The Web Planet
Encyclopedia
The Web Planet is the fifth serial in the second season of the British
science fiction television series Doctor Who
, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 13 February 1965 to 20 March 1965. The serial involves the TARDIS
crew landing on the desolate planet Vortis, allying themselves with the alien Menoptera as they struggle to win back their planet from the malignant Animus.
. The Doctor and Ian investigate and try to find the source whilst Barbara tends to a disoriented Vicki who has been affected by the natural high-frequency communications of the ant-like Zarbi monitoring the TARDIS. Vortis is a thin-atmosphere planet with natural crag-like rock formations and what appear to be pools of acid. The Doctor recognises the planet from the remains of a dead grub-like creature, however he is puzzled by the presence of moons around what should normally be a moonless planet.
Meanwhile, inside the ship, Barbara is influenced by an unknown force through her gold bracelet. This force mesmerises her and draws her outside, leaving Vicki alone in the untended TARDIS. The TARDIS begins sliding across the planet's surface, apparently being pulled by an unseen force. In her trance, Barbara walks into a trio of butterfly-like Menoptra – all that remains of a reconnaissance force sent to prepare the way for an invasion spearhead. They free her of the trance by removing her bracelet, and then debate what to do with her. Barbara escapes; however, she is immediately captured by the Zarbi and brainwashed through the use of a gold neck-harness. The Zarbi take her back to the Menoptra, killing one and capturing another, whilst the third escapes. The Zarbi take Barbara and a Menoptra called Hrostar to the Crater of Needles, where they are forced to gather vegetation and drop it into rivers of acid, thereby feeding the central force of the Zarbi, called the Animus.
The Doctor and Ian, having discovered the theft of the TARDIS and a trail leading away, begin tracking it. They are captured by the Zarbi and are taken to the Carsinome, where they find Vicki and the TARDIS. There they indirectly meet the Animus, who talks to the Doctor through what appears to be a mental communications device. The Animus forces the Doctor to help it track down the Menoptra invasion spearhead and the following main invasion force of the Menoptra. Ian escapes, whilst the Doctor, who has already worked out the invasion plans of the Menoptra, and Vicki try to bide their time.
Ian, trying to find Barbara, meets with a Menoptra called Vrestin, the only escapee of the Zarbi ambush. He learns from Vrestrin that the Menoptra were native to the planet Vortis along with the Zarbi, until a great evil force, the Animus, slowly and gradually took control of the planet through the mindless Zarbi. By the time the Menoptra had noticed this it was too late, and they had to flee the planet. The Menoptra fled to the moons that had been pulled into orbit around Vortis by the great evil force of the Animus – the same force that had pulled the TARDIS off course. The Zarbi soon locate Ian and Vrestin, but they manage to escape by falling down into an underground tunnel, where they meet the Optera. Ian soon realises that the Optera are descendants of the Menoptra, who had fled underground. The Optera had lost their wings through the generations and consider the Menoptra as gods, although they don't recognise Vrestin as a Menoptra. Ian and Vrestin convince the Optera to join them in fighting the Animus.
Back in the Carsinome, the Doctor accidentally releases a bit of information about the Menoptra invasion force, particularly that the spearhead plans to land at Sayo Plateau just north of the Crater of Needles. The Animus uses this information to ambush the spearhead. Barbara and Hroster escape from the Crater of Needles and try to meet up with the spearhead and also to warn them of the ineffectiveness of their weapons against the Zarbi. They fail to convince the spearhead force of the uselessness of the weapons, and the spearhead Menoptra are massacred by the Zarbi forces. Only a few survive and manage to hide in one of the Menoptra's old temples. There they try, without success, to radio the main force and warn them that their weapons are useless against the Zarbi.
Meanwhile, the Doctor works out that the Animus uses gold as a conductor to channel a mesmerising force. He counteracts this force and then uses the hidden power of his ring to control one of the Zarbi. The Doctor escapes with Vicki and his captive Zarbi, and meets up with Barbara and the Menoptra. They all devise a plan to attack the Carsinome, with the Menoptra acting as a diversionary force whilst the Doctor and Vicki try to reach the Animus with the Isop-tope device, a living-cell destructor.
