SPEARHEAD FROM SPACE

BY: ROBERT HOLMES

EPISODE 3

Original Air Date: 17 January, 1970
5:15pm - 5:40pm

1: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE

(RANSOME walks over to the set of figures on their ledge, looking at them in puzzlement. He then turns and walks over to another piece of alien machinery.
Behind him, one of the figures moves and quietly steps down off the ledge. It raises its right hand and, with a buzzing sound, starts to move towards the man.
As it does so, the fingers of its right hand drop down on a hinge. RANSOME alerted, slowly turns round. His mouth drops and he looks terrified when he sees the stalking mannequin before him. From a cavity within the exposed right hand a small w*apon emerges. RANSOME gives a cry and runs across the room. The creature aims and a spark sh**t out of the g*n. The energy bolt hits the wall past which RANSOME has just run and it explodes in a puff of smoke. RANSOME pauses just long enough to look at the effects of the w*apon and then he dives out of the room. The mannequin runs after him with surprising agility.)

2: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. OFFICE LANDING

(RANSOME runs along the landing to the exit door, crying out in panic as he goes. The creature is hot on his heels.)

3: EXT. AUTO PLASTICS. YARD

(RANSOME reaches the outside staircase to the yard and starts to run down as fast as he can. He pauses near the bottom and looks up to see the mannequin emerge onto the upper landing. The creature aims at RANSOME as he jumps onto a ledge and behind a concrete buttress. However both RANSOME and his pursuer hears voices approaching.)

HIBBERT: (OOV.) ... all those people.

(It is HIBBERT and SCOBIE with CHANNING following behind them who all walk past RANSOMES hiding place.)

MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: It seems awfully deserted.

(HIBBERT feels the back of his neck as he walks.)

HIBBERT: We’re...turning over to automation, General. It means we can keep staff down to a minimum.

MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: Splendid. Don’t get machines going on strike, eh? (Laughs.)

(As they move off, RANSOME takes the opportunity to run from his hiding place and in the opposite direction. CHANNING stops and looks up at the waiting creature on the top of the staircase. A telepathic message seems to be received by it and it lowers its head and arm. CHANNING moves on and the creature walks backwards into the factory. RANSOME, badly shaken, checks that he is safe and moves off as fast as he can.)

4: EXT. AUTO PLASTICS. FRONT ENTRANCE

(A security guard salutes SCOBIE and his two hosts at the factory entrance.)

HIBBERT: Your car is waiting for you, General.

MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: Well, goodbye, Mr. Channing. I hope the replica turns out well. It’s been a most interesting afternoon.

(He holds his hand out for CHANNING to shake but he places his hands behind his back.)

CHANNING: Goodbye, sir.

(HIBBERT takes the GENERAL’S hand instead.)

HIBBERT: It was very good of you to come down here, General. I know how busy you must be.

MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: My pleasure, gentlemen.

(He walks towards his car.)

MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: Oh, er, by the way, any chance of seeing the model you’re making of me, before it’s, er, sent to Madame Tussaud’s?

CHANNING: Yes, we’ll arrange that.

5: EXT. AUTO PLASTICS. BACK WALL

(RANSOME climbs over the back wall and drops to safety on some grass. Gasping with shock, he takes the briefest of looks back and runs off.)

6: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE

(Their visitor gone, CHANNING and HIBBERT are back in the factory centre. CHANNING is at the communications unit with HIBBERT at his side.)

HIBBERT: How did you know it was Ransome?

CHANNING: I saw him. And he was detected.

(CHANNING activates a control and on the radar-type screen, a red cellular pattern appears.)

CHANNING: That is his brain print.

HIBBERT: What will you do?

CHANNING: Send an Auton.

HIBBERT: (Pained.) But it will k*ll him!

(CHANNING turns and looks intensely at HIBBERT.)

CHANNING: It is necessary, Hibbert. He saw the security area and all this. Think! Think. Then you see that it is necessary.

(HIBBERT stares back and his words become emotionless as he comes once again under CHANNING’S hypnotic control.)

HIBBERT: Yes...necessary. How will it find him?

(CHANNING looks over at the ledge of still figures - the Autons. One of them steps down with a buzzing sound, ready to begin its task.)

