Cult Spy: Phobia Corner 4 - Dolls & Action Figures

The Phobia: DollsThe Cause: Doctor Who - 'Terror of the Autons (1971)Hark back to those childhood days spent battling evil forces with your homoerotic He-Man action figure or grooming your My Little Pony until the poor four-legged creatures were bald. Times were so innocent then. But for children in 1971, the prospect of picking up any plastic action figure or doll would be enough to demand immediate nappy reinforcement... and it's all down to Doctor Who.For the Jon Pertwee story 'Terror of the Autons' sparked a big media outcry over scenes involving a killer plastic doll on the rampage. The plot revolved around The Doctor's evil arch nemesis The Master - posing as a genuine businessman - taking control of a plastics factory to enable the plastic-controlling Nestene Consciousness to conquer the Earth and ravage her resources.However, the elderly owner of the factory, a guy named John Farrel, is less than pleased with the products being churned out. So The Master gives him a sample to take home to win him over - a sinister looking plastic troll-like doll. As Farrel returns home he dumps the doll down next to the radiator, but the heat-activated creature leaps to its feet before pouncing on the shocked man and strangling the poor bugger. You can imagine hordes of children's eyes flitting from side to side at that very moment making sure the room was doll-free. In terms of any explicit violence, much was left to the imagination and Farrel's death is excellently executed by focussing on his quivering legs during the struggle. Shakin' Stevens would have been proud of those moves. Once Farrel's legs are motionless - signifying death - his wife walks into the room to emit a piercing scream as we see the doll scurry away.Killer dolls springing to life may be a more familiar concept these days thanks to the Child's Play films, but bear in mind this was family teatime viewing and not an '18' certificate movie. Following the screening, Daily Telegraph critic Sylvia Clayton was compelled to pen an article posing the question - "What level of horror is acceptable in a teatime programme?"'The present Doctor Who adventure makes this question pertinent by the very effectiveness of its attack on the nerves," wrote Clayton. "These plastic monsters come from within the range of a child's domestic scene. There is a murderous mannequin doll with deadly fangs... small children of my acquaintance have found these devices terrifying in a way fantasy figures such as the Daleks and the Cybermen were not... Doctor Who is placed at a time when the smallest children will be watching..."In 2005, the dreaded Nestenes did it again by making plastic wheelie bins an object of fear in the first episode of the revived Doctor Who series. Whatever's next? Rumours that glamour model Jordan will play a part in the next Nestene invasion are unconfirmed...