The Web Planet
Martin hired a mime artist to develop choreography for the serial, and forwent a traditional score in favour of prerecorded stock music.The Zarbi take Barbara and Hrostar (Arne Gordon), a Menoptra, to the Crater of Needles to drop vegetation into acid rivers which feed the Animus (voiced by Catherine Fleming).Ian and Vrestin meet the Optera, descendants of the Menoptra who fled underground, and convince them to help fight the Animus, digging upwards beneath the Carsinome.Although disappointed with the scripts, Martin observed that they were as close to a fantasy adventure as Doctor Who should get; he felt that they had visual potential, but that the available studio facilities would limit it.Spooner made edits to the script towards the end of 1964; he found the narrative to be multilayered, with the Menoptra representing free enterprise and the Zarbi communism.[15] The script for the third episode was structured to omit Barbara, as Jacqueline Hill was scheduled to take a week's holiday;[11] she retained a credit in Radio Times,[16] but not on-screen, as was common when the regular cast was absent.[22] The three established Dalek operators—Jewell, Kevin Manser, and Gerald Taylor—were cast as the main Zarbi, alongside John Scott Martin in his first appearance on the series.[28] Martin wanted to use a greased neutral-density filter on shots of Vortis to capture its thin atmosphere, but found that the optical glass was too expensive, opting for a cheaper alternative;[29] two special lenses were fitted, both of which broke at some point during production.[26] Following the recording, Lambert asked Martin to avoid allowing the actors to alter their dialogue, noting that major changes should be suggested at readthroughs with Spooner present.[38] A special trailer for The Web Planet, filmed on 4 February 1965, features the Zarbi arriving at the BBC Television Centre before being shown to their dressing rooms.[40] Comments from younger viewers read on Junior Points of View were mixed; some found the episode "exciting and hair-raising", while others complained about the "pointless, noisy, bleeping" of the Zarbi.[40] An audience report prepared following the serial's broadcast indicated satisfaction with its conclusion and choreography, but confusion regarding the action and criticism of the costumes and blurred lens.In The Discontinuity Guide (1995), writers Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping praised the serial's imagination and ambition, but noted that it was "slow and silly looking" by modern standards.[19] In A Critical History of Doctor Who (1999), John Kenneth Muir described the serial as "a noble experiment" despite its mixed execution; he praised the costumes for the Zarbi, but criticised the Menoptra suits, alien voices, blurred lens, and Strutton's unoriginal scripts.[3] In 2009, Den of Geek's Cliff Chapman ranked The Web Planet among the most underrated classic Doctor Who serials, noting that it "is a joy for being so different" even if "the ambition might outstrip the execution".[53][54] Strutton was approached by Frederick Muller Ltd to create a novelisation of the serial, which he wrote in three weeks; Doctor Who and the Zarbi was published as a hardback in September 1965, with illustrations by John Wood.It was republished in December 1975 by White Lion, retaining Wood's original artwork except for the cover painting, which instead depicted the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker).The Target paperback was reissued several times: with a revised logo in August 1978, with Alister Pearson's artwork in January 1990,[50] and by BBC Books in April 2016 with Achilleos's cover and Wood's illustrations.
Doctor WhoBarbaracamera lensDoctorWilliam HartnellFirst DoctorCompanionsWilliam RussellIan ChestertonJacqueline HillBarbara WrightMaureen O'BrienArthur BlakeMartin JarvisRobert JewellKevin ManserJohn Scott MartinRichard MartinBill StruttonDennis SpoonerVerity LambertFrançois BaschetSeason 2The RomansThe CrusadeList of episodes (1963–1989)serialsecond seasonscience fiction televisionbull antsfree enterprisecommunismstock musicTARDISscience fictionAssociated London ScriptsDavid WhitakerDalekskerosenefantasymusique concrèteFrançois BaschetLes Structures SonoresLepidopteraCarcinomaDoctor Who ExperienceRaymond Cusicksuits of armourStyrofoamfibreglassAztec templesRadio TimesPeter PurvesPortobello RoadWest EndSuzanne NeveBBC Television Film Studiosneutral-density filterbird's-eye viewWood GreenThe Edge of DestructionAppreciation IndexBBC Television Centremissingnegative film printsBBC EnterprisesNational Film TheatreBradford PlayhouseBritish Satellite BroadcastingUK GoldDaily MailJunior Points of ViewPatrick Skene CatlingbathosThe Stage and Television TodaySunday MirrorAlasdair MilneHuw WheldonMichael Peacockmumbo-jumboThe ScotsmanThe Discontinuity GuidePaul CornellMartin DayKeith ToppingDavid J. HoweJohn Kenneth Muirgood versus evilDen of GeekThe IndependentTwelfth DoctorPeter CapaldiBBC DVDGary RussellBBC Audiovinyl recordDemon RecordsBlu-rayChris AchilleosDoctor Who novelisationsTarget BooksFrederick Muller LtdFourth DoctorTom BakerAlister PearsonBBC BooksfacsimileUnieboek BV BussumSteven TaylorThe ChaseNewspapers.comThe SpinoffDoctorWho.tