The serial introduced three new characters: the Doctor's new companion, Jo Grant; his archenemy the Master; and Captain Mike Yates.
He sends her back with a box, ostensibly containing the stolen energy unit; the Doctor realises she has been hypnotised and disposes of the bomb.
He takes both to the quarry, but Farrel, struggling to break free of his hypnosis, unexpectedly causes a diversion, and the Doctor and Jo escape.
When he pulls out a gun, Yates shoots him dead, but the Doctor peels back a facemask to reveal it is the hypnotised Farrel, disguised.
[1] Terror of the Autons also introduced Katy Manning as Jo Grant (as a replacement for departed companion Liz Shaw), and Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates.
Dinny Powell was driving the vehicle in place of actor Richard Franklin, and stuntman Terry Walsh, playing the Auton, fell further down the slope than intended, being injured in the mishap.
[1] Michael Wisher, the young Rex Farrel, had also done uncredited voice work on Seeds, and had previously appeared in The Ambassadors of Death (as the TV News anchorman) and, later, Carnival of Monsters (as the machiavellian politician Kalik).
In an unconnected House of Lords debate about the effect of mass media on the public, the serial was cited as an example of a programme that might be too 'scary' for younger children.
"[8] Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping simply wrote of the serial in The Discontinuity Guide (1995), "Functional and memorably scary, but by no means an Auton story.
"[9] In The Television Companion (1998), David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker called it a "strong start" to the season, though they commented that the story was not as effective as Spearhead from Space in "depicting the threat of the Autons."
[10] In 2009, Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times compared the serial to a comic strip and wrote positively about Manning and Delgado.
[3] Ian Berriman of SFX, reviewing the serial for its 2011 DVD release, also commented that Delgado was "note-perfect from the off" and that while the climax was "feeble", he felt "it's all such outrageous fun that it doesn't really matter".
[11] DVD Talk reviewer John Sinnott described Terror of the Autons as "a wonderful romp," although "the ending is rushed and pretty much just pulled out of nowhere".
[12] Den of Geek's James Peatly wrote that Terror of the Autons was "a fantastically entertaining and incredibly confident slice of macabre fun".
Comparison between the remastered episodes and clips included in the behind-the-scenes material demonstrate that a great deal of restoration work has been carried out on the picture and sound quality.
It features a new 5.1 sound mix, optional updated special effects, CSO clean up and a brand new restoration of the film prints.