June 7th, 2013
109 comments
We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
Doctor Who: Spearhead From Space Blu-ray
Doctor Who: Spearhead From Space Blu-ray
Exile! The Time Lords have banished the newly regenerated Doctor to Earth.
But The Doctor isn’t the only alien to have arrived, as a swarm of meteorites have crashed into the sleepy English countryside, bringing with them a terrible new threat to mankind.
As the Nestene plan takes shape, UNIT, the Doctor and his newly appointed scientific advisor, Liz Shaw, race against time to stop humanity from being replaced by a terrifying plastic facsimile race.
With an Auton army on the rise, and no TARDIS to help him, could The Doctor’s latest incarnation be over before it has truly begun…?
Contents…
- Full HD remaster of 4×25 minute episodes.
- A Dandy and a Clown – exclusive documentary looking at the life and career of Jon Pertwee, with contributions from actors Katy Manning, Judy Cornwell, David Jacobs, Geoffrey Bayldon and Kenneth Earle, Doctor Who writer and script editor Terrence Dicks, and long-time friend Stuart Money.
- Carry On: the life of Caroline John – a tribute to the actress who played the Third Doctor’s companion Liz Shaw.
- Title sequence raw material – raw, mute test and build-up material produced during creation of the Jon Pertwee title sequence.
- Restoration comparison – This release was mastered in 2K from the original 16mm camera negatives and interpos prints for the best possible quality. This short feature compares the results against previous versions and looks at some of the problems encountered during the remastering.
- Programme subtitles.
- Digitally remastered picture and sound quality.
- Coming Soon trailer (in Standard Definition).
- Reversible cover, with the artwork in the standard Doctor Who DVD template on the reverse.
Categorised under: 
The Doctor Who Site
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Merchandise
Flickr
YouTube
RORY DOCTOR RIVER POND
September 4th, 2013 - 1:29pmrented this off lovefilm the other week. didn’t think it was as good as the other classics, but i liked the way they presented pertwee and i did like the character of liz
Sammi Carter
July 15th, 2013 - 12:59pmWhat’s the coming soon trailer on the Blu ray release?
celestial toymaker
July 15th, 2013 - 2:20pmthe green death se
Sammi Carter
July 16th, 2013 - 10:27amI been looking for the DVD trailer everywhere and it’s not showing up
seanwray1
July 11th, 2013 - 10:41amGot an email today to say mines been dispatched so should be here tomorrow 🙂
Some bloke
July 12th, 2013 - 2:23pmsame, but mine hasn’t arrived today. Fingers crossed for tomorrow 🙂
Some bloke
July 13th, 2013 - 12:43pmUH! Bring on MONDAY!
KRYNOIDY
June 10th, 2013 - 1:55pmDoes it come with the bonus features originally on the special edition DVD?
celestial toymaker
June 10th, 2013 - 5:33pmNo
KRYNOIDY
June 13th, 2013 - 12:49pmThat’s strange
celestial toymaker
June 14th, 2013 - 7:03pmI know to put completely different ones on is strange
CelestialAgent
June 21st, 2013 - 10:55amNo, it’s capitalism.
50th doctor who
June 21st, 2013 - 1:31pmwhats that mean?
drjakeyoung
June 21st, 2013 - 1:34pmEverything needs to make a profit. basically everything is about making money.
Douglas Fir
June 8th, 2013 - 12:54pmWhat’s the image in the thumbnail at the top of the story? Possible slipcase?
booboo
June 11th, 2013 - 9:38amno its just a holding image
videogamemad00
June 7th, 2013 - 4:36pmIs the reversable the same cover art?
MasterKasterborous
June 7th, 2013 - 4:54pmI’m not sure if the cover is reversable as it is not part of the DVD range.
booboo
June 7th, 2013 - 4:55pmyes its reversible
MasterKasterborous
June 7th, 2013 - 7:20pmOh, sorry I missed that part of the description.
Mister
June 7th, 2013 - 4:16pmIt looks good for the first ever Who episode in colour!
Doctor Rules
June 7th, 2013 - 4:04pmof all doctor who to pick, why ahs this one been chsoen to be on blu ray?
videogamemad00
June 7th, 2013 - 4:14pmIt is the only classic that can be on blu-ray.
