Well, if you didn’t know how leftfield, contrary and downright strange I am as a Doctor Who fan, then now you do. Not only have I put Web Planet in my Top 60, but I very nearly put it in my Top 25 too. But I did say from the very start that I give extra marks for trying, and there’s no story that tries quite as hard as this one.
Doctor Who is a show that can take you – and it’s cast of characters – anywhere in time & space. ANYWHERE. So it’s actually quite surprising, really, how little that concept is explored in it’s 60 year run. Sure, we get some tales like The Mind Robber & Warrior’s Gate that are a bit out there; we get alternate universes in Inferno et al.; and we get some stories built on high concepts like the planet with no metal or where sadness is illegal. But by and by, the vast majority of the 300+ stories told so far take place on planets with humanoid aliens that look indistinguishable from Planet Earth.
That’s by no means a Doctor Who problem. All the various Star Treks have had aliens that are various levels of latex make up; it’s ultimately always going to happen when you have actual humanoids playing your cast – The Next Generation went as far as writing an episode purely to explain why all the aliens in its universe look humanoid1. It’s not really until The Gorn (and the advances in CGI) in Strange New Worlds that Trek has been able to move away from bipedal aliens towards something else – and even then, That’s Not My Gorn! It’s skin is too scaly… Babylon 5 did it’s best to bring some range, with Vorlons & aliens that couldn’t breathe oxygen, but even then they’re hampered by budget, prosthetics & haircuts.
So all the points then – literally, all of them – to The Web Planet for trying to give us a world that’s not just humans with pointy ears and/or silly haircuts. Not every planet in ALL of time & space will be descended from apes or populated by lifeforms seeded from alien DNA. What if plants are the dominant lifeform2? Or what if the inhabitants are insects?
That’s where this story leads us then, to the planet of the insects. Venom grubs, Menoptera, Zarbi and Optera are all instantly recognisable from our garden; of course it’s still people dressed up, but that’s not what we’re trying for here. We’re looking at a culture and population that is not humanoid, that is strange & alien- we won’t get one that is this different again. It’s not just the inhabitants, though: Vortis is a truly alien world. The time is taken to set this up properly, with the changes in atmosphere & gravity fully explained. Again, in the future we will skip from the TARDIS into worlds with fully breathable air & gravity the norm for humans, but it’s excellent to have these considerations for once.
“But…. But… But… It’s shit! The costumes look ridiculous!! Vortis is just a studio set with Vaseline on the lens!!!” And that may be true to a greater of lesser extent (it’s not shit), but that’s not the point. The point is they TRIED. They were never going to have totally convincing moth-people this side of Jurassic Park’s budget or effects development, but that didn’t stop them. At any point in the production, Verity Lambert, Richard Martin or could have said “Nah, that’s never gonna fly3” and sent Bill Strutton packing to come up with something easier to make, but they didn’t. And I’m super glad they didn’t.
Easier isn’t always better. Everyone always take a pop at Season 5 for doing the same thing over & over4 and even Season 8 gets a bit repetitive every time the Master pops up, so you can’t have it both ways. You either want the same old same old week in week out, or you want Doctor Who to be fresh, exciting & innovative. I know which one I want, and it’s stories like this. The ones that try something new. And it seemed popular with the audience too – Episode One of this story drew 13.5 million viewers, numbers that wouldn’t be seen again until Season 17, and a high that those of us who care about these things nowadays can only dream of.
Aside from trying something new, this is a story I enjoy regardless. In my opinion Vicki, Ian & Barbara are the 1st Doctor’s top team; it’s been said that Vicki is Susan done right, and it’s hard to disagree. Ian is the action man, Barbara the heart & moral compass. This is a really solid showing for all three, but then pretty much every story in S2 is. Along with the daftness of the aliens flying around, there’s some darkness & adult themes here; the scene with the Menoptera having their wings cut off is really brutal. And praise where it’s due to Roslyn de Winter, for coming in & making the insects move in a memorable way.
I feel like now is a good time to sing the praises of one of Doctor Who’s great unsung heroes, Dennis Spooner. Spooner took over from David Whitaker as story editor, and gave the show a shot in the arm. He re-envisioned The Doctor as a hero rather than an anti-hero, and put the “Entertain” into Inform-Educate-Entertain. His historicals are either comedies or full more of sci-fi that usual, but this approach gives the show a shot in the arm and pushes it forwards. Much as I love Season 1, if that approach had carried on I don’t think there would be the appetite to renew the lead after three years: I can see it fizzling out & being wound up sooner rather than later. Spooner showed exactly how flexible the show could be, behind the camera as well as in front, and in doing so contributed to the longevity of Doctor Who probably more than anyone else.
And it’s that flexibility that I celebrate with The Web Planet more than anything else. It’s the story that showed that the limit is purely the limit of your imagination. Sure, it doesn’t come off as well as we’d like, but it’s the BBC in the 60s, and it does the best it can with what it has. You don’t score if you don’t shoot; and by god The Web Planet is going for a 30 yard screamer, and I cheer it to the rafters for getting in in the back of the net!
COMING TOMORROW: “I wanted to be a scientist, so I became one…”
Skies Full of Diamonds 