The Doctor and Vicki make their way back to the Carsinome, where they are taken to the centre to see the Animus, a great spider-like creature. Here they are mesmerised and made helpless by the Animus. Meanwhile, Barbara and the Menoptra attack the Carsinome from the outside, using the Doctor's ring to control a Larvae Gun, the Zarbi's living weapon. At the same time, Ian, Vrestin and the Optera try to dig their way to the Animus from below. They all make it to the centre and to the Animus where, with a singular act of willpower, Barbara manages to use the Isop-tope device on the Animus, destroying it.
In the end, with the Zarbi free from the control of the Animus and the Menoptra and Optera free to live on Vortis, the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki leave in the TARDIS.
Believed lost in the BBC's early 1970s purge
, negative film prints of all six episodes were recovered from BBC Enterprises in the late 1970s. Unedited prints of all six episodes were also discovered in Nigeria
in 1984. The BBC holds two different versions of episode six; one in which the "Next Episode" caption referred to "The Lion" and the other with the caption naming "The Space Museum
", which was the only story still available for sale by the BBC in 1974. (The different caption is not due to The Crusade
being withheld from sale to Arab countries as is commonly thought, since the package of serials sold to Arabic countries did not extend beyond The Rescue.)
. It was written by Bill Strutton
under the title Doctor Who and the Zarbi in 1965. This novel introduced the concept of the "Zarbi Supremo", a vast Zarbi with a role similar to that of a queen bee
. Much of the Vortis terms are removed and the Doctor is referred to throughout as Dr Who. In 1973 Target Books
acquired the rights to the novelisation and reprinted it as one of the first in their long running series of Doctor Who novelisations, although when the imprint began numbering the books in the series, The Zarbi was listed as Number 73 in the series. A Dutch
translation was published in the Netherlands
in 1974, and a Portuguese
one in 1983.
In 2005 the novel was also issued by BBC Audio as part of the Doctor Who: Travels in Time and Space audio book
collectors' tin, read by William Russell.
Reviews
Target novelisation
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 13 February 1965 to 20 March 1965. The serial involves the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
crew landing on the desolate planet Vortis, allying themselves with the alien Menoptera as they struggle to win back their planet from the malignant Animus.
Plot
An unknown force pulls the TARDIS off course and onto the planet VortisVortis (Doctor Who)
Vortis is a fictional planet in the Isop galaxy, created by Bill Strutton and originally featuring in six 1965 BBC episodes of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, collectively titled The Web Planet, and featuring William Hartnell as the First Doctor...
. The Doctor and Ian investigate and try to find the source whilst Barbara tends to a disoriented Vicki who has been affected by the natural high-frequency communications of the ant-like Zarbi monitoring the TARDIS. Vortis is a thin-atmosphere planet with natural crag-like rock formations and what appear to be pools of acid. The Doctor recognises the planet from the remains of a dead grub-like creature, however he is puzzled by the presence of moons around what should normally be a moonless planet.
Meanwhile, inside the ship, Barbara is influenced by an unknown force through her gold bracelet. This force mesmerises her and draws her outside, leaving Vicki alone in the untended TARDIS. The TARDIS begins sliding across the planet's surface, apparently being pulled by an unseen force. In her trance, Barbara walks into a trio of butterfly-like Menoptra – all that remains of a reconnaissance force sent to prepare the way for an invasion spearhead. They free her of the trance by removing her bracelet, and then debate what to do with her. Barbara escapes; however, she is immediately captured by the Zarbi and brainwashed through the use of a gold neck-harness. The Zarbi take her back to the Menoptra, killing one and capturing another, whilst the third escapes. The Zarbi take Barbara and a Menoptra called Hrostar to the Crater of Needles, where they are forced to gather vegetation and drop it into rivers of acid, thereby feeding the central force of the Zarbi, called the Animus.
