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{{Short description|Fictional automatons controlled by the Nestene Consciousness in the Doctor Who franchise}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{for-multi|the Supreme Court of Canada case|Auton (Guardian ad litem of) v. British Columbia (Attorney General)|the trilogy of direct-to-video films|Auton (film series)}}
{{primary sources|date=October 2012}}
{{Infobox fictional race
| name        = Auton
| image       = Spearhead from Space.jpg
| image_size  = 250px
| caption     = The Autons from their first appearance.
| series      = [[Doctor Who]]
| type        = Living plastic automata
| affiliation = Nestene Consciousness
| home_world  = Unknown (possibly Polymos)
| first       = ''[[Spearhead from Space]]'' (1970)
| last        = "[[The Big Bang (Doctor Who)|The Big Bang]]" (2010)
| creator     = [[Robert Holmes (scriptwriter)|Robert Holmes]]
}}
The '''Autons''' are an artificial life form from the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[science fiction on television|science fiction television]] series ''Doctor Who'' and adversaries of [[The Doctor (Doctor Who)|the Doctor]]. They were originally created by scriptwriter Robert Holmes for [[Jon Pertwee]]'s first serial as the Doctor, ''Spearhead from Space'' (1970), and were the first [[monster]]s to be presented in colour on the series.

They returned for the following season's ''[[Terror of the Autons]]'' (1971), which also introduced the character of [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]], but they did not appear again in the original series. Holmes intended to feature the Autons for [[Doctor Who (season 23)|season 23]] of ''Doctor Who'' in 1986 in a story entitled ''[[Yellow Fever and How to Cure It]]'', which featured the Master and [[The Rani (Doctor Who)|the Rani]], but it was abandoned due to the programme being put on an 18-month hiatus.<ref>[[List of unmade Doctor Who serials and films]]</ref>

Autons are essentially life-sized [[plastic]] dummies, [[automaton]]s animated by the '''Nestene Consciousness''', an [[Extraterrestrials in fiction|extraterrestrial]], disembodied [[group mind (science fiction)|gestalt intelligence]] which first arrived on [[Earth]] in hollow plastic [[meteorite]]s. Their name comes from '''Auto Plastics''', the company that was infiltrated by the Nestenes and subsequently manufactured their Auton shells in ''Spearhead From Space''.

Autons conceal deadly [[weapon]]s within their hands, which can kill or vaporize their targets. The typical Auton does not look particularly realistic, resembling a mannequin, being robotic in its movements and mute. However, more sophisticated Autons can be created, which look and act human except for a slight plastic sheen to the skin and a flat-sounding voice.<ref>"[[Rose (Doctor Who episode)|Rose]]"</ref> In [[The Pandorica Opens|Series 5]] of the [[History of Doctor Who#2000s|relaunched ''Doctor Who'' series]], they are shown as being able to create fully lifelike human replicas, able to fool other humans.<ref>"The Big Bang"</ref>

==History==
[[File:Doctor Who Experience (3202736207).jpg|thumb|An Auton weapon, as shown at the Doctor Who Experience]]
The Nestenes are among the oldest beings in the [[Whoniverse|''Doctor Who'' universe]], described as creatures which existed in the "Dark Times", along with the [[List of Doctor Who universe creatures and aliens (Q–Z)#R|Racnoss]], [[State of Decay (Doctor Who)|Great Vampires]] and [[List of Doctor Who universe creatures and aliens (0–9, A–G)#C|Carrionites]].<ref name="The Infinite Quest 2">{{cite episode
 | title = [[The Infinite Quest]] episode 2
 | series = Doctor Who
 | credits = [[Alan Barnes (writer)|Alan Barnes]], [[Gary Russell]]
 | network = [[BBC]]
 | airdate = 2007-04-13
}}</ref> Eventually, they sought to invade the Earth (in ''Spearhead from Space''), using more human-looking Autons to replace key government figures, although these plans were thwarted by [[UNIT]] with the help of the Doctor, who also destroyed their invasion form, a multi-tentacled [[cephalopod]].

The Nestenes subsequently returned in the first serial of Pertwee's second year as the Doctor, ''Terror of the Autons'', which also featured the introduction of the [[Master (Doctor Who)|Master]]. In this attempt, the Nestenes also made use of more mundane, everyday plastic objects, animating plastic toys, inflatable chairs and artificial flowers in addition to their Auton servants. The Doctor convinced the Master that the Nestenes were too dangerous to be reliable allies, and they reversed the [[radio]] beam the invasion force was coming in on, sending it back into space. This would be The Nestenes and the Autons final appearance in Doctor Who's original run. They would not return again until the episode ''Rose'' in 2005.

Early drafts of "[[The Five Doctors]]" (1983) featured a scene where [[Sarah Jane Smith]] encountered some Autons and is rescued by the [[Third Doctor]], but it was dropped before filming for reasons of time and expense.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.radiotimes.com/blog/2012-02-22/the-five-doctors |title = The Five Doctors ★★★★}}</ref> A third appearance was planned for the aborted 1986 season during [[Colin Baker]]'s tenure as the Doctor, but never materialized. Titled Yellow Fever and How to Cure It, it was supposed to be set in [[Singapore]], with appearances by the [[Rani (Doctor Who)|Rani]] and the Master. The story, which was to be scripted by the veteran writer Robert Holmes, only exists in outline form.

