
UNIT
UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
operative named Palmer to lead them to the heart of the Nestene activity. Palmer monitors their movements through a constant link with Natasha's mind.
Meanwhile, Natasha is used by the Nestenes to lure Lockwood to the hospital, which the Autons are using as the centre of their operation. There the Auton Winslet is trying to free the Nestene energy from Lockwood's mind so it can infect every computer in the world and revive all the dormant Nestene creatures. Lockwood resists by convincing himself that everything he sees is a dream.
When Dr Arnold arrives, his resolve is broken. He is then forced to sacrifice his own life to destroy the Nestene plan.
Trivia and continuity
- Auton was originally intended to include the BrigadierBrigadier Lethbridge-StewartBrigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Nicholas Courtney...
, but actor Nicholas CourtneyNicholas CourtneyWilliam Nicholas Stone Courtney was an English television actor, most famous for playing Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
had to decline due to the fact he was ill during production. The character of the Brigadier was replaced by Lockwood, who would also appear in the next two films. - In Auton 2: Sentinel, it is revealed that Lockwood is actually the codename of the otherwise unnamed UNIT Operative 8954B.
- The call sign Greyhound Leader, normally used by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, is used by three different characters in the trilogy: Lockwood (Auton), Colonel Wilson (Auton 2: Sentinel) and Ross Palmer (Auton 3: Awakening).
- A spoof of these dramas, titled "The Auton Diaries", is included on the VHS and DVD releases of Auton 3: Awakening. The plot involves an out of work Auton finding new employment at BBV.
- BBV's Do You Have a Licence to Save this Planet includes an Auton 3-style Auton.
- Nicholas BriggsNicholas BriggsNicholas Briggs is a British actor and writer, predominantly associated with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and its various spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Daleks. Briggs sometimes uses the pseudonym Arthur Wallis...
, who directed the first two films and wrote all three, would go on to play the voices of the Daleks and Cybermen in the 2005 revival. - In a chase scene about 13 minutes into Auton 3: Awakening, the Autons have shadows longer than their own bodies, the sun being low in the sky. However, 10 seconds later they are seen with much shorter shadows, revealing that different parts of the chase were filmed at significantly different times of day.