The Doctor and Ian, having discovered the theft of the TARDIS and a trail leading away, begin tracking it. They are captured by the Zarbi and are taken to the Carsinome, where they find Vicki and the TARDIS. There they indirectly meet the Animus, who talks to the Doctor through what appears to be a mental communications device. The Animus forces the Doctor to help it track down the Menoptra invasion spearhead and the following main invasion force of the Menoptra. Ian escapes, whilst the Doctor, who has already worked out the invasion plans of the Menoptra, and Vicki try to bide their time.
Ian, trying to find Barbara, meets with a Menoptra called Vrestin, the only escapee of the Zarbi ambush. He learns from Vrestrin that the Menoptra were native to the planet Vortis along with the Zarbi, until a great evil force, the Animus, slowly and gradually took control of the planet through the mindless Zarbi. By the time the Menoptra had noticed this it was too late, and they had to flee the planet. The Menoptra fled to the moons that had been pulled into orbit around Vortis by the great evil force of the Animus – the same force that had pulled the TARDIS off course. The Zarbi soon locate Ian and Vrestin, but they manage to escape by falling down into an underground tunnel, where they meet the Optera. Ian soon realises that the Optera are descendants of the Menoptra, who had fled underground. The Optera had lost their wings through the generations and consider the Menoptra as gods, although they don't recognise Vrestin as a Menoptra. Ian and Vrestin convince the Optera to join them in fighting the Animus.
Back in the Carsinome, the Doctor accidentally releases a bit of information about the Menoptra invasion force, particularly that the spearhead plans to land at Sayo Plateau just north of the Crater of Needles. The Animus uses this information to ambush the spearhead. Barbara and Hroster escape from the Crater of Needles and try to meet up with the spearhead and also to warn them of the ineffectiveness of their weapons against the Zarbi. They fail to convince the spearhead force of the uselessness of the weapons, and the spearhead Menoptra are massacred by the Zarbi forces. Only a few survive and manage to hide in one of the Menoptra's old temples. There they try, without success, to radio the main force and warn them that their weapons are useless against the Zarbi.
Meanwhile, the Doctor works out that the Animus uses gold as a conductor to channel a mesmerising force. He counteracts this force and then uses the hidden power of his ring to control one of the Zarbi. The Doctor escapes with Vicki and his captive Zarbi, and meets up with Barbara and the Menoptra. They all devise a plan to attack the Carsinome, with the Menoptra acting as a diversionary force whilst the Doctor and Vicki try to reach the Animus with the Isop-tope device, a living-cell destructor.
The Doctor and Vicki make their way back to the Carsinome, where they are taken to the centre to see the Animus, a great spider-like creature. Here they are mesmerised and made helpless by the Animus. Meanwhile, Barbara and the Menoptra attack the Carsinome from the outside, using the Doctor's ring to control a Larvae Gun, the Zarbi's living weapon. At the same time, Ian, Vrestin and the Optera try to dig their way to the Animus from below. They all make it to the centre and to the Animus where, with a singular act of willpower, Barbara manages to use the Isop-tope device on the Animus, destroying it.
In the end, with the Zarbi free from the control of the Animus and the Menoptra and Optera free to live on Vortis, the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki leave in the TARDIS.
Continuity
- This is one of the few Doctor Who stories in which all the characters, other than the regulars, are entirely non-humanoidHumanoidA humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
. A more recent example is "The Girl Who WaitedThe Girl Who Waited"The Girl Who Waited" is the tenth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One and BBC America on 10 September 2011.-Synopsis:...
". - In the Ninth DoctorNinth DoctorThe Ninth Doctor is the ninth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by Christopher Eccleston....
episode "Bad WolfBad Wolf"Bad Wolf" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on June 11, 2005. The TARDIS crew find themselves trapped in the Gamestation, also known as Satellite 5, where they must battle to survive the cruel games...
