Doctor Who - The Web Planet [DVD] [1965]

One of the oddest stories ever to emerge fom the Doctor Who canon. Once considered a classic, 'The Web Planet' is now derided by most fans. That's a shame. Of course, we're all much more sophisticated nowadays, but at the time this story was something truly magical. Yes, the production values are pretty ropey - even for 60s Doctor who! - and the sight of giant fibre glass ants banging into the sets (not to mention the cameras!) does take some getting used to; but if you persevere with it, then 'The Web Planet' has a lot to offer. For a start, the planet Vortis is one of the few genuinely realised alien environments in the show's history. It may look like an obvious studio set, but at least it isn't just another quarry. As with the planet Skaro in the earlier story 'The Daleks' there is a real attempt to present Vortis as fully realised, with a history, ecology and culture. The alien Animus that is slowly destroying the planet is one of the creepier entities to have appeared in the series, and the fact that we don't learn much about it actually makes it all the more sinister. The regular team of actors are generally on good form, doing their best to make it all seem real, although William Hartnell does forget the odd line (necessitating some quick thinking on the part of his colleagues) and Maureen O'Brien's growing dissatisfaction with the role of Vicki does manifest itself occasionally. But none of this detracts from the story's essential charm. The other characters are all non-human and, again, effort has been put into presenting them as genuinely unearthly. Overall, 'The Web Planet' has a very weird feel to it. Of course, it does take some effort to watch from a modern perspective, and the pace of the story is at times painfully slow; but if watched in short bursts, rather than in one go, this isn't so noticeable. A challenge to its makers at the time and a brave, though flawed, experiment, 'The Web Planet' really does deserve a little more respect than its been getting over the last few years.

I first saw this as an original transmission when I was about 9 or 10 years old - we'd just about got our first TV by then! Who remembers black-and-white 405 lines VHF? (You could actually see the gaps between the scan lines, it was like looking through very narrow Venetian blinds) - anyway, In the succeeding 4 decades I had obviously forgotten nearly all of the details, but I do remember that it made a big impression on me at the time. It is ridiculed now for the amateurish sets and costumes and feeble 'special effects', but actually, all such-like studio-based TV productions from this period were all about the same, you name it, all suffered with wobbly sets and unconvincing explosions (the latter for simple safety reasons if nothing else). Not only is The Web Planet an extremely ambitious and complicated project, but the problems are compounded when you discover that they were only given two hours on a Friday evening each week in which to record an entire episode! This means that there are several dodgy moments and the production team freely admit that if they had been allowed more time, they could have come up with a much more polished result.

None of this matters if you have a good story. I watched the DVD right through for three hours solid and the story kept me hooked the whole time. (If you don't agree then I'm going to be a boring old fogey and suggest that you have been conditioned to conform with the modern obsession for constant, head-long, computer-game type action, but that's hardly your fault.) The best way to view The Web Planet is as though you were in a theatre watching a live performance on stage, then it works OK. In this context the actors manage to sustain convincing performances despite the restrictions, or so I think. The thin, Vortis atmosphere is indicated by a sheet of glass held up in front of the camera lens and smeared with Vaseline to add a blurry effect to the 'outdoor' scenes. Must admit the barren landscape with its perpetual night sky reminded me a bit of The Clangers' planet, while the so-obviously false flat walls of the Zarbi lair, which are supposed to be made of vegitation or the web stuff, virtually look the same as what you would get in an old computer game to represent e.g. hedges or jungle.

I was genuinely surprised that the whole thing is much better than I recall, perhaps because I'm now old enough to appreciate it better. A lot of the subtleties in the script obviously went right over my head at the age of 9! Yep, Doctor Who was never 'just for kids'. The picture and sound quality on the DVD is really excellent, certainly way better than that old 405 lines TV could have managed!

I had low expectations because The Web Planet seems to have its detractors but I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. A very creative story with some unique aliens and some FX that shows that no matter how low budget the series was, the costume designers, set designers, DoP, directors and actors, all can pull together to make a riveting story.

The Hartnell DVDs are proving to be some of my favourite stories that so far have been released and I can't wait for 2009's The Rescue and The Romans.