Doctor Who: 10 Scariest Episodes That Sent Us All Behind The Sofa

8. Spearhead From Space

Jon Pertwee's reign started with a bang. He was to become so many people's Doctor - including future writer Mark Gatiss - and 'Spearhead From Space' was to become the first colour episode of Doctor Who, as well as the first to feature the Autons. The genius of the episode is that it does something all great Who episodes do; it makes the everyday seem extraordinary, and in this case, horrifying. The shots of shop window dummies, tearing the streets apart to conquer Earth, are scenes that scared a generation; these were objects that we took for granted, never to see in the same light again. And anyway, we had a new Doctor to deal with, on top of this invasion. Did he have what it took to defeat these monsters? It was a template that Russell T Davies followed almost to the letter when he constructed his very first Doctor Who episode. The horror of shoppers witnessing this alien attack were lifted straight from the Classic Who pantheon; it's an influential episode, and one that still scares many today.