Terror of the Autons Part 2
The Doctor and his companion Jo investigate a series of strange events connected to a sinister Colonel Masters, who is plotting to unleash a deadly alien invasion using lifelike plastic Autons and a mind-controlling device, threatening Earth's very existence.
Following an explosion at UNIT headquarters linked to a mysterious box, the Doctor deduces the involvement of his nemesis, the Master, and his sinister plans involving a plastic factory. Jo Grant, mind-controlled by the Master, attempts to sabotage UNIT, leaving her traumatized and with fragmented memories. The Doctor investigates the factory, discovering that its owner, Mr. Farrel, is under the Master's influence and producing a strange black plastic with unique properties.
The Master demonstrates the danger of this pliable substance by creating an Auton-esque armchair that suffocates a protesting factory manager. Meanwhile , Farrel Senior arrives to investigate his son's changed business practices but is manipulated by the Master. The Master attempts to eliminate him with a killer doll.
The Doctor, sensing a connection to Professor Philips' disappearance, tracks him to a circus in Tarminster. He encounters a suspicious circus owner named Rossini and a strong man, Tony, who capture him upon discovering his interest in a horsebox found at the circus. Jo, defying orders, follows the Doctor and rescues him from captivity. They discover Professor Philips is under the Master's control and guarding the horsebox, which contains components and a communications device. Philips attacks the Doctor and Jo with a sonic device, but Philips is killed when he tries to dispose of it after the Doctor reminds him of his identity.
Meanwhile, the Master reveals his plan to use an army of Nestene Autons disguised as circus performers to eliminate the Doctor. As senior factory owner Farrel is being driven home, the doll attacks and kills him. The Doctor and Jo are apprehended by men posing as police officers and are confined inside a police car. The Doctor repairs a component retrieved from the horsebox, realizing the Master's scheme intensifies. The episode concludes with the Doctor knowing the situation is intensifying as UNIT learns the police vehicle isn't legitimate.
Events in This Episode
The narrative beats that drive the story
The episode opens with the immediate, chaotic aftermath of Jo Grant's mind-controlled attempt to detonate a bomb at UNIT headquarters. The Doctor, with calm precision, diagnoses her state as post-hypnotic alienation, explaining the Master's chilling ability to exert complete control over the human mind, forcing individuals to act against their inherent will. He meticulously attempts to guide Jo through her fragmented memories, hoping to extract crucial details about her experience. Her recollections, though disjointed, eventually coalesce around the image of a factory office where she heard the Master's insidious voice, providing the first tangible lead in their investigation. Concurrently, at a plastic factory, the Master, disguised as "Colonel Masters," unveils his latest, terrifying weapon. He demonstrates a new, highly malleable black plastic capable of autonomous movement and lethal constriction. With cold efficiency, he uses this material to brutally suffocate McDermott, the factory manager who dared to question his methods. Mr. Farrel, already under the Master's thrall, watches without intervention, highlighting the Master's pervasive influence and the immediate, deadly threat he poses. This opening act firmly establishes the Master's formidable power, the psychological trauma inflicted upon Jo, and the horrifying potential of his new plastic creations, setting a grim tone for the unfolding conflict.
In the UNIT laboratory, the Doctor swiftly neutralizes a booby-trapped box—likely planted by the Master—by hurling it through a window into the canal, where it detonates. The explosion triggers Jo …
In the UNIT laboratory, the Doctor and Sergeant Benton have just neutralized a booby-trapped box—likely planted by the Master—by hurling it into the canal. The Doctor explains to Yates that …
In the sterile confines of the UNIT laboratory, Jo Grant emerges from a violent, mind-controlled fugue state—her body still trembling from the psychic trauma of reliving the Auton explosion. The …
In the sterile, clinical setting of the UNIT laboratory, the Doctor urgently attempts to coax Jo back to full consciousness after her violent extraction from a mind-controlled state. Yates stands …
Farrel Senior arrives at the factory to confront his son, Rex, about the suspicious death of McDermott and the radical changes being implemented under the Master’s influence. The Master attempts …
Farrel Sr. arrives at the factory to confront his son and the Master after learning of McDermott’s suspicious death. His blunt refusal to accept the Master’s hypnotic influence exposes the …
Farrel Sr arrives at the factory to investigate the sudden changes and McDermott’s death, only to find the Master exerting control over his son. The Master attempts to hypnotize Farrel …
In the UNIT laboratory, Jo Grant—still grappling with the psychological fallout of her mind-controlled actions—apologizes to the Doctor for her perceived role in the bomb incident, revealing her deep-seated guilt …
After the Doctor dismisses her offer to accompany him to the circus, Jo’s frustration and insecurity boil over in a raw emotional outburst. She apologizes for her mind-controlled actions—specifically the …