", the Face of BoeFace of BoeThe Face of Boe is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Not portrayed on-screen by an actor, the Face of Boe is a wholly mechanical effect, resembling in appearance a gigantic, wrinkly human-like head with, in place of hair, numerous tendrils which...
is stated to be the oldest living inhabitant of the Isop Galaxy. Venom grubs were referred to in the previous episode, "Boom TownBoom Town (Doctor Who)"Boom Town" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 4 June 2005. The Doctor, Rose and Jack travel to modern-day Cardiff and meet up with Rose's boyfriend, Mickey...
". - The Second DoctorSecond DoctorThe Second Doctor is the second incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by character actor Patrick Troughton....
returned to Vortis in the Missing AdventuresVirgin Missing AdventuresThe Virgin Missing Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which had been cancelled in 1989, featuring stories set between televised episodes of the programme. The novels were published from 1994 to 1997, and...
spin-offDoctor Who spin-offsDoctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
novel Twilight of the GodsTwilight of the Gods (Doctor Who)Twilight of the Gods is an original novel written by Christopher Bulis and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The novel features the Second Doctor, Jamie and Victoria...
by Christopher BulisChristopher BulisChristopher Bulis is a writer best known for his work on various Doctor Who spin-offs. He is one of the most prolific authors to write for the various ranges of spin-offs from the BBC Television series Doctor Who, with twelve novels to his name, and between 1993 and 2000 he had at least one Doctor...
. The Fifth DoctorFifth DoctorThe Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....
also visited Vortis in the audio adventure Return to the Web PlanetReturn to the Web PlanetReturn to the Web Planet is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
by Daniel O'Mahoney. - It was revealed in the Seventh DoctorSeventh DoctorThe Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
Virgin New AdventuresVirgin New AdventuresThe Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
novel All-Consuming FireAll-Consuming FireAll-Consuming Fire is an original novel written by Andy Lane and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The novel is a crossover with Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes featuring the characters of both Holmes and Doctor Watson, and also...
by Andy LaneAndy LaneAndrew Lane , who also writes as Andy Lane, is a British author and journalist. He has written a number of spin-off novels in the Virgin New Adventures range and audio dramas for Big Finish based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who , as well as assorted non fiction books based...
that the Animus was a Great Old One, one of several supremely powerful creatures that escaped the destruction of the prior universeUniverseThe Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
by shifting into a later universe. The Great Old Ones are from the Cthulhu MythosCthulhu MythosThe Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
created by the 1920s writer H. P. LovecraftH. P. LovecraftHoward Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
and expanded by other writers. It is identified as Lloigor, created by the writers August DerlethAugust DerlethAugust William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P...
and Mark Schorer in 1932. In the Doctor Who Annual 2006 it is revealed that the Animus (here called the Greater Animus) was destroyed during the Time WarTime War (Doctor Who)The Time War, more specifically called The Last Great Time War, is a conflict within the fictional universe of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
. - The Atmospheric Density Jackets, seen in the first episodes of this serial, would never make a reappearance on TV, although Martha JonesMartha JonesMartha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...
would wear one in the Doctor Who MagazineDoctor Who MagazineDoctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
comic The First (issues 386-389). In Sedna, a short story in Big FinishBig Finish ProductionsBig Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
's Short Trips: The Solar System by Andy Frankham, the Third DoctorThird DoctorThe Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
and Jeremy Fitzoliver are seen to wear ADJs on the surface of the eponymous planet.
Production
- The story had the working title of The Webbed Planet. Episode six was initially titled "Centre Of Terror". The novelisation restores this title for the sixth chapter.
- Jacqueline Hill was not written into "Escape To Danger", in order to give her a week of holiday. She was not credited on the episode. She requested that the credits be amended for overseas sales; this did not happen.
- Daphne Dare created the unique costumes for the varied alien species.
Cast notes
- Noted choreographer Rosalyn de Winter was hired to create the distinctive movements and stilted speech of the Menoptra. She was so successful that the production team asked her to take on the role of the Menoptra Vrestin (which she accepted).