7: EXT. OXLEY WOOD

(A UNIT soldier is on patrol next to one of the jeeps. He suddenly hears a strangled cry and looks round to see RANSOME, almost mad with fear, stumbling out of the trees.)

RANSOME: Ah! Ah! Please...please...please, help me, ah!

(He falls into a d*ad faint on the ground.)

8: EXT. SEELEY’S COTTAGE

(SEELEY is chopping wood outside his cottage when MEG returns, wearing a coat and carrying a handbag from a trip out.)

MEG: Just seen more of them soldiers coming through the village.

SEELEY: Still looking for them thunderbolts, I bet.

MEG: They’re saying they found one. That’s how that poor fellow got k*lled.

SEELEY: k*lled? Who got k*lled?

MEG: The soldier who was driving.

(She speaks with lurid relish...)

MEG: They reckon his neck was broke clean through!

SEELEY: Accident or something?

MEG: Hmm! According to the army.

SEELEY: Well then.

MEG: (Unconvinced.) Well, drove right off the road, he did. Something must’ve made him do that.

SEELEY: I’ve never known a woman as fanciful as you, Meg.

MEG: Then why are the soldiers still here, then? Constable Wilkes said that poor boy’s face was terrible to look at. Something must have frightened him dreadful afore he died.

(She goes into the cottage leaving a thoughtful SEELEY behind, lighting his pipe.)

9: INT. UNIT TENT

(RANSOME sits dazed and traumatised in a UNIT tent. CAPTAIN MUNRO and a SERGEANT watch over him. MUNRO tries to force some tea down him.)

CAPTAIN MUNRO: Come on, come on. Try and drink some.

(RANSOME forces the cup into his mouth but RANSOME merely chokes and dribbles on the brew and then stares ahead and rambles...)

RANSOME: No eyes...hair...the stairs...

CAPTAIN MUNRO: What?

RANSOME: Men...creatures!

(His eyes open wide in horror.)

RANSOME: Made in the factory!

CAPTAIN MUNRO: Sergeant, I want this man sent to HQ - right away.

10: INT. UNIT HEADQUARTERS. LABORATORY

(The DOCTOR and LIZ have g*n their examination on the fragments of the sphere. Various pieces of equipment have been cobbled together on one of the lab benches and the DOCTOR, pencil in mouth, sits at one lab unit while LIZ stands over another.)

LIZ: Are you getting a reading?

DOCTOR: No.

(LIZ adjusts a control in temper.)

LIZ: Oh, well that’s it. I can’t think of anything else we can try!

DOCTOR: Well, don’t worry, my dear. We’ve done our best.

(LIZ starts to pace.)

LIZ: I can’t understand it. We’ve tried a dozen different methods of analysis and haven’t identified a single element.

DOCTOR: Yes, what results can you expect with this primitive equipment?

(LIZ is shocked and a little angry at his comment.)

LIZ: Primitive? We’ve got lasers, spectographs, micron probes...

DOCTOR: Yes, yes, yes, yes, I know all that. But what we really need is a...is a lateral molecular rectifier.

LIZ: What on earth’s that?

DOCTOR: Not on Earth unfortunately. But I think I have one in the TARDIS.

(LIZ raises her eyebrows and looks over at the police box in the corner, cocking a thumb at it.)

LIZ: In there?

DOCTOR: Yes. Well, I’m sure I have one somewhere. But I...I’m sure I used one some time in the past - or was it the future?

LIZ: Doctor, you really do have scientific equipment in there?

DOCTOR: My dear Liz, I have an entire laboratory.

(LIZ starts to laugh.)

LIZ: Yes, yes, I’m sure you have!

DOCTOR: No, no, no, it’s true. Well, you think that the TARDIS isn’t big enough, don’t you? That’s because you keep looking at it simply as a police box.

(LIZ laughs again.)

LIZ: Well, it is only a police box!

DOCTOR: Oh no, not once you get inside it, it isn’t. You see, Liz, the TARDIS is dimensionally transcendental.

(LIZ tries to keep a straight face...)

LIZ: Oh...

(...but fails and she grins.)

LIZ: I see.