[[File:Nestene consciousness.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The Ninth Doctor encounters the Nestene Consciousness]]
When the series was revived in 2005, producer and writer [[Russell T Davies]] chose the Autons as the first monster to be featured,<ref>"The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly". ''[[Doctor Who Confidential]]''. Series 1. Episode 2. 2 April 2005. BBC. [[BBC Three]].</ref> though the name Auton is never used onscreen. The Nestenes infiltrated Earth once more, using [[faster-than-light|warp shunt technology]], in the opening episode of the [[Doctor Who series 1|2005 series]]. In "Rose", it was revealed that the Nestenes lost their food supply during the [[Time War (Doctor Who)|Time War]] when their [[protein#Protein and nutrition|protein]] planets rotted. Their intent was to overthrow and destroy the human race, as Earth was ideal for their consumption needs, being filled with smoke, oil and various [[pollutant]]s. They were eventually destroyed when Rose spilled a vial of the Doctor's "anti-plastic" solution into the vat of molten plastic which housed the main bulk of the Consciousness, causing it to explode. The episode established that the Nestenes animate the Autons by means of [[telepathy|telepathic]] projection, and also featured an Auton facsimile that could change the shape of its features and limbs. The Autons later appeared in a flashback sequence taking place during the finale of "Rose" in the [[Doctor Who series 2|Series 2]] episode [[Love & Monsters (Doctor Who)|Love & Monsters]], and again cameoed as a sketch in John Smith's "''A Journal of Impossible Things''" in the episode "[[Human Nature (Doctor Who)|Human Nature]]."

The Autons returned in the 2010 episode "The Pandorica Opens", alongside many other monsters from throughout the show's history, to trap the [[Eleventh Doctor]]. The Autons in this episode were programmed to believe they were the soldiers of a Roman legion, among them [[Rory Williams]], using the memories of [[Amy Pond]]. They were very realistic and far more sophisticated than the average Auton, and their hands contained futuristic laser guns rather than projectile weapons. As in the 2005 appearance, the name "Auton" was not used in dialogue; the phrase "Nestene duplicate" was introduced here to describe the copy of Rory. Due to the influences of the cracks in time, the Rory copy possessed the personality of the real Rory and was able to resist the Nestene's control, later working together with The Doctor to save the universe.

The Autons were later mentioned in the [[Doctor Who series 12|series 12]] episode ''[[Praxeus]]''. According to an interview with writer Pete McTighe, the Autons were initially planned to appear before being scrapped at an early stage in development.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jodie Whittaker Doctor Who episode almost brought Autons back |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-jodie-whittaker-autons-episode-newsupdate/ |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=Radio Times |language=en}}</ref>

==Other appearances==
The Nestenes have also appeared in the ''Doctor Who'' [[Doctor Who spin-offs|spin-off]] novels (which linked the Consciousness with the [[Great Old One]]s of the [[Cthulhu Mythos]], in particular as an offspring of [[Shub-Niggurath]]). In the [[Sixth Doctor]] [[Past Doctor Adventures|novel]] ''[[Business Unusual]]'' by Gary Russell, the Nestenes utilized computer games and plastic toys in another bid for world conquest. They later reappeared in the novel ''[[Synthespians™]]'' by [[Craig Hinton]]. In 2008, the [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Lucie Miller]] again encountered Autons in the audio ''[[Brave New Town]].'' These Autons were part of an old Soviet program to infiltrate Britain during the Cold War before the collapse of the Soviet Union left the Autons stuck in a loop in the fake British town created for the spies, eventually developing independence. A [[Tenth Doctor]] novel, ''[[Autonomy (Doctor Who)|Autonomy]]'', was released in September 2009 featuring the Autons.

In the ''Doctor Who Annual 2006'', an article written by Russell T Davies mentions the loss of the Nestene Consciousness's planets during the Time War, and states that it "found itself mutating under temporal stress". This may be a reference to the difference between the portrayal of the Consciousness in ''Spearhead from Space'' and "Rose".

[[File:Doctor Who Experience (3203584792).jpg|thumb|left|The Autons, shown here at the Doctor Who Experience]]
In the late 1990s, [[Bill & Ben Video|BBV]] released a trilogy of made-for-video films, titled [[Auton trilogy|''Auton'', ''Auton 2: Sentinel'' and ''Auton 3'']]. These stories featured UNIT battling the Consciousness. In the first film, a Nestene energy unit and several Autons captured by UNIT in ''Spearhead from Space'' are accidentally reactivated. In the sequels, the escaped Autons attempt to awaken several dormant Nestenes put in place since before the development of human civilization. Though BBV was licensed to use the Nestenes, Autons and UNIT by the writers who created them, the [[canon (fiction)|canonicity]] of these films is unclear.