The Monitor
June 7th, 2013 - 8:42pmEven if all were available to be released, it is still a very good choice. Spearhead was the 8th story to be released on video after:
1) Revenge [twice]
2) Brain
3) Pyramids [twice]
4) Seeds/Death [twice]
5) Five
6) Robots
7) Day
8) Death/Daleks
More relevant to most of you it was 3rd to be released on DVD after
1) Five
2) Robots
So the comment “of all Doctor Who to pick”, it could have been the first anyway. It is an extremely good Doctor Who story.
josh smith
June 19th, 2013 - 5:27pmits my lest fav dr who episode of jon pertwee era
drjakeyoung
June 7th, 2013 - 2:39pmI love everything about that cover! The only thing bugging me though is the fact that it doesn’t say “the Jon Pertwee years” on the front cover, like the Australian version.
Some bloke
June 7th, 2013 - 9:29amI LOVE THAT COVER! IT’S GORGEOUS!
Vortexsurfer
June 7th, 2013 - 9:19amTo clear things up, this is one of only TWO classic stories that was shot entirely on film and so would benefit from blu-ray release. The other is the TV Movie, but that does not currently exist as a HD master so it would have to be reassembled from the original rushes (if they still exist) much the same way as Star Trek Next Generation. I doubt the BBC would take the trouble.
bryan simcott
June 7th, 2013 - 9:31amJust to add to the excellent explanation from VORTEXSURFER. THE BBC dont own or even have the Film material for the TV MOVIE. UNIVERSAL have them and bar the Doctor all the elements and characters from the TVM are owned by UNIVERSAL*. If you want a blu ray or an extended edit or a better quality version then direct your Letters and Emalis to UNIVERSAL TV AS its not up to the BBC on this one
PS: thats whay Big Finish can not sue Chang les or Grace of the TVM version of the Master.
drjakeyoung
June 7th, 2013 - 10:58amoh, i think there are 4 classic story’s that can have this done. You just named 2 and the other 2 are the 60s dalek movies.
Shane
June 7th, 2013 - 2:35pmRe: drjakeyoung: Those movies have also been released on Bluray this year but are not part of Doctor Who Canon. they are based on the original Doctor Who but are Dr Who rather than Doctor Who and The character of The Doctor (Dr Who in the movies) is a human inventor not a timelord.
drjakeyoung
June 7th, 2013 - 2:51pmalthough it’s not cannon, like scream of the shalka i still consider it part of classic Dr who.
celestial toymaker
June 7th, 2013 - 3:44pmscream of the shalka could also be considered for blu ray
MasterKasterborous
June 7th, 2013 - 4:57pmI’m not sure if it could as the frame per second rate is pretty low and it isn’t the highest quality.
Anonymous
June 7th, 2013 - 11:07pmActually on the above comment, the BBC has recovered most of the rights for The Movie again. The various characters associated with it have been featured in the likes of the DWM comics. This was really a problem at one point, but isn’t so much these days. Most of the rights are back now, although they don’t have the film footage.
Skaro
June 4th, 2013 - 9:02pmI wonder what the second classic blu ray will be
The Greater Intelligence
June 4th, 2013 - 9:14pmNone, this one was the only story to be completely on film, so it is the only story that would work.
Skaro
June 5th, 2013 - 8:00amNo they will make second one because it’s a new player and everyone will be selling DVD players
josh smith
June 5th, 2013 - 5:36pmmost people don’t have blue-ray players. DVD are percelty fine.
booboo
June 5th, 2013 - 5:38pmand Bluray players still play DVD;s
Unlike DVD’ players playing VHS Tapes
The Monitor
June 6th, 2013 - 9:03pmWe were conned with some of the early DVDs, whereby the VHS masters where used for DVD, so you gained nothing except saving half the space. It was infuriating getting DVDs with two episodes on with the same tape marks on as the VHS. Most of you would not have been born to endure these issues.