DOCTOR: Yes, well it would take far too long to try and explain that to you.

(He walks over to the TARDIS.)

DOCTOR: The important thing is that we’ve got to get this material analysed.

LIZ: And you could do that with your equipment?

DOCTOR: Mmm, child’s play. The only trouble is Lethbridge-Stewart has taken away the key and I can’t get inside.

LIZ: Well, I suppose it is your property.

DOCTOR: Yes. Of course, er, there is always the possibility that, er, you might be able to persuade him to part with it.

11: INT. UNIT TENT

(MUNRO is alone in the UNIT tent and speaking on a field telephone to the BRIGADIER.)

CAPTAIN MUNRO: (Into phone.) We’ve drawn a very tight cordon round the area, sir, so if anybody has taken it, they’re not going to get far.
(He listens.) Right, sir, I will.

(He puts the phone down as SEELEY is thrust into the tent by the UNIT SERGEANT.)

SEELEY: Here, what are you doing?

(SEELEY stands uneasily before MUNRO.)

SERGEANT: Civilian here, sir. Wants to know how much reward for finding a “thunderball”.

CAPTAIN MUNRO: (To SEELEY.) What’s your name?

SEELEY: Seeley, sir, Sam Seeley.

(MUNRO sits behind a trestle table and starts to take notes as SEELEY takes his cap off.)

CAPTAIN MUNRO: And where do you live, Mr. Seeley?

SEELEY: Local, sir. Brook cottage.

(MUNRO notes this down.)

CAPTAIN MUNRO: All right, so, you’ve got something to tell us about these meteorites?

SEELEY: (Innocently.) Me, sir?

CAPTAIN MUNRO: You asked if there was a reward for finding one.

SEELEY: Ah, that’s right.

CAPTAIN MUNRO: So you know where to find one?

SEELEY: I never said that, sir.

CAPTAIN MUNRO: Then why are you interested in a reward?

SEELEY: Well...well, in case I might happen come...across one like.

CAPTAIN MUNRO: Where you out the day those meteorites landed?

SEELEY: M’rites? Don’t know about that. Thunderballs I calls them.

CAPTAIN MUNRO: So you were out?

SEELEY: Well, I...might have been. Then again, I might not.

(MUNRO starts to get impatient.)

CAPTAIN MUNRO: Did you see any of them land?

(SEELEY remains quiet. MUNRO gets up and stands behind him.)

CAPTAIN MUNRO: Mr. Seeley, I want the truth!

12: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE

(CHANNING adjusts a control on the communications unit. He stares into space and frowns, again as if in telepathic communication.)

CHANNING: The Autons have lost Ransome. He is beyond their range.

HIBBERT: Suppose he goes to UNIT?

CHANNING: Do you think they will believe him?

HIBBERT: They might come here.

(CHANNING thinks.)

CHANNING: Then you will deal with them.

(CHANNING walks over to the t*nk machine.)

CHANNING: Soon it will be the final phase of the plan.

HIBBERT: But there’s still one energy unit missing.

CHANNING: The swarm leader. We will find it.

HIBBERT: Well, what about Ransome? Is he safe now?

CHANNING: Unless he returns to the area. If he does, the Autons will track him down and destroy him.

13: INT. UNIT HEADQUARTERS. BRIGADIER’S OFFICE

(RANSOME sits with the BRIGADIER in his office. He has recovered some but not all of his composure as he relates his story.)

RANSOME: Well, the face was smooth, shiny...it was plastic! Made in the factory...

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Why do you say that?

RANSOME: Well, just before this...this thing came after me, I...I passed a whole line of them. They were all exactly the same.

(The BRIGADIER gets up from behind his desk.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: It’s quite a story, Mr. Ransome.

(There is a knock on his door and opening it, LIZ steps in.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Yes?

LIZ: Can I have a word with you, Brigadier?

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Not now, I’m busy.

LIZ: This is rather important. You see, the Doctor thinks th...

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (Interrupts, curtly.) Miss Shaw, your work in this laboratory is part of one big exercise. You’ll have to be patient.

(He goes over to RANSOME. A fuming LIZ goes to follow but gives up and stands behind the BRIGADIER as he sits on the edge of the desk in front of RANSOME.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: You say this, er, creature was armed?