In the first series of the televised ''[[Dead Ringers (series)|Dead Ringers]]'', in a sketch with [[Jon Culshaw]] visiting the [[London Eye]] (calling it an ''Interstitial Time Delay Helix'') in the persona of the [[Fourth Doctor]], he humorously accused two tourists: "You are Autons from the planet Tosos!"

In 2006, a [[Doctor Who spoofs|sketch]] on ''[[The Charlotte Church Show]]'' showed the Doctor examining the inner thigh of a scantily clad female mannequin; when confronted by Church (playing his companion), he claimed that he thought it was an Auton.

They appeared in issue 15 of ''[[Doctor Who – Battles in Time]]'' as the main theme of the issue.

The Autons also appear in ''[[Lego Dimensions]]''. They appear in the ''Doctor Who'' Level “The Dalek Extermination of Earth” when the player time travels to Central London in 2015 using the [[TARDIS]]. Whenever the player destroys a purple rock, the Autons come to life from the shop windows and attack the player. They also appear in the Doctor Who adventure world as encounterable enemies.<ref>LEGO Dimensions</ref>

The Autons appear in one of the Doctor Who and Mr. Men mash-up books, published under the [[Mr. Men|Doctor Men]] series of books.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Ninth Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack face the Autons in one of four new Doctor Who-Mr Men mash-up books |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/the-ninth-doctor-rose-and-captain-jack-face-the-autons-in-one-of-four-new-doctor-who-mr-men-mash-up-books/ |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=Radio Times |language=en}}</ref>

During 2020, as part of a fan "Watch-along" of the episode "Rose," writer Russell T Davies wrote a sequel to the episode "Rose" entitled "Revenge of the Nestene." It depicts a surviving Auton after the events of the episode.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doctor Who: Rose sequel "Revenge of the Nestene" released online |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-rose-sequel/ |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=Radio Times |language=en}}</ref>

== Reception ==
[[File:Dr. Who Exhibition at the Kelvingrove (4006575428).jpg|thumb|Autons, as shown in the revived series at the Doctor Who Experience]]
Writing for Looper.com, Richard Chachowski included the Autons on a list of the show's greatest antagonists. While he states they are hard to take seriously, "their blank, unemotional faces and stiff movements make them some of the creepiest looking antagonists the Doctor encounters in his adventures across time and space."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-05 |title=The Greatest Villains In Doctor Who, Ranked |url=https://www.looper.com/853730/the-greatest-villains-in-doctor-who-ranked/ |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=Looper |language=en-US}}</ref> Writing in a review of "''Spearhead from Space''" for [[The A.V. Club|''The AV Club'']], Christopher Bahn states that "The Autons are of secondary importance to the story," but also highlights that they "...provide some effectively chilling moments," highlighting [[Hugh Burden]] as the Auton duplicate of the character Channing, as well as the scene in which the Autons break out of the shop windows.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-06-19 |title=Doctor Who (Classic): "Spearhead From Space" |url=https://www.avclub.com/doctor-who-classic-spearhead-from-space-1798168762 |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=The A.V. Club |language=en}}</ref> Writing for Doctor Who TV, Raphael Kiyani praised the Autons role in "Rose" as something "children could be scared about every time they walk down the streets," and further highlights that "Every time I see a shop-window I can’t help but think of the Autons, so it’s a powerful image."<ref>{{Cite web |last=DWTV |date=2013-09-26 |title=Rose: Looking Back on Doctor Who's Revival {{!}} Doctor Who TV |url=https://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/rose-looking-back-on-doctor-whos-revival-53368.htm |access-date=2023-07-21 |language=en-GB}}</ref> ''[[Den of Geek]]'' writer Andrew Blair listed the scene in which stuntman [[Terry Walsh (actor)|Terry Walsh]], playing an Auton, falls down a sixty foot cliff and gets back up again, as the greatest stunt in the series, highlighting the accidental nature of the stunt and how it made "the Autons seem uncanny... creatures who felt no pain."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blair |first=Andrew |date=2022-10-02 |title=Doctor Who’s Best Stunts |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-who-best-stunts/ |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US}}</ref>

The image of store mannequins coming to life in ''Spearhead from Space'', in full colour and shooting people down in the street, is one of the series' iconic moments and is often cited as an example of the series' ability to make everyday things terrifying. The use of even more ordinary objects in ''Terror of the Autons'' – including the unmasking of a police officer as an Auton – caused public controversy about whether the programme was too frightening for children. The story also featured in a discussion in the [[House of Lords]], where Baroness Bacon expressed worries about it being too frightening even for older children.<ref>[[Baroness Bacon]] (3 February 1971). "Mass Media Communication". ''[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]''. Vol. 314. House of Lords. col. 1244–1245. <q>and I wonder what has happened to "Dr. Who" recently, because many children must have gone to bed and had nightmares after seeing the recent episodes</q></ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Doctor Who robots]]
* [[List of Doctor Who universe creatures and aliens]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{TardisIndexFile|Auton}}

{{Subject bar |portal2=Doctor Who |commons=y }}
{{Doctor Who characters|selected=Villains}}
{{Auton stories}}

[[Category:Doctor Who races]]
[[Category:Fictional robots]]
[[Category:Fictional avatars]]
[[Category:Fictional dolls and dummies]]
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