If anything else comes out on Blu-Ray, it’d be DVD quality re-releases which I cannot see the BBC doing or many people buying as there is no net gain. A blu-ray play upscales DVD anyway, so having a blu-ray version achieves nothing. Spearhead is it!!!
drjakeyoung
June 6th, 2013 - 9:08pmthe 2 60s dalek movies can and have been released in true blu-ray. Another possibility is the 96 movie, as theoretically that can be turned into blu-ray. And the same with SJA series 3 and dreamland, they can all be released on true blu-ray but have not as of yet.
The Monitor
June 7th, 2013 - 6:44amNope, not true Blu-Ray. Spearhead was filmed on 16mm like films are. No other classic Who story was. It was filmed on videotape of which the number of lines (and therefore the effective no of pixels) are limited.
Unless it was filmed on 16mm film rather than videotape it will not benefit by going to Blu-Ray.
drjakeyoung
June 7th, 2013 - 8:57ambut the movie was. And if you consider the classic series 1963-89 then the 96 movie isn’t part of that.
drjakeyoung
June 7th, 2013 - 9:14amhere is the following list of dr who episodes that can be released in proper HD but have not as of yet:
The movie (1996)
SJA series 3 (2009)
dreamland (2009)
The Monitor
June 7th, 2013 - 5:04pmI had not considered “The Movie”. It was filmed on 35mm film so should also be a contender for Blu-Ray. It certainly needs it because the normal and SE versions do not look good on a 40in screen, whereas Spearhead does.
It is ironic that Spearhead was filmed on 16mm because of the cost, when you think that season 6’s declining ratings were because of b&w, which was so much cheaper than colour.
So not only was SfS colour, but on film. We are so lucky…Just wished it had been all of season 7-my favourite.
Skaro
June 7th, 2013 - 11:08pmIf they could release anything what would you want?
Anonymous
June 7th, 2013 - 11:09pmIt was because of a strike, they had to go on location for everything and so used film for everything.
Nicholas
June 4th, 2013 - 7:04pmThis cover is better than the one current UK one. Will be ordering this in a few days
josh smith
June 4th, 2013 - 7:36pmi like the UK one better. Its nice and simple
Cyberking281
June 4th, 2013 - 5:40pmNice cover, but its a shame i cant get this because i havent got a blue ray player
Imaginethatnodoor
June 4th, 2013 - 5:21pmNot sure whether you’ve sern booboo. But they’ve released the cover for the green death se
booboo
June 4th, 2013 - 5:23pmyes i put it on the site a few days ago
videogamemad00
June 3rd, 2013 - 5:53pmWill this be on the DVD list or do you just want DVDs on there?
Fezmeister
June 3rd, 2013 - 4:40pmI really like this cover and it’s great to see a Classic episode on Blu-ray, though couldn’t they have placed “The JON PERTWEE Years 1970-74” somewhere other than the bottom-right corner? It’s barely noticeable and looks unnecessary.
drjakeyoung
June 3rd, 2013 - 5:07pmThis is the Australian cover, i think it will be altered slightly for the UK version.
celestial toymaker
June 3rd, 2013 - 6:16pmdont say that. it looks amazing
videogamemad00
June 3rd, 2013 - 6:41pmIt will probably be the same cover art but arranged slightly differently.
WFK DVD Collector 13
May 20th, 2013 - 2:12pmMy birthday wish list is The Ice Warriors, Spearhead From Space Blu-Ray and a Blu-Ray Player 🙂
And just another question, how much better is the picture qulity on the Blu-Ray version, then on the special addition DVD Verson that came with Terror of the Autons ❓
josh smith
June 3rd, 2013 - 6:18pmdp you have A PS3? that has blue-ray
The Monitor
June 3rd, 2013 - 6:57pmI watch VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray. When I watched SfS SE via a Blu-Ray player on a 42in screen I was on the edge of my seat the whole 100 minutes. It was simply awesome. It was, to me, better than any other classic release.
I can only imagine that Blu-Ray on Blu-Ray will be even better, although hard to imagine how. My view is that I watch it too infrequently to notice the difference, but side by side, one would probably be able to tell depending on what detail was being compared.
