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From Amazon.co.uk
"Planet of the Giants" opened the second season of Doctor Who with William Hartnell's Doctor and companions Susan, Barbara and Ian finding themselves in a mysterious labyrinth filled with dead giant ants. A TARDIS malfunction has left the travellers an inch high and they have landed in the cracks in a garden path, part of a testing ground for an insecticide which could trigger a biological apocalypse. The plot combines the urgent warning of Rachel Carson's 1962 environmental landmark Silent Spring, with the basic scenario of Richard Matheson's The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), the characters facing similar hazards including being menaced by a domestic cat. The low budget means the huge props necessary to realise the story are limited, but what there are prove surprisingly good. Even the over-size ants and a big fly look fairly impressive. The story maintains an unsettling mood, with an effective cliff-hanger involving the laboratory sink. Continuity problems stem from the original four-episode story being re-edited into three parts prior to transmission, but this is still a superior example of early Doctor Who, predating the popular American TV series Land of the Giants (1968) by four years. Lindsay Gutteridge's once popular 1973 novel Cold War in a Country Garden owed much to the story. --Gary S Dalkin
Product Description
The TARDIS doors open while the ship is still in flight by accident. Although they have arrived back on Earth in the 1960s, a time they have been trying to return to since they all met, the travellers soon realise that something is very wrong.
The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan discover that they have all be reduced in size and the world they are now exploring has dangers at every turn…
Special Features
• Commentary with vision mixer Clive Doig, special sounds creator Brian Hodgson, make-up supervisor Sonia Markham and floor assistant David Tilley. Moderated by Mark Ayres.
• Episode 3 and 4 Reconstructio--Originally shot as a four-part story, the final two episodes of Planet of Giants were edited into a single episode for transmission. Using the original scripts, newly recorded dialogue and animation, this feature gives viewers and idea of how the original four-part version might have appeared.
• Rediscovering The Urge to Live--The team behind the reconstruction explain how it was put together.
• Suddenly Susan--Carole Ann Ford talks about her role as the Doctor’s granddaughter and the first companion in the TARDIS in this interview originally recorded for 2003’s The Story of Doctor Who.
• The Lambert Tapes - The Doctor--Doctor Who’s original producer looks back on her time on the series in the second part of this interview recorded for The Story of Doctor Who
• Prop Design Plans (DVD-ROM only – to be viewed on PC/Mac).
• Radio Times Listings (DVD-ROM)
• Programme Subtitles
• Production Information Subtitles
• Photo Gallery
• Coming Soon Trailer
• Digitally remastered picture and sound quality
The story was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 31st October – 14th November 1964.
The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan discover that they have all be reduced in size and the world they are now exploring has dangers at every turn…
Special Features
• Commentary with vision mixer Clive Doig, special sounds creator Brian Hodgson, make-up supervisor Sonia Markham and floor assistant David Tilley. Moderated by Mark Ayres.
• Episode 3 and 4 Reconstructio--Originally shot as a four-part story, the final two episodes of Planet of Giants were edited into a single episode for transmission. Using the original scripts, newly recorded dialogue and animation, this feature gives viewers and idea of how the original four-part version might have appeared.
• Rediscovering The Urge to Live--The team behind the reconstruction explain how it was put together.
• Suddenly Susan--Carole Ann Ford talks about her role as the Doctor’s granddaughter and the first companion in the TARDIS in this interview originally recorded for 2003’s The Story of Doctor Who.
• The Lambert Tapes - The Doctor--Doctor Who’s original producer looks back on her time on the series in the second part of this interview recorded for The Story of Doctor Who
• Prop Design Plans (DVD-ROM only – to be viewed on PC/Mac).
