Doctor Who (TV Series) The Claws of Axos: Episode One (1971) User Reviews

Saved By The Director's Imagination

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 12 August 2010]

The Claws Of Axos had a very troubled history . Originally written as a seven parter in 1969 and featuring the second Doctor it eventually got produced as a four parter for the third incarnation of The Doctor played by Jon Pertwee . Producer Barry Letts wasn't happy with Martin and Baker's original script calling it a " jumble of ideas " . The problem with the 1971 finished product is that narrative wise it's not much different from what you'd expect from an early 70s DOCTOR WHO story or a science fiction B movie

First of all the audience are one step ahead of the human characters . . We know fairly early on that the Axons are baddies but the humans are easily taken in by the gold Axon humanoids . Fair enough but what this means the audience are left twiddling their thumbs until the penny drops

The reason the humans are taken in is simple greed . Axonite can solve food shortages etc but the characters like Chinn , Hadimann and Winser are so broadly painted that they're almost pantomime characters . One great thing about season seven was that the bureaucrats like Maters and Sir Keith Gold were written and played with absolute conviction and you could believe in them as being real people . Not here though . Even the character of Pigbin Josh is written as comic relief

The story also suffers from a lack of budget . The inside of the organic Axonite spaceship is ... well not organic looking at all . It looks like it's composed of the stuff used to insulate walls of buildings . That's probably because that's what it is - Styrofoam . We also see a supposed tentacle grabbing Josh and later Filer that looks like it's made of plastic ( Go on guess ) and later on a tentacle that amazingly looks like a tentacle . Do you think it may have appeared in Spearhead From Space by any chance ?

That said the season suffered from overspending on the previous story The Mind Of Evil which probably qualifies for the most expensive story from the classic show with inflation adjusted and Michael Ferguson shows outstanding visual flourish for the story . It might not be to everyone's taste but this is a truly psychedelic story . The Axons are truly nightmarish creations thanks to the director , especially the eldritch whistling effect when they appear

What you think about this story is how you view the Pertwee era . I confess it's very run of the mill plot wise with aliens once again invading early 70s Britan on a Saturday . The regular cast are good and soldiers running around getting blown up by bulletproof aliens is always entertaining in my opinion and the director tries to bring great imagination to the story

Plenty of bold ideas.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 5 February 2019]

I hadn't watched this for years, not a story I have a particular fondness for, but I'm working my way through the classic episodes.

So far so good, I enjoyed this first episode, I love the direction, it looks terrific, I like the music, and rather like the story.

The ship looks great, the Axons look nice, plus the snow covered Dungeness looks suitably eerie, it's very atmospheric.

I am a little surprised to see The Master in yet another Pertwee story, he's lost a bit of threat, dare I suggest he was overused.

Good start. 7/10

Devious Aliens (bearing gifts)

[profh-1 · 6/10 · 31 March 2009]

THE CLAWS OF AXOS part 3 was the 1st DOCTOR WHO episode I ever saw twice! I think this one's grown on me over the years. The "organic" spaceship actually reminds me of something I saw in an ASTRO BOY cartoon, the plot about draining all life energy from Earth seems straight out of FANTASTIC FOUR #49-50, but the kicker is, this is the story where Roger Delgado really comes into his own.

Up to now, The Master has just been a rotten, evil, murderous BASTARD. But in AXOS, he spends most of the story at a disadvantage. He was back sooner than he expected... as a prisoner of The Axons. His TARDIS is being held by these aliens (as is he when we first see him at the end of part 1). About midway thru the story, he sneaks into this atomic research plant (where he had The Doctor's TARDIS delivered by unsuspecting UNIT troops), and gets into The Doctor's TARDIS. This is the first time we see the inside since the last episode of THE WAR GAMES. It's a mess! It looks as bad or worse than Peter Cushing's TARDIS did in the 1st movie (wires and components strewn about everywhere). The Master is exasperated, and says to himself, "What does he think he's DOING??? Oh well... I suppose it COULD be made to work again..." --and sets about repairing The Doctor's TARDIS. Because with his own in the hands of the Axons, HE needs it to escape Earth's dire fate!