WFK DVD Collector
June 13th, 2013 - 6:56pmNo I don’t own a ps3, I am getting just a Blu-ray player, nothing special 🙂
Last week though I got Dr. Who and the Daleks & Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD though the post and watched them on a Dell that plays Blu rays, and it was the best qulity picture I’ve ever seen for to films made in 1965 and 1966
WFK DVD Collector 13
June 13th, 2013 - 6:57pmForgot to put 13 at the end of my user name on the last post 😳
matparks08
April 30th, 2013 - 2:33pma cover (of sorts) has appeared on Amazon for this. It still says it has to be confirmed, but I can’t imagine anyone’s gonna be too happy if it stays as it is!
drjakeyoung
April 30th, 2013 - 2:34pmsaw it, it’s the same on all the other websites.
Skaro
June 3rd, 2013 - 4:01pmLooks random on not very good on BBC shop seeing as it the first classic blu rag with a cover
booboo
June 3rd, 2013 - 4:03pmbut that’s not the cover, the cover is above
josh smith
June 4th, 2013 - 7:36pmi really like the other cover
drjakeyoung
April 25th, 2013 - 1:18pmKeep your copies of the spearhead special edition. Its extras aren’t being ported over to the blu ray version. I think its down to they want people that haven’t bought mannequin mania a reason to buy it. It would be a tough sell for those that buy the spearhead blu then want terror but have to buy a version of spearhead with less extras than the superior blu ray version. It’s not the first company that has done this with blu rays.
I am usually the 1st to defend special editions and blu rays, but i have to admit, what is that all that about???!!! So basically we only get 3 extra’s? I have already pre ordered it from BBC shop and will not cancel it, but boy are they milking it with this release. This isn’t aimed at a hardcore fan as we already have a couple of copies of this, and this isn’t aimed at the casual fan or buyer as you can’t get terror of the autons without buying spearhead twice. Unless they decide to release terror separately or do a special edition i can’t see this release doing well at all.
Lachie
April 26th, 2013 - 9:56ammaybe they couldn’t be bothered to use them as extras, i mean it’s not that bad is it? besides it is in HD 1080p for a doctor who classic story i would buy it anyway because of that, think about the exclusive to blu-ray extras on that release that aren’t on the special edition 🙂
Skaro
June 3rd, 2013 - 4:02pmNo they won ‘t buy this!
drjakeyoung
April 23rd, 2013 - 8:45amdo we have any idea for a price for this? Amazon are doing it for £13.99 (which is cheaper than there DVDs!) so will BBC shop be doing it for the same price?
Gordon
April 23rd, 2013 - 7:23am2 items cleared the bbfc yesterday. A Caroline john tribute at 29 minutes and a restoration feature at 24 minutes. Still got the Jon pertwee tribute still to come and that is about 42 minutes. So about 1 hour 40 of new features for the blu ray.
drjakeyoung
April 23rd, 2013 - 8:36amup for pre order on bbc shop yet?
booboo
April 23rd, 2013 - 8:37amcant see it
drjakeyoung
April 23rd, 2013 - 8:39amemailed them last week and they said they don’t know about this release and don’t know if this will ever be released by BBC shop. They could have just told me they don’t know whats happening!
Gordon
April 23rd, 2013 - 9:55amI heard its going up at some point this week. The dvd enquiry line have a bit of a history of saying odd or wrong things. Saying proms was going on s6 box set which it didn’t and snowmen wasn’t going on s7 part 2 despite it is
booboo
April 23rd, 2013 - 3:06pmup on the BBC shop now http://www.bbcshop.com/jon-pertwee/doctor-who-spearhead-from-space-special-edition-blu-ray/invt/bbcbd0230/
drjakeyoung
April 23rd, 2013 - 3:12pmthanks booboo! just pre ordered it!
eddy
April 21st, 2013 - 8:53pmthey could do this with all the special edtion dvds, vistation, green death , etc…
Gordon
April 21st, 2013 - 8:59pmThey can’t as they weren’t shot on film
eddy
April 21st, 2013 - 9:00pmoh, ok just a thought, s there actually a differnce from this and the special edtion?
