Nestene Consciousness and Autons

The Nestene Consciousness and the Autons are a pair of antagonists from the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who.'' They were originally created by scriptwriter Robert Holmes for the serial ''Spearhead from Space'' (1970). The Nestene Consciousness is a non-corporeal entity that has the ability to control plastic. The Autons are mannequins animated by the Consciousness, used as its footsoldiers. Following their debut, the Nestenes and Autons re-appeared in the 1971 serial ''Terror of the Autons'', as well as in the show's 2005 revival in the episodes "Rose" (2005), "The Pandorica Opens", and "The Big Bang" (both 2010).

While brainstorming concepts for the new, entirely earthbound format for the 1970 season of the show, the team decided on an alien invasion from a non-corporeal entity that could split into parts; following discussions about plastic and the potential terror that lay in mannequins coming to life, it was decided to make the entity capable of controlling plastic, resulting in the creation of the Nestene and its Auton minions. The Nestene would go on to re-appear in ''Terror of the Autons'' as a result of the popularity of the prior serial. Though another re-appearance was planned for both the 1983 serial "The Five Doctors" and the 1986 season of the show, both of these were scrapped in production. Their usage in "Rose" was done in order to ensure the titular character, Rose Tyler, would not immediately assume the Autons were aliens, and would allow for familiarity in the child audience, who would recognise the creatures as mannequins.

The Autons have been considered one of the more popular monsters in the series, with a scene from ''Spearhead from Space'' in which they emerge from shop windows and attack passerby being cited as one of the show's most famous scenes. The Autons were regarded as some of the scariest monsters in the show's history, with their appearance in ''Terror of the Autons'' drawing criticism as a result. Provided by Wikipedia