Season 8 - Jon Pertwee - The Claws of Axos

So today is the first day of our year with the doctor and we’ve decided to start off with a Jon Pertwee episode.  This evening we sat down to watch 'The Claws of Axos' which was originally broadcast in 1971 as part of the 8th Season of Doctor Who. The episode was written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, directed by Michael Ferguson and was split into 4 broadcasts of equal length with the first airing on 13/03/1971 at 17.15.

This episode, as was the case with many episodes from this era, was mainly filmed around the Kent, England area. In the future we plan on visiting some of the locations so look out for future blogs on the locations of ‘The Claws of Axos’. 

Jon Pertwee’s time as the doctor was a really exciting and interesting time for the show, they had taken a step away from the traditional storylines and, for the first time, they had started to film Doctor who in colour. Early colour television, though a far cry from the colour television we see today, was very exciting and ‘Doctor Who’ was not afraid to test the boundaries of what this new technology could do.

During this era Jon Pertwee’s doctor had been exiled to earth by the timelords who had broken his Tardis and taken away the memories he would need to repair it. With the stories now being entirely earth based the writers were able to introduce a whole host of new characters with the development of UNIT.  

In this episode we find ourselves exploring an organic space ship that has crash landed on earth. From the beginning you are given to believe that the Axons are a race of Golden aliens who have had to land on earth as they are out of fuel, the Axons describe themselves as scientists and offer a gift to the people of earth as a thank you. Their offering is a piece of Axonite, a fascinating substance which they refer to as a ‘thinking molecule’ it can replicate any substance in any volume. 

The Doctor voices his concerns about the Axons and about the powers of Axonite from the very start but it isn’t until later in the episode that he truly understands the sinister nature of this friendly invasion. 

Whilst the Doctor and his companions are in discussions about this mysterious people and their mysterious element Bill Filer, an American agent, finds himself taken prisoner by the Axon’s vessel.  He awakes to find himself held to the floor by large claws that have wrapped themselves around him it is here that you learn that Bill is not the only prisoner the Axons have, they have captured the Master. 

While helping a government scientist investigate the effects and elements of Axonite the Doctor is attacked by an automaton of Bill Filer. The real Bill escapes the Axon’s grip just in time to save the doctor from his own doppelganger which allows the doctor the chance to make sense of the situation. The Doctor realises that the Axons are all part of one single entity, a parasite known as the Axos. With a lot of help from the master, who has managed to talk his way out of captivity, the Doctor manages to repair his b­­­­­­roken Tardis and exile the Axos into an eternal time loop.

Now lets talk monsters and villains. The Axos takes on various forms throughout the episode and is a very complex and genuinely terrifying villain. To begin with it presents itself in the form of beautiful mild mannered golden humanoids but later you learn that the Axos is actually a creature covered in tentacles which wobble and shake in a most unnerving way when you see them on screen.

However the creepiest form of all and the part that would have undoubtedly given children nightmares for years to come was the Axos as the ship. An undulating, seething mass of parasite that can pull you in and trap you in its iron claws as it absorbs you energy and accesses your mind. This episode is often described as one of the most ambitious and visual episodes of the era. The effects, colours and truly psychedelic nature of the set is something that still translates well today. What is particularly exciting about this episode is the partial prop built for the mouth of the Axos ship and the use of foam within to create the illusion of an organic and growing entity. There is something really comforting about watching a show such as this and feeling the time, dedication and love that went into making it.

Another interesting and pretty horrifying mechanism that the Axos possesses is the ability to age someone to death. Early in the episode you watch as the Axos absorbs the energy from a homeless person before discarding his disintegrating body. Creepy! 

Though the Master is not the key villain in this piece and actually ends up helping our heroes in the end, even if it is for selfish means, there is no denying that he is awfully sinister. That widows peak and goatee Combo is positively devilish and his voice is practically liquid evil! The master is resourceful and self-serving as always and, as is often the case, gets his way in the end. 

The companion is our window into the story and Jo Grant in 'the Claws of Axos' is a wonderful example of this. She does not do as she is told and that is exactly which is exactly what you want in a companion and though she may not be the Doctor’s most intelligent companion she is adventurous, brave and determined and her relationship with the Doctor is charming. The Doctor tells her to stay in the van. The brigadier tells her to stay in the van. UNIT tell her to stay in the van. So what does she do? She waits very patiently until they have all left and she walks straight up to the Axos and jumps straight in to adventure. 

Now the man himself, Jon Pertwee is fiery and commanding as the Doctor. Being confined to earth, the doctor has become very much the scientist and very well respected in his work. There is something really exciting about seeing the Doctor go head to head with an authority figure and Jon Pertwee does not disappoint. In fact the only thing better than watching him argue with Chinn and the other officials is watching him with the Master. All in all ‘The Claws of Axos’ is an absolutely inspiring episode and a fantastic introduction the 3^rd Doctor for anyone who isn’t familiar with his work.