Jodie Whittaker's Epic Doctor Who Era Nearly Revived This Classic Villain - You Won't Believe What Happened!

Doctor Who season 12 featured the Thirteenth Doctor and her companions taking on various challenges, including facing the Judoon, the Cybermen, and the return of The Master. Additionally, there were mysteries surrounding the Doctor's connection to Gallifrey's hidden past. One of the episodes, "Praxeus," written by McTighe, involved the Doctor battling a virus caused by microplastic pollution. Interestingly, the episode was initially intended to feature the Autons, a classic villain from the 1970s. However, showrunner Chris Chibnall decided to exclude them to avoid relying too heavily on familiar elements and due to budget constraints. McTighe shared more details on this decision in his interview with RadioTimes.com.

I wanted to focus on the impact of plastic on the planet in Praxeus, as well as incorporate an Auton story. Originally, the plan was for it to be primarily an Auton story, but it evolved into something different. Interestingly, it ended up being strangely prescient, touching on the theme of a pandemic two years before it happened, which was quite eerie.

As for the Auton side of the story, it was scrapped early on as we were considering the overall balance of the series and whether there were too many returning elements. Additionally, the budget constraints made it difficult to execute the ideas we had for the Auton storyline. A larger budget would have been necessary to bring it to life.

Who Are The Autons, The Plastic Servants of the Nestene Consciousness?

The Autons were first introduced as the adversaries of the Third Doctor, portrayed by Jon Pertwee, in the Doctor Who episode called "Spearhead from Space." They were portrayed as plastic dummies controlled by the Nestene Consciousness, whose aim was to infiltrate important institutions. The Autons made a subsequent appearance in the episode "Terror of the Autons" during the debut of The Master, played by Roger Delgado. In 2005, when the show was revived, the Autons became the primary antagonists of season 1. Following the loss of their world in the Time War, the Nestene Consciousness tried to overthrow humanity. Their last on-screen appearance occurred in the two-part finale of season 5, titled "The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang." In these episodes, they formed an alliance to trap the Eleventh Doctor, portrayed by Matt Smith. After season 5, the Autons did not make any further television appearances in Doctor Who, with the exception of a brief mention in the episode "Praxeus." However, they have appeared in several Big Finish audio dramas, where they encounter different incarnations of the Doctor, Kate Stewart (played by Jemma Redgrave) who leads UNIT, and the time traveler River Song (played by Alex Kingston). Furthermore, an Auton story written by McTighe was included in The Collection boxset release of season 8 of the original Doctor Who series. This particular story showcased Jo Grant, played by Katy Manning, as she fought against the Autons alongside her husband Cliff (played by Stewart Bevan).

The return of familiar characters like the Master, Cybermen, and Judoon in Doctor Who season 12 led to the exclusion of the Autons in the episode "Praxeus." Whittaker's era, unlike its beginnings, aimed to be more accessible to new viewers by not relying heavily on past storylines. However, fans might still be curious about the possible future appearances of the Doctor's cunning plastic enemies.