RANSOME: It...it took off its hand...

(LIZ glances down at the desk and sees the TARDIS key lying there.)

RANSOME: ...a...a...and there was a sort of tube and...the whole of the arm appeared to be hollow.

(LIZ makes sure that she isn’t observed and picks up the key. With a knowing look, she leaves the office as RANSOME continues his story.)

RANSOME: Well, you should see the hole it blasted in the wall!

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Then there was an expl*si*n?

RANSOME: Yes, yes, I...I suppose so. Not loud - but it...it was more like a sort of “woosh” that a rocket makes.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: And this didn’t attract anybody’s attention?

RANSOME: Well, I didn’t see a living soul in that part of the factory. They seem to have sacked all the workers. It’s completely automated now.

(The BRIGADIER gets up and walks behind the frightened man.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: How long have you been away in America, Mr. Ransome?

RANSOME: Er, six months.

(The BRIGADIER re-takes his chair.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: None of this was in evidence before you left? New production lines, changing over to automation? Not steps that occur overnight, are they?

RANSOME: (Impatiently.) I agree with you, sir, but it’s happened!

(The BRIGADIER glances over his desk top and sees that something is missing...)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: The key...

14: INT. UNIT HEADQUARTERS. LABORATORY

(Back in the lab, LIZ hands over the key to the DOCTOR. He takes it with a smile.)

DOCTOR: I’m afraid he’s going to be awfully cross with you.

LIZ: Well, if you’re quick, he mightn’t even miss it.

(The DOCTOR smiles and turns to the TARDIS. He inserts the key and the door opens.)

LIZ: Hey, it didn’t turn when the Brigadier tried to open it.

DOCTOR: Well, that’s because the lock has a metabolism detector.

(He walks into the TARDIS and slams the door shut. At that moment, the BRIGADIER runs into the lab. LIZ turns round, somewhat guiltily and nonchalantly leans against the TARDIS.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Miss Shaw, where’s that key?

(LIZ smiles slightly but doesn’t answer.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: You’ve given it to him.

LIZ: He needed some equipment.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Equipment? I had no idea you could be so gullible. That’s an excuse. We shan’t see him again.

LIZ: (Dismissive.) Oh, what do you mean?

(The TARDIS dematerialisation sound begins, but it is staggered and hesitant compared to its usual tone.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Listen!

(LIZ backs hastily away from the TARDIS and they both look up at the flashing roof light.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: He’s going.

(However the sounds from the TARDIS continue to sound slower and more tortured and it is clear that all is not well. Eventually, there is the sound of a muffled expl*si*n and smoke starts to pour out of the cracks in the closed door. The BRIGADIER and a severe looking LIZ stare at the TARDIS as the door opens and a sheepish and coughing DOCTOR emerges from the smoke.)

DOCTOR: Just...testing. I... (Coughs.) ...wanted to see if the controls...

LIZ: Doctor - you tricked me.

(The DOCTOR coughs again and pulls the door to.)

DOCTOR: Yes...the temptation was too strong, my dear.

(He walks over to a lab stool and sits down forlornly.)

DOCTOR: It’s just that I couldn’t bear the thought of being tied to one planet and one time. (Sighs.) I’m sorry. (Quietly.) It won’t happen again.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: It won’t? Give me the key, Doctor.

(He holds out his hand. The DOCTOR looks up at him like a naughty schoolboy.)

DOCTOR: Must I? Well, the TARDIS no longer works, as you saw.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Well, will you give me your word not to try to escape again?

DOCTOR: I couldn’t escape now if I wanted to. (Angrily.) They’ve trapped me here!

LIZ: Who have?

(The DOCTOR doesn’t answer the question directly but gets up and starts to walk across to a lab bench.)

DOCTOR: That mean, despicable, underhanded lot! They've changed the dematerialisation code.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: The what?

DOCTOR: The demater...

(He gives up.)

DOCTOR: It doesn’t matter, you wouldn’t understand anyway.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Well, there’s a great deal that I don’t understand. But one thing I did understand, Doctor, was that you promised your help.