This is one of the funniest bits in the whole season as The Master slowly sees what he's up against. "Overweight, underpowered, antiquated museum piece!" Frustrated, he says, "Might as well try to fly a second-hand GAS-stove!" When he makes the mistake of walking out of the TARDIS to hook up some wires while The Brig and his men are in the control booth, he's caught, and hand-cuffed. But then he makes a deal to save the Earth, in return for his freedom. The scientist in charge of the place has to plead with The Brig to be reasonable-- because after the 2 previous stories, NO WAY does he wanna let this guy go free! After, then FBI man Bill Filer shows up, he asks, "Are you CRAZY?" "Probably-- but we've got no choice!" Another funny bit is when the scientist in charge, not comprehending what's going on, asks, "Are you trying to tell me you can store the entire power output of the complex in that old police box?" The Master looks at him for a moment, then smiles mischievously, and says, "Yes!" It almost makes you think they cast the wrong actor as the star of this show! (On the other hand, it's been suggested that The Master was tacked onto this story at a very late date; if so, this amusing scene would have been originally intended as Pertwee's, not Delgado's.) At the climax of part 3, as he's about to throw the switch, someone asks, what about The Doctor and Jo? They'll be destroyed, of course... "Either we destroy Axos or Axos destroys the world-- which is it to be?" One could ALMOST see the show continue with Delgado as the "hero".

But the pair manage to escape-- and Axos manages to turn the tables on him anyway. When The Doctor starts working with The Master (again!) there's moments where you can just imagine what the guy might have been like BEFORE he turned completely rotten. He's actually MUCH more charming in here than Pertwee's Doctor, which kinda makes the whole show at this point seem like it's upside-down. But of course, The Doctor proves to be EVEN MORE devious than The Master-- I suppose anyone who's been watching Hartnell & Troughton over the years could have seen this coming. When The Doctor puts his mind to it, he can be really dangerous-- and utterly ruthless-- when he HAS to be. Of course, we don't see what happened to The Master, so it was kind of a foregone conclusion that he got away again...

Although Jo spends a lot of time in this one being scared & screaming, early in the story we still see she's got more guts than brains. After being told "Not this time" (stay behind) she once again disobeys orders and, in full view of a team of armed sentries, wanders right into the alien spaceship. Good thing, too, as thanks to her The Doctor first suspected the aliens weren't as friendly as they claimed. It's a bit frustrating that some characters in this story keep treating Jo like someone helpless to be protected, considering she's already proved how resourceful she can be (especially when she turned that prison riot around in the previous story).

The ministry man, Chinn, was quite a come-down from the one in THE SILURIANS; while Geoffrey Palmer's character had been intelligent and reasonable, Chinn is thick, trigger-happy, contemptuous and contemptible, and seems to be in his position for no reason other than as a patsy for the Prime Minister in case things go wrong-- which, they do! FBI guy Bill Filer, on the other hand, is a likable type (Jo certainly seemed to think so), and only goes off-track when he-- perhaps rightly-- becomes suspicious of The Doctor's actions in part 4. Of course, it's understandable... he doesn't know The Doctor like UNIT does, and The Doctor was going out of his way to con The Master and Axos, and he had to make it convincing or he might not have gotten away with it...

Axons, Axos, and Axonite

[wetmars · 7/10 · 9 April 2021]

Here we are, the third story of Season 8. In space, there seems to be a spaceship flying, and there's a satellite dish that has caught it on the radar. It is revealed that it's a comet heading straight for Earth. Smokes, a lot of shouting. Perhaps because he misses Liz or is worried about his old foe - The Master, the UNIT HQ gets a drill due to a UFO entering Earth's atmosphere. UNIT personnel advises launching an air-strike on the spaceship but, contact has been lost. The Doctor suggests an abort. The missile gets destroyed. The spaceship arrives on a snowy landscape, a homeless fellow checks out the spaceship, he gets attack by the aliens. UNIT arrives at the area, another fellow gets grabbed by the aliens. Jo notices a signal coming, the Doctor suggests that it's a heartbeat. The Doctor and the Brigadier arrive at the area investigating what's inside. UNIT Personnel finds a dead body. I like the mystery here. Jo arrives at the area. The group gets some weird interference messing up their minds. It is revealed that the Master is also trapped, good twist. The Axons arrive, about them. Fun fact, they did makeup on the guys' heads and faces. It takes a while for them to scrub off the thick gold makeup. The Axons' planet has been destroyed due to a deadly solar flare. They had to go somewhere else from the Outer Rim of the Milky Way Galaxy. I do like how they describe Axonite. Terrifying cliffhangers.