In the factory office, the Master—disguised as Colonel Masters—orders Farrel to dismiss all human workers and replace them with Nestene Autons, signaling a decisive shift from covert manipulation to full-scale …
In the factory office, the Master—disguised as Colonel Masters—confirms his plan to accelerate the Nestene Auton takeover by replacing human workers with mind-controlled duplicates. When Farrel questions the Master’s decision …
The narrative expands as Farrel Senior, the factory owner's father, arrives to investigate the drastic and unsettling changes in his son's business and the suspicious presence of "Colonel Masters." Farrel Senior demonstrates an unexpected strength of will, resisting the Master's attempts at hypnotic manipulation and openly challenging his authority and methods. This defiance prompts the Master to resort to a more insidious form of attack, subtly planting a malevolent, dwarf-like doll in Farrel Senior's car, clearly intending it as a deadly instrument. Simultaneously, at UNIT headquarters, Captain Yates uncovers a crucial, albeit tenuous, lead: Professor Philips' abandoned car is linked to a circus that has recently moved to Tarminster. The Doctor, recognizing the Master's signature, immediately decides to pursue this lead personally, rejecting the Brigadier's offer of an escort and firmly, though kindly, refusing Jo's earnest request to accompany him. Jo, feeling marginalized and eager to prove her capabilities after her traumatic experience, expresses deep frustration at being sidelined. The Master, in a chilling revelation to Farrel Junior, clarifies his elaborate strategy: Philips was deliberately sent to the circus not to hide, but to serve as bait, a calculated lure to draw the Doctor into a pre-arranged trap where he intends to eliminate his nemesis. This act meticulously builds the Master's intricate plot, shifts the primary location of conflict, and heightens the stakes for the Doctor's solo investigation.
Mrs. Farrel returns home visibly distressed, immediately bringing up McDermott’s death—a moment that should have shaken her son Rex but instead left him and Colonel Masters eerily unperturbed. Farrel Senior …
Mrs. Farrel returns home visibly distressed, her concern for McDermott's death immediately met with Farrel Senior's chilling observation that both Rex and Colonel Masters showed no human reaction to the …
The Doctor, bound to a chair in Rossini’s caravan, attempts to negotiate his release by offering a bribe—only for Rossini and Tony to discover his wallet is empty. This revelation …
In Rossini’s claustrophobic caravan, the Doctor—bound to a chair by the hulking Tony—is subjected to a tense interrogation about his interest in the Master’s horsebox. Rossini, a smug and calculating …
The Doctor arrives at the circus, parking Bessie among the caravans, and immediately focuses his investigation on a modern horsebox. While attempting to use a listening device on the horsebox, he is ambushed and captured by the strongman Tony and the circus owner Rossini, who tie him to a chair in their caravan. Defying direct orders from the Brigadier, Jo Grant, having followed the Doctor, observes his capture and bravely calls UNIT before deciding to intervene herself. She witnesses Professor Philips, now clearly under the Master's control, entering the horsebox. Meanwhile, at his home, Farrel Senior is brutally murdered by the Master's killer doll, which springs to life and attacks him, highlighting the widespread and indiscriminate nature of the Master's threat. Jo heroically rescues the Doctor from Tony, and together they confront Philips, who, wielding a sonic device, attacks them. The Doctor, through a desperate appeal to Philips' true identity, manages to break the Master's hypnotic hold, causing Philips to drop the device and die in the subsequent explosion. The Doctor quickly retrieves a crucial component from the horsebox, but Rossini and his men quickly converge on them. As they are about to be overwhelmed, a police car arrives, seemingly to their rescue, but the Doctor and Jo are instead apprehended by the officers. The episode concludes with the Brigadier discovering that the police vehicle is not legitimate, leaving the Doctor and Jo in intensified peril, captured by another layer of the Master's deception.
In Rossini’s caravan, the Doctor is tied up and interrogated by the circus owner, who threatens him with violence and mocks his defiance. The Doctor subtly signals Jo—who has been …
After Rossini’s interrogation of the Doctor escalates into physical threats, Jo—who has been observing from outside the caravan—intervenes by knocking out Tony with a vase, freeing the Doctor. The Doctor …
The Doctor and Jo investigate a suspicious horsebox inside Rossini’s caravan, only for the Doctor to reveal it’s a disguised alien device—just as Professor Philips bursts in, wielding a lethal …
The Doctor and Jo investigate a suspicious horsebox inside Rossini’s caravan when Professor Philips suddenly appears, brandishing a silver rod—a device the Doctor identifies as a lethal grenade. Philips, clearly …
The Doctor exits the circus horsebox clutching a recovered component—likely a piece of the Master’s mind-control technology—when Rossini and his men ambush him, escalating the confrontation with a brutal accusation …
After the Doctor retrieves a TARDIS component from the horsebox—despite Rossini’s violent accusations and a baseball bat attack—the scene abruptly shifts when a police car screeches in, seemingly to rescue …