• Radio Times Listings (DVD-ROM)
• Programme Subtitles
• Production Information Subtitles
• Photo Gallery
• Coming Soon Trailer
• Digitally remastered picture and sound quality
The story was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 31st October – 14th November 1964.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 32 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:VHS Tape
Don't believe everything you read in reviews, especially when they're full of inaccuracies! This story is three episodes long, not because of problems with any other story, but simply because the last two episodes were edited together before broadcast to make a much more taut result. Ray Cusick's giant size sets work well, as do the optical effects used to render the TARDIS crew only one inch tall. Listen out too for future regular composer Dudley Simpson's very first incidental score for the programme. This is also the first Dr Who story where the direction was credited on screen to Douglas Camfield, arguably the series' finest director. Although not perfect the story is still highly entertaining and well worth buying, especially for the opportunity to see Hartnell's Doctor on "video" as opposed to "film" for the first time since the original transmissions, thanks to the new VidFIRE process being applied!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By The Animus
Format:DVD
Finally got round to buying this. I must say, I was a bit dubious at first - dubbed footage and impersonators having been used to re-create episode 3 & 4 as it originally appeared - but I was pleasantly surprised. Not by the visuals, not by the original cast, but by John Guilor's first Doctor. William Hartnell always said he'd come back ! Yeeeeees ... one day ! And he truly has. I wonder if David Bradley will sound this good in the Mark Gatiss 50th anniversary biopic ? Why on Earth Big Finish haven't picked up on Guilor is beyond comprehension. A quick search on Google and I find he is not only an accomplished impersonator but also a pretty decent actor. Why haven't we heard of him before now ? He is truly the highlight of this disc - a shiver runs down the spine. William Hartnell is back ! Someone at the BBC and Big Finish needs to take note.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By L O'connor
Format:VHS Tape|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Doctor is attempting to return Ian and Barbara to earth, but when they get there they find that they have all been shrunk to 1 inch tall, and are in a garden where a powerful new insecticide has been tested, and has killed every living creature. They find themselves in all sorts of trouble, being menaced by a cat, Ian being stuck in a matchbox, the Doctor and Susan nearly getting flushed down the drain when the tap is turned on etc. And they have to try and stop the spread of the deadly insecticide.
This is a very amusing and unusual Doctor Who story, with plenty of excitement and some very cleverly construced props (I thought the giant plug and plughole were particularly convincing.) I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This is a very amusing and unusual Doctor Who story, with plenty of excitement and some very cleverly construced props (I thought the giant plug and plughole were particularly convincing.) I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A clasiic loving restored
Whilst I can see why they cut is down to 3 parts I really enjoyed Ian Levine's recreation of the original four parter.
Published 1 day ago by Michael Horner
4.0 out of 5 stars
Impresssive reconstruction of the edited second half
Whats really impressive with this release is the reconstruction by Ian Levine of the last two original episodes, originally re-edited into a single 26 minute episode for... Read more
Published 21 days ago by Sherman O'neill
5.0 out of 5 stars
Doctor Who Planet of Giants DVD
The TARDIS doors open before it has materialised causing it and everyone inside to shrink. Doctor Who: Planet of Giants DVD has been released on 20th August 2012. Read more
Published 1 month ago by kk
5.0 out of 5 stars
Planet of Giants
A very underrated story which for its time is very well filmed on its low budget. Episodes 3 and 4 reconstruction with original soundtrack shows how much better it could have been.
Published 2 months ago by Antanas Kubinskas
4.0 out of 5 stars
' Planet of Giants' finally slips in to the collection of complete...
Planet of Giants was the first commissioned serial of Doctor Who's second season and it was duly anticipated by viewers in 1964, according to the Radio Times at least. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. Nicholas Pearson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Doctor Who DVD - Planet of Giants
I ordered it on 5th October, received it on the 9th, perfectly packed and containing a highly enjoyable early outing for the show with all four of the original cast, showing how... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mr. M. A. Hodges
5.0 out of 5 stars
Planet of giants
Great dvd remastered picture. Some good extras including a recon of how the story would have looked with the extra episode. Shown in three episodes when first on tv. Read more
Published 6 months ago by ian black
3.0 out of 5 stars
The miniscules
The first story from the second season of Doctor Who comes to DVD. Originally broadcast in 1964, all three black and white episodes are presented here on a single disc dvd. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Paul Tapner
4.0 out of 5 stars
Clunky but fun.
This is one of those 'fun' William Hartnell stories.
It's interesting to see the effects pulled off by the BBC when compared to a film such as "The Incredible Shrinking Man"... Read more
It's interesting to see the effects pulled off by the BBC when compared to a film such as "The Incredible Shrinking Man"... Read more
Published 8 months ago by M. Crossman
3.0 out of 5 stars
The incredible shrinking Doctor
This early Doctor Who story is not one of William Hartnell's best but has some fun moments as The Tardis finally lands on modern day Earth well 1963 anyway but modern at the time... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mr. R. W. Graham
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