The Doctor looks for Jo since he heard a scream. Jo exclaims what happened, "this awful thing appeared. It came straight at me!", the Axons claim that it was some sorta hallucinating thing. Filler tries to get out by using a gun. The Master helps him by firing at the nerve part of the spaceship. It works, teamwork! "But if you seem hell-bent on getting hold of it." He said it. He said the word! The Doctor orders them to go to their laboratory until they made a full analysis of all properties it holds. The Master and Filler make a run for it but, they get caught by the Axons. Chinn makes a deal with the Axons for the sole distribution to all Axonite material vested in the British Government, to bring the greatest possible benefit to all humans so that Axonite distribution must be worldwide, Chinn assures them, the Axons declare him to hand over the samples of Axonite for the investigation to begin. I like Mr. Chinn. I don't know why. The Brigadier pulls out a gun to hand over the Axonite which worked. They head out of the spacecraft. Mr. Chinn grabs the Axonite and orders the men put under 24-hour armed guard. The Doctor finds out that Mr. Chinn isn't Mr. Chinn. What a good twist. I love how the Doctor and Jo investigate together, man, I miss Liz. It is revealed that the Master was helping out the Axons for a rich planet to search, Earth. The Axon declares that Axonite must encircle the Earth for the next 72 hours, an interesting plan. The Master suspects for that to happen, the Axons' secret arrangement with the British Government must be made universally known. The Master begs him of freedom. In the laboratory, I must say. Good design. Winser begins the science stuff that when the Particle Accelerator's particles are accelerated round and round the cyclotron in an ever-increasing electromagnetic field to the speed of light, after that the particles would be traveling in the fourth dimension, thus Winser's experiments are about the nature of time itself, making time travel possible. What a crazy idea but, I don't think that is possible? I am not a nerd about particle accelerators. Back in the Axon spaceship, the guy finally gets out. The Doctor purposes putting the Axonite inside the light accelerator thing and crack it down into pieces to pieces. Winser claims that it's too hazardous for the area, making it shake. The Doctor suspects that it is a thinking molecule and should analyze itself. Pretty entertaining so far. The Axon thing bullies the Master that it is unacceptable for the Master to use his TARDIS and "laser gun" The Master gets out of the spaceship, sneaking closely to a UNIT Soldier, and uses the Laser Gun to kill him, wow, ruthless. This is why I love Delgado! The Master makes a jump into a truck, awesome! The Master hypnotizes the UNIT soldiers. The Doctor uses the good old Venusian Karate. It doesn't work. Filer fires bullets at the other Filer. They fight. The Doctor tackles one of the two, one of the two rushes to the light accelerator and dies. The Master orders the UNIT Soldier to load the Doctor's TARDIS onto the lorry, getting some help. Two of the Soldiers enter the room, taking Filer's gun and confine the Doctor to his restricted laboratory. The Master orders a man to send a message to the United Nations. Meanwhile, the Doctor places the Axonite in the light accelerator, a bunch of sciencey stuff. The Axons get affected by the Axonite. The Brigadier orders Jo and Filer to find the Doctor. Winser touches the light accelerator and dies. Winser turns into a giant blob rolling towards them. The three make a run for it but, a root creature is blocking their exit. Intense cliffhanger. At this point, I would like for the plot to be easier to follow but, it's alright.

