the local psychiatric hospital. Lockwood and Natasha are both being used by another psychic UNIT operative named Palmer to lead them to the heart of the Nestene activity. Palmer monitors their movements through a constant link with Natasha's mind. Meanwhile, Natasha is used by the Nestenes to lure Lockwood to the hospital, which the Autons are using as the centre of their operation. There the Auton Winslet is trying to free the Nestene energy from Lockwood's mind so it can infect every computer in the world and revive all the dormant Nestene creatures. Lockwood resists by convincing himself that everything he sees is a dream. When Dr. Arnold arrives, his resolve is broken. He is then forced to sacrifice his own life to destroy the Nestene plan. Reception Unlike the previous two films, Auton 3 received much more negative reviews from critics. Doctor Who Magazine heavily criticized the production, focusing on the writing and stated that it "shamelessly cribbed from The X-Files". Modern criticism has also continued the negative trend, with Dylan Rees stating in the book Downtime - The Lost Years of Doctor Who that the film was "a mess from start to finish" and that the direction was stilted and poor. However, Dreamwatch would give the film a positive review, with Richard McGinlay stating that it was "powerfully realized and performed". Trivia and continuity Auton was originally intended to include Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, but actor Nicholas Courtney had to decline due to the fact he was ill during production. The character of the Brigadier was replaced by Lockwood, who would also appear in the next two films. In Auton 2: Sentinel, it is revealed that Lockwood is actually the codename of the otherwise unnamed UNIT Operative 8954B. The call sign Greyhound Leader, used in Doctor Who successively by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Brigadier Bambera, and Kate Stewart, is used by three different characters in the trilogy: Lockwood (Auton), Colonel Wilson (Auton 2: Sentinel) and Ross Palmer (Auton 3: Awakening). A spoof of these dramas, titled "The Auton Diaries", is included on the VHS and DVD releases of Auton 3: Awakening. The plot involves an out of work Auton finding new employment at BBV. BBV's Do You Have a Licence to Save this Planet includes an Auton 3-style Auton. Nicholas Briggs, who directed the first two films and wrote all three, would go on to play the voices of the Daleks