DOCTOR: Yes, well, I’ve tried to help you the best way I can, but I need more evidence, more to go on.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Well, I think I might be able to help you.

15: EXT. SEELEY’S COTTAGE

(MEG walks out of the cottage and looks round.)

MEG: Sam?

(Seeing no one is about, she creeps towards the out-house, and pushing the door open, pulls the trunk out.)

16: INT. UNIT HEADQUARTERS. BRIGADIER’S OFFICE

(The DOCTOR and LIZ have joined the BRIGADIER in his office as he continues his questioning of RANSOME.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: What made you go back to the factory?

RANSOME: Well, I wanted to try to talk to George on his own. And I wanted to get a look at that security area.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: You think he’s afraid of somebody?

RANSOME: I don’t know, but...but this other man who came in...

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (Interrupts.) Did you find out who the other man was?

RANSOME: Yes, his name’s Channing. Now, he seemed to have some sort of...mental hold over George, almost as if he was hypnotised.

DOCTOR: Do you know, Brigadier, a think perhaps a visit to that plastics factory would be in order, don’t you?

17: INT. UNIT TENT

(As SEELEY’S interrogation continues, he starts to get agitated...)

SEELEY: If I don’t get home soon, I’m gonna be in terrible trouble wi’missus! Let me go, sir.

(He starts to get up off his chair but MUNRO pushes him back down.)

CAPTAIN MUNRO: Don’t worry, Mr. Seeley, we’ll let your wife know where you are. Now, about the meteorites?

SEELEY: Look, sir, it’s a mistake. I haven’t seen nothing.

CAPTAIN MUNRO: If you tell us where it is, you can go home.

(SEELEY considers this.)

SEELEY: Worth a bit of money, I reckon.

CAPTAIN MUNRO: So you do know where there is one?

SEELEY: I might.

CAPTAIN MUNRO: Seeley, I’m not going to bargain with you. You tell me everything you know, and tell me quick!

18: EXT. SEELEY’S COTTAGE

(MEG inserts a key into the lock of the trunk. After a struggle, she opens it and hears the muffled signal. She pulls the blanket back and sees the red flashing sphere. She puts her hand to her mouth in shock.)

19: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE

(At the factory, CHANNING and HIBBERT look at the flashing radar-type scanner on the communications unit. CHANNING in particular is staring at the screen in intense concentration...)

CHANNING: It’s less than two miles away.

HIBBERT: Aren’t you going to arrange to collect it?

CHANNING: That is being done...

20: EXT. OXLEY WOOD

(In the woods, an Auton turns slightly as it receives the signal and starts to scan for its exact source. Located, it starts to move through the ferns and bracken.)

21: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE

(CHANNING and HIBBERT continue to look at the monitor.)

HIBBERT: Suppose it stops signalling again?

(CHANNING seems to be able to see beyond the screen and through the Auton’s eyes.)

CHANNING: We’re nearly there. Through the trees...across the road...the swarm leader is held in that small building!

22: EXT. SEELEY’S COTTAGE

(In the trees at the back of SEELEY’S cottage, the bushes part. The Auton has arrived...)

23: INT. UNIT TENT

(In the tent, SEELEY has finally confessed to an incredulous MUNRO...)

CAPTAIN MUNRO: In a trunk?!

SEELEY: Couldn’t think of no other place to hide it.

CAPTAIN MUNRO: Don't you realise these things might be dangerous?

(MUNRO hears movement outside the tent and he, SEELEY and the SERGEANT watch as the BRIGADIER, the DOCTOR, LIZ and RANSOME enter. MUNRO stands to attention.)

CAPTAIN MUNRO: This man, sir. He’s found one of the meteorites.

(The BRIGADIER gives SEELEY the briefest of looks.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (To MUNRO.) Where is it?

CAPTAIN MUNRO: At his house, sir. I was about to take a party and collect it.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Right. We’ll go in my car. You know the way, Munro?

CAPTAIN MUNRO: Yes, sir.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (To RANSOME.) Oh, Mr. Ransome, would you mind staying here?

(RANSOME nods his agreement and moves to sit down. The BRIGADIER starts to leave.)

DOCTOR: Brigadier, I think we’ll come with you, if you don’t mind.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Good, might be as well.