- This serial marked the television debut of Martin Jarvis. He later appeared as Butler in Invasion of the DinosaursInvasion of the DinosaursInvasion of the Dinosaurs is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 12 January to 16 February 1974.-Synopsis:...
and as the Governor of Varos in Vengeance on VarosVengeance on VarosVengeance on Varos is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from 19–26 January 1985.-Synopsis:...
. He also appeared in the audio play Jubilee as Nigel Rochester.
Broadcast and reception
The first episode of the serial was watched by 13.5 million viewers, the highest number for any Doctor Who episode in the 1960s.Believed lost in the BBC's early 1970s purge
Doctor Who missing episodes
The Doctor Who missing episodes are the instalments of the long-running British science-fiction television programme Doctor Who that have no known film or videotape copies. They were wiped by the BBC during the 1960s and 1970s for economic and space-saving reasons...
, negative film prints of all six episodes were recovered from BBC Enterprises in the late 1970s. Unedited prints of all six episodes were also discovered in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
in 1984. The BBC holds two different versions of episode six; one in which the "Next Episode" caption referred to "The Lion" and the other with the caption naming "The Space Museum
The Space Museum
-VHS, CD and DVD releases:*This story was released alongside the surviving episodes of The Crusade on VHS in 1999.*The audio soundtrack was released with narration from Maureen O'Brien on CD in 2009....
", which was the only story still available for sale by the BBC in 1974. (The different caption is not due to The Crusade
The Crusade (Doctor Who)
The Crusade is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from March 27 to April 17, 1965. The story is set in Palestine, near Jerusalem, during the Third Crusade.-Plot:...
being withheld from sale to Arab countries as is commonly thought, since the package of serials sold to Arabic countries did not extend beyond The Rescue.)
In print
The serial was the second to be novelised by the publisher Frederick MullerFrederick Muller
Frederick Muller was a sailor serving in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War who received the Medal of Honor for bravery.-Biography:...
. It was written by Bill Strutton
Bill Strutton
Bill Strutton was a prolific British screenwriter who worked on some of the best-remembered 1960s television shows including Ivanhoe, The Saint, The Avengers, Riptide and Doctor Who. Born in Australia, Bill Strutton won a state scholarship to university at 14 but dropped out after two years to go...
under the title Doctor Who and the Zarbi in 1965. This novel introduced the concept of the "Zarbi Supremo", a vast Zarbi with a role similar to that of a queen bee
Queen bee
The term queen bee is typically used to refer to an adult, mated female that lives in a honey bee colony or hive; she is usually the mother of most, if not all, the bees in the hive. The queens are developed from larvae selected by worker bees and specially fed in order to become sexually mature...
. Much of the Vortis terms are removed and the Doctor is referred to throughout as Dr Who. In 1973 Target Books
Target Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
acquired the rights to the novelisation and reprinted it as one of the first in their long running series of Doctor Who novelisations, although when the imprint began numbering the books in the series, The Zarbi was listed as Number 73 in the series. A Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
translation was published in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 1974, and a Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
one in 1983.
In 2005 the novel was also issued by BBC Audio as part of the Doctor Who: Travels in Time and Space audio book
Doctor Who audio releases
There have been many official and unofficial Doctor Who and related spin-offs released on audio, as LPs, audio cassettes, audio CDs and MP3 CDs. Recordings here are listed by their original release date.-Television soundtracks:...
collectors' tin, read by William Russell.
VHS and DVD releases
- This story was released on a double VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in 1990. In North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
it was released as a single VHS. - It was released on DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in 2005.
External links
Reviews
- The Web Planet reviews at Outpost GallifreyOutpost GallifreyOutpost Gallifrey was a fan website for the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was active as a complete fan site from 1995 until 2007, then existing solely as a portal to the still-active parts of the site, including its news page and forums Outpost Gallifrey was a fan website...
Target novelisation