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The Savages and Spearhead From Space to Get Special Doctor Who Screenings at the BFI

Special screenings of two Doctor Who stories are set to take place at the British Film Institute — that’s the BFI in London — next month, and tickets go on sale today (16th January 2025)!

Firstly, there’s the newly restored version of Spearhead from Space, the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) classic that’s been freshened up for Doctor Who: The Collection — Season 7, which comes out later this year.

Here’s the synopsis for Spearhead:

Following his regeneration and having been banished to earth by the Time Lords, the Doctor joins forces with UNIT, a military organisation investigating extraterrestrial threats. It appears that an alien intelligence is creating human replicas as part of a dastardly global plan and as a result no one can be trusted. This newly restored story features the first appearance of the Third Doctor, his companion Liz Shaw and the deadly Autons.

Sadly, that event sold out when member booking opened, but you can still, at the time of writing, get in to see the animated version of long-lost First Doctor (William Hartnell) story, The Savages:

The Doctor, Dodo and Steven arrive on a planet in the future, where they are well received by the Elders and what seems like their idyllic way of life. Outside the Elder city, the visitors discover a community known as Savages and a terrible secret that shocks them. With all four of the original episodes missing, except for their audio, this new animated version presents the complete story 59 years after it originally screened.

The latter will be followed by a Q&A session with Peter Purves (Steven Taylor).

Spearhead from Space screens on 1st February, while The Savages will be at the BFI on 28th February 2025.

Tickets for Spearhead from Space and The Savages go on sale from the BFI today.

Philip Bates

Editor and co-founder of the Doctor Who Companion. When he’s not watching television, reading books ‘n’ Marvel comics, listening to The Killers, and obsessing over script ideas, Philip Bates pretends to be a freelance writer. He enjoys collecting everything. Writer of The Black Archive: The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang, 100 Objects of Doctor Who, and Companions: More Than Sixty Years of Doctor Who Assistants.

The Savages and Spearhead From Space to Get Special Doctor Who Screenings at the BFI

by Philip Bates time to read: 1 min
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