(The DOCTOR, LIZ and the BRIGADIER leave. MUNRO gives a last order.)

CAPTAIN MUNRO: Sergeant, put Seeley in the truck and keep an eye on him.

(MUNRO follows the other three.)

24: EXT. SEELEY’S COTTAGE

(In something of a panic, MEG recovers the sphere and closes the trunk. As she does so, their dog starts to bark incessantly nearby...)

MEG: Oh, be quiet, Barney.

(She pushes the trunk back into the out-house as the dog continues to bark.)

MEG: Stop that row!

(She closes the out-house door as the dog suddenly yelps and goes quiet. A look of fear appears on MEG’S face. Suddenly there is an almighty sound of glass breaking from inside the house followed by similar crashes and bangs. Now MEG looks really concerned...)

MEG: Barney, what are y’at?

(Gathering her courage, MEG moves towards the cottage and steps inside.)

25: INT. SEELEY’S COTTAGE

(MEG enters a little parlour, looking round in fear. The sound of a ransack continues to come from the next room.)

MEG: Sam, is that you?

(The noise continues. She goes to the doorway to the next room.)

MEG: Sam, what do you reckon you’re playing at?

(MEG sees the blue boiler-suited figure stood with its back to her in the room.)

MEG: (Scared.) Who are you? What do you want?

(The Auton turns to reveal its blank plastic face. MEG lets out a terrified scream.)

MEG: You get away! My husband’s about, you know!

(She flees from the cottage, crying and screaming all the way. The Auton follows her.)

26: EXT. SEELEY’S COTTAGE

(MEG runs towards the out-house. She reaches through the door and pulls out a g*n. She opens it and inserts two cartridges into the barrel as fast as she can. All the time, the buzz of the approaching Auton gets louder. MEG finishes loading the g*n and starts as she sees the Auton walking out of the cottage and approaching her. She raises the g*n.)

MEG: You saw me load it. Get out of here or I’ll blow a hole in you.

(The Auton continues to approach...)

MEG: Get back! I’m not joking! Get back!

(She fires the two sh*ts. They h*t the Auton square in the chest but they seem to have no impact on the creature. It doesn’t even stagger back under the force of the sh*t. With a burnt hole in the front of its suit, it continues to move forward.)

MEG: No, you get back. No...oh...

27: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE

(In the factory, CHANNING continues to see events...)

CHANNING: The signal is muffled. Search! We must find it! We must find it.

(HIBBERT stares at him...)

28: EXT. SEELEY’S COTTAGE

(MEG lies on the ground. The Auton has returned to the cottage from wherein the sound of the ransack continues. Giving up in the house, it comes out back towards the out-house. It turns to scan and then slams open the door and enters.)

29: INT. SEELEY’S COTTAGE

(The contents of the cottage lie in broken ruins. There is a knock at the front door followed by a second when there is no answer.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (OOV.) Mrs. Seeley? Mrs. Seeley?

(The BRIGADIER and his party enter the cottage through the back room and clamber over the devastation.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (To MUNRO.) Check the...

(He stops as they all hear noise from the out house. The BRIGADIER and MUNRO run out of the back of the cottage.)

30: EXT. SEELEY’S COTTAGE

(Outside the Auton has retrieved the trunk from the out-house and opened it. The BRIGADIER and MUNRO stop in their tracks and instantly go for their g*n.
The Auton turns and looks at them as the two soldiers open f*re. It advances on them with the b*ll*ts spraying off its chest.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Get a platoon out here - fast!

31: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE

CHANNING: Recall! Recall!

HIBBERT: What’s happening? Channing?

(CHANNING almost looks pained.)

CHANNING: UNIT...too many.

(His eyes suddenly blaze.)

CHANNING: Recall!

32: EXT. SEELEY’S COTTAGE

(The DOCTOR and LIZ run out of the cottage as the Auton turns and flees, running at a sprint into the woods.

33: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE

CHANNING: Recall!

(CHANNING suddenly slumps slightly, as if exhausted.)

HIBBERT: Channing?

(CHANNING seems to gather his strength.)

CHANNING: There were too many.

HIBBERT: What?

CHANNING: The swarm leader has been taken by UNIT soldiers.

HIBBERT: How do you know that?

CHANNING: I know.

HIBBERT: Why didn’t the Auton destroy them?

CHANNING: Because I recalled it. It is too soon for a major battle. We must delay UNIT.

(Another signal comes from the communications unit.)

CHANNING: Ransome has returned to the area. We shall also deal with him.

34: EXT. SEELEY’S COTTAGE

(A blanket has been placed over MEG to keep her warm as LIZ tends to her with the BRIGADIER watching. The DOCTOR examines the sphere.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: How is she?

LIZ: All right as far as I can tell. I think we ought to get her to hospital though.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Right. I’ll lay on an ambulance.

(He leaves to carry out his task. The DOCTOR continues to look at the sphere in fascination.)

DOCTOR: You know, this really is most interesting. We must examine it in the laboratory.

LIZ: What do you make of it?

DOCTOR: Well, I was right about the shape, wasn’t I? The signal must have been muffled by the metal of that trunk. It’s most interesting.

LIZ: Suppose it explodes - like the other one?

DOCTOR: There’s no reason why it should as long as we treat it gently. Unless, of course...

LIZ: Unless what?

DOCTOR: It has a built-in destruct impulse. In that case, we’ll just have to risk it.

LIZ: (Fearfully.) Doctor, suppose that...thing comes back for it?

35: EXT. UNIT TENT

(Outside the UNIT tent, a plastic hand s*ab at the canvas and slices a long hole downwards.)

36: INT. UNIT TENT

(Inside, RANSOME, lying on a bench stares up in horror as the gap widens and one of his plastic tormentors steps through. Its fingers drop down to reveal its hand g*n.)

37: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE

(CHANNING also “sees” these events.)

CHANNING: Destroy!

38: INT. UNIT TENT

(The Auton receives the command.)

39: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE

CHANNING: Total destruction!

40: INT. UNIT TENT

(The Auton fires and an expl*si*n erupts from RANSOME. He and the bench fall over. The Auton fires again and this time, the expl*si*n seems to retract on itself. When it has disappeared, there is no trace of the body. The Auton turns and walks out of the hole in the back of the tent.)

41: EXT. SEELEY’S COTTAGE

(MUNRO returns to the cottage where the BRIGADIER has rejoined LIZ and the DOCTOR who are re-packing the sphere in the trunk.)

CAPTAIN MUNRO: The creature got away into the woods, sir.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Munro, I want a cordon round that plastics factory.

CAPTAIN MUNRO: Very good, sir.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: That creature, robot or whatever it was, obviously came from there. Mr. Ransome described something very like it.

(MUNRO runs off to carry out the order.)

DOCTOR: Yes, and until we know a bit more about these things, I think we should move very cautiously.

42: INT. UNIT TENT

(Later, the party have returned to the tent and found out that RANSOME is missing. The DOCTOR and MUNRO examine the rip in the tent wall while the SERGEANT makes his impassioned excuses to the BRIGADIER.)

SERGEANT: But he couldn’t just have walked out, sir. I’ve had a guard on the front of the tent all the time!

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (Angrily.) Never mind about the front! What about the back? That’s how he got away.

CAPTAIN MUNRO: He must have cut his way out.

DOCTOR: No, he didn’t cut his way out, but somebody cut their way in. This canvas has been ripped from the outside.

(The BRIGADIER looks accusingly at the SERGEANT.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: So they took him from under our very noses?

DOCTOR: If Mr. Ransome is anywhere, he’ll be at that plastics factory. So I suggest that we go there immediately.

43: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. MACHINE ROOM

(The shiny-faced secretary leads the BRIGADIER, LIZ and the DOCTOR through the machine room of the factory. They all take an interest in their surroundings as they go. The area is still empty of people.)

44: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. OFFICE LANDING

(The secretary goes into HIBBERT’S office ahead of the others and they wait on the landing for their appointment. Behind the BRIGADIER is a piece of ridge-frosted glass and behind this stands CHANNING. The BRIGADIER senses he is being watched and turns to look. He stares for a moment in recognition at CHANNING who steps away from the glass. The effect is of his face splitting up into myriad strands.)

45: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. MANAGING DIRECTOR’S OFFICE

(The three visitors have been shown into HIBBERT’S office. LIZ and the BRIGADIER sit on the other side of the man’s desk while the DOCTOR stands at the back. HIBBERT is jovial and laughing.)

HIBBERT: What an extraordinary story! What made him say such a thing?

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: We have to check on it, Mr. Hibbert. However extraordinary it may be.

HIBBERT: I’d like to hear him tell this story in front of me.

LIZ: He was coming with us but, unfortunately, he disappeared.

HIBBERT: (Sighs.) Ah, he was a brilliant young man - in many ways.

LIZ: Then why did you dismiss him?

HIBBERT: Oh, he had some...wild scheme for making electronic dolls. The design was quite impractical. He was very unpleasant when I turned him down.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: So you feel he told this story just to cause you trouble?

HIBBERT: I’m afraid so. It must have been praying on his mind.

DOCTOR: What exactly are you making here?

HIBBERT: Er, plastic dolls of course. Er, but our new line is display mannequins for shops. We send them all over the country.

DOCTOR: And can these...”mannequins” actually move?

HIBBERT: Well, they’re flexible, of course. That’s why we’ve captured the market. (Laughs.) But I can assure you, they can’t move on their own!

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: So Ransome may have been simply making trouble?

HIBBERT: I can’t think of another explanation.

(There is an uncomfortable silence, then the DOCTOR steps forward.)

DOCTOR: Yes, well, I’ve...think we’ve seen all we can possibly see here. I’m sorry if we’ve been a nuisance.

(HIBBERT stands.)

HIBBERT: Er, not at all. I’ll see you out.

46: INT. UNIT HEADQUARTERS. LABORATORY

(Back at UNIT HQ, the sphere has been connected to a series of sensors. It flashes away as the DOCTOR looks over the equipment as the BRIGADIER tells LIZ what he saw at the factory.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: It was the man who led the raid on the hospital. I recognised him from his photograph.

LIZ: And what will you do now?

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: I’ve put a call through to General Scobie. If I can get his authority, I’ll surround the place and raid it.

(A print-out starts to emerge from the machine the DOCTOR is looking at.)

DOCTOR: Here, come over here, you two. Look at this.

(They do so.)

LIZ: Have you got something?

DOCTOR: Mmm.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: And what does that thing do?

DOCTOR: It measures mental activity. It’s fascinating, isn’t it?

LIZ: You mean...there’s some form of intelligence inside that globe?

DOCTOR: Yes. You know, it’s as I suspected. This globe is only a container. I wonder whether we can communicate with it?

(A nearby tannoy buzzes and the BRIGADIER goes over to answer it.)

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (Into tannoy.) Yes?

UNIT SOLDIER: (OOV: Over tannoy.) Your call to General Scobie, sir.

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (Into tannoy.) Good.

(He picks up a phone.)

47: INT. SCOBIE’S HOUSE

(GENERAL SCOBIE stands in the hallway of his elegant Georgian house.)

MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: (Into phone.) What’s that, Stewart? (He listens.) Auto Plastics? Yes, I was there about two hours - why?

48: INT. UNIT HEADQUARTERS. LABORATORY

BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (Into phone.) I wondered if you’d noticed anything irregular, sir? We’ve had some rather strange reports about that factory.

49: INT. SCOBIE’S HOUSE

MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: (Into phone.) Nothing at all. (He listens.) No, perfectly normal. Yes, pleasant couple of fellows, I thought. (Listens.)
Right. (Listens.) I see. Well, that sounds pretty serious. (Listens.) Yes, I’ll come and see you straight away. (Listens.) I’ll give you all the support you need.

(There is a knock at his front door and he briefly glances out of his window and then...)

MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: (Into phone.) Well, goodbye, Stewart.

(He puts the phone down and walks to his front door. He opens it and stands in shock - outside is himself. Shiny-faced and expressionless but nevertheless a perfect facsimile of SCOBIE. It starts to enter the house and the real GENERAL backs off. The facsimile continues to walk towards its original...)

MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: No...no!
{"type": "series", "show": "Doctor Who", "episode": "07x03 - Spearhead from Space - part 3"}