The root creature kills Filer. Now the Doctor and Jo are surrounded by the root creatures. How will they get out of this? The root creatures turn into Axons and take them to the planet Axos. The Axons meet up with Mr. Chinn, the Doctor, and Jo are captured by the claws in the spaceship. The Axons reveal their plan - Axonite will soon spread across Earth, and the nutrition cycle will begin, slowly consuming every particle of energy, every last cell of living matter, Earth will be sucked dry. The Brigadier orders his men to search for the Doctor and Jo. The United Nations is now demanding the distribution of Axonite. In the Nuton Power Complex, Sergeant Benton is up for duty and meets up with the General; after that, it is revealed that it is the Master. He is so good at disguising, I swear. He arrives at the Light Accelerator room, finding the Doctor's TARDIS. What a mess. The Axons interrogate the Doctor for the secret of Time Travel. The Axons age Jo which terrifies the Doctor, then de-ages her. I like how the interrogation is well intense and atmospheric. The Doctor is forced to give them the answers. "Pure mathematics can't lie!" Iconic line. The Axons' plan is going well as the Axonites are heading to every Capitol. Speaking of the Axons, they are a creative idea and a sick design. The Brigadier spots a Root Creature, very menacing. The UNIT Soldier fires at the root creature but fails. The two UNIT Soldier gets killed by it. It heads for the Main Research Sector. The Master has some trouble with the Doctor's TARDIS since it has no stabilizer. The Master goes inside the Light Accelerator, having trouble doing whatever it's called. The Master retrieves his Laser Gun and surrender to UNIT. I like the Master in this scene where he is being himself, lol. Benton frees the Master, the Master orders them to give him a link from the TARDIS to the accelerator so that he can get straight through to the main reactor, stack up as much power as the TARDIS would take, channeling it back through the accelerator, boosting it, so that instead of the power build-up that Axos expect, getting the whole lot in one big surge, what a big task there. Filer pulls his gun out. The soldiers tell him not to since the Master is helping them. I like the synthesizing theme. The Doctor rescues Jo running from the weird alien creature thing. I like how the Master is helping out UNIT, but eventually, he will revert to his evil ways like he always does.

The Master goes in the TARDIS to get it working. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Jo are having some trouble on Axos since Jo's brain is affected. They eventually talk mathematics to get out. Total destruction is essential. The authorities evacuate from the accelerator sector and shut off the power in the area, and proceed to blast wall shelters. Hardiman is doing the work to take out the mechanism before he can disconnect the cable but failed. The Master tries to escape, the Doctor gets in and explains what is going on. The Doctor asks a random person to do commander the computer banks to make some very complex calculations and addresses the Brigadier to set up a constant watch over the space-dome. The Doctor has one plan is to work with the Master to defeat Axos. The Brigadier discusses with Mr. Chinn, more like Mr. Chin, haha. The Master works in the light accelerator room with the Doctor. They go to their TARDIS. I do like the dialogue here. Yet, we again begin the running gag of the dematerialization circuit. The Axons begin the nutrition cycle. Benton and his men are being attacked by the Root Creatures on the road. Benton reverses the car to pull the other Root Creature away, Benton's men pull a grenade, and boom! The Doctor addresses that he will go away from Earth with the Master. They successfully got the time rotor working, poor Jo. The TARDIS dematerializes then rematerializes on Axos. The Doctor purposes a plan to join with the Axons against the High Council of the Time Lords. The Master checks on the coarse circuit, realizing that two of them are in a time loop. I love the TARDIS design. Man, I do miss scenes inside the TARDIS. The Master enters his TARDIS. The Root Creatures come into the Light Accelerator lab, UNIT begins pulling grenades to kill them. Intense action. The Axon Spaceship suddenly disappears making the Root Creatures disappear. The Root Creatures reappears inside the Doctor's TARDIS. Meanwhile, UNIT is evacuating the whole area. The Doctor finally lands in the Light Accelerator Lab but realizes that the building is now collapsing. The Doctor carefully makes the Time Rotor go, the building explodes. The TARDIS rematerializes, the Doctor explains what a time loop is to UNIT but fails. Iconic ending but, what an odd way to end the story. (( Go to the next part because the text doesn't fit. )

Mediocre

[cybersontaran · 7/10 · 1 May 2018]

It may seem a bit slow and weird but I think it's worth watching all 4 episodes in the end. The aliens are an interesting and new concept

Axos of Evil

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 9/10 · 25 September 2014]

Review of all 4 episodes:

The Claws of Axos is well produced in most aspects with some nice sets and nice, different aliens. They disguise themselves as attractive and friendly humanoid beings but are actually hideous non-humanoid monsters. The design of them is very good with the spaghetti like appearance and their organic ship. Some of the scenes with people in baggy creature costumes are less well done but there are other scenes which work well with their attacking tendrils etc.

It is another example of The Master getting in over his head trying to work with an alien race to bring death and destruction to The Doctor and humanity. There is very good stuff in each episode but also less impressive stuff. It starts really strongly with intelligent script, believable political game playing and very good acting by the whole cast. The tramp 'Pigbin Josh' is not a great addition but otherwise the first episode is really good. UNIT and the Brigadier are good, Pertwee is in great form and scientists and politicians are convincing. Roger Delgado is entertaining as usual as The Master and the golden humanoid version of the Axons is decent. It never really maintains excellence overall though as the story trails off a bit and gets muddled as it goes along becoming a decent but unexceptional (for Doctor Who) story.

Part 1 - 8.5/10, Part 2 - 7.5/10, Part 3 - 7/10, Part 4 - 7/10. Overall 7.5/10.

Unimpressive start.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 6 November 2007]

Doctor Who: The Claws of Axos: Episode One starts as an object in space is seen approaching Earth on a UNIT radar in their HQ, Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) & the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) are informed but Ministry of Defense official Mr. Chinn (Peter Bathurst) orders a missile strike on the object to destroy it before it reaches Earth. The missile strike fails & the mysterious object lands near Nuton power plant, the main supplier of energy for southern Britain. The Brigadier, the Doctor, Jo (Katy Manning) & UNIT rush to the scene & discover a large organic spaceship which has partially buried itself under the ground. After setting up monitoring equipment a message for help is heard from the spaceship, inside a group of gold coloured humanoid shaped aliens who call themselves Axons seem peaceful enough but there is also something else lurking inside...

Episode 11 from season 8 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during March 1971 & was the third story from Jon Pertwee's second season as the Doctor, directed by Michael Ferguson I must admit I didn't think too much of this opening episode. The script by Bob Baker & Dave Martin was originally called The Vampire From Space until a very late change & has started off rather routinely, an alien ship crash lands on Earth, the Doctor & UNIT go to check it out & encounter a seemingly peaceful race of aliens who turn out to be anything but. Nothing grabbed me in this episode at all, the story just didn't interest me that much which is odd because I usually like Doctor Who especially the Pertwee era, it seemed predictable & I wasn't that interested in anything. Like every story from season 8 the Master (Roger Delgado) makes an appearance although for all he does in this one he shouldn't have bothered. The ideas behind the organic ship that was actually grew rather than made is a neat concept but apart from that I found it all rather flat & bland, I expect things will pick up in Episode Two though & there's a decent if unspectacular & unoriginal cliffhanger ending.

One of my biggest problems with The Claws of Axos is the organic spaceship, it's rammed down our throats at every opportunity that it's organic but it looks terrible. I'm sorry but it's obviously a really poorly made set created using styrofoam, bits of cloth & some garish paint. These deficiencies show up even more if your watching it on the remastered DVD which has a flawless picture of amazing clarity which really works against the story & show's up the low BBC budget in a very unflattering way. I also thought the gold coloured Axon aliens with stuck on ping-pong eyeballs looked silly & aren't particularly well realised. The model shots of the Axon spaceship in space are OK but CSO (colour separation overlay) was never that convincing even back then & it certainly isn't now.

The Claws of Axos: Episode One was a bit of a disappointment, it's a generally well liked story & maybe it'll improve but I usually like the Jon Pertwee stuff so it's strange I didn't like this. Hopefully it'll get better.