Gordon
April 21st, 2013 - 9:08pmits in high definition plus it has 2 brand new documentaries
eddy
April 21st, 2013 - 9:10pmim not a big fan on the extras and documentry’s really, just the epsiode
Jacob
May 10th, 2013 - 12:55pmYeah, but when Pyramids of Mars was released on the Sarah Jane Smith Adventures as a special feature on Blu-Ray. If they can do that, then how come they can’t release any other stories like Pyramids of Mars on blu-ray?
Shane
May 10th, 2013 - 8:44pmThe disc was a Blu-ray disc but Pyramids was a standard def video file. You can tell by the quality easily but on a PS3 you can see the bitrate is the usual DVD average of 8Mbs where 1080p would be around 20-35.
dr
April 20th, 2013 - 11:23ambooboo, could we have a page where everyone can say all the Dr who DVDs they have?
drjakeyoung
April 20th, 2013 - 11:23amthat was me
MasterKasterborous
April 21st, 2013 - 2:35pmThis any help: http://merchandise.thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/features/dvd/
Anonymous
April 19th, 2013 - 6:17pmNot getting it because I bought both the original and special edittion and there is no way I will buy it a third time! Well … Unless I hear it is really really good on blu-ray
The Greater Intelligence
April 21st, 2013 - 8:45pmSame with me, I can understand Special Editions, we get better picture/sound quality and more bonus features, but this is just ridiculous. The BBC are just salivating over our wallets this time and can’t believe they’re actually doing this. We’re losing an entire month that could be another releases, and with losing April to ‘The Ice Warriors’ being pushed back and past August just ‘The Tenth Planet’, we’re getting the least amount of DVDs per year (since the beginning of the line) on the 50th anniversary. Way to go BBC.
Gordon
April 22nd, 2013 - 7:34amI don’t really see how we are getting less classic release slots as 2012 we got 13 slots and this year we are getting 13 slots with moonbase possibly making it 14. That doesn’t include the regeneration box set (which may or may not be still be happening) and the monster collection.
I don’t really see why people are getting angry about this. It’s the only classic story that can be shown in a high definition format due to it being shot on 16mm film and will benefit with it being on blu ray.
prof horner
April 19th, 2013 - 11:29amMaybe they will release The Moonbase in a boxset with The Tenth planet?
Some bloke
April 19th, 2013 - 11:43amI doubt it! I don’t understand why people keep coming up with these ideas
Blake
April 22nd, 2013 - 4:00amI don’t think they would but it would be a good idea having the first two cybermen stories in one boxset
Gordon
April 22nd, 2013 - 7:40amA box set budget can’t sustain 3 animated eps. The budget for boxsets are higher than a single release but smaller than 2 separate releases. as the bbfc classified the moonbase and not as a box set title its certainly coming on its own.
josh smith
June 3rd, 2013 - 6:20pmhow about the invasion special edition and the moonbace in a boxset
drjakeyoung
April 19th, 2013 - 8:32ambooboo, the doctor who news site “the animation-enhanced DVD release of The Moonbase” does this confirm animation?
Anonymous
April 19th, 2013 - 5:04pmNo, animation is confirmed when the news comes from BBC Worldwide, the restoration team or we see something from it.
Everything else is speculation, although we’ve had a “nudge, nudge, wink, wink” about an animation already.
matparks08
April 18th, 2013 - 2:08pmA coming soon trailer has been passed for this and The Moonbase.
Some bloke
April 18th, 2013 - 2:57pmgiven that,do we know a likely time for moonbase to be released?
Johnny
April 18th, 2013 - 3:26pmNo, no released date for “The Moonbase” has been confirmed.
It’s not even been officially announced yet!
Some bloke
April 18th, 2013 - 3:33pmI know there’s no official release date yet, but I was just wondering if anyone had any idea as to when they would expect a release. I don’t think it wont be until the first half of 2014
drjakeyoung
April 18th, 2013 - 7:52pmlate this year i should think
Some bloke
April 18th, 2013 - 8:21pmi REALLY hope your right drjakeyoung
drjakeyoung
April 18th, 2013 - 11:00amcan i pre order this from BBC shop booboo?
booboo
April 18th, 2013 - 11:06amjust seems to be on Amazon at the moment
bradllles
April 18th, 2013 - 10:23amlol carnt wait for this hehehehe 🙂