Doctor Who: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Autons
6. The Autons Had Their Own Westworld
In the 2009 spin-off novel 'Autonomy' featuring the Tenth Doctor, the Autons' plot involved overrunning a leisure complex they had taken control of - including its automaton-hosted Wild West theme park. Sound familiar?
Set in high-tech shopping and leisure centre Hyperville in the far-off 2013, the story follows the Doctor arriving to discover some haywire animatronics and a plethora of deadly theme parks. Alongside the Wild West World - a daring frontier land featuring Auton hosts as horse riding, gunfighting cowboys - there are also the medieval Doomcastle and WinterZone theme parks, all ready to break down and kill the guests.
Lurking under Level Zero of the complex is the Nestene Consciousness - the same featured in 2005's Rose - who has waited patiently to strike back at humanity. Taking control of Hyperville and locking it down, the hosts - and several facsimiles posing as humans - begin their attack.
Evading capture in the Autons' version of Westworld, and even in their version of Narnia - the WinterZone, complete with a psychotic and completely lethal White Queen - the Doctor eventually manages to disrupt the Nestene plot. Calling UNIT to clear the rest of the Autons away, this intriguing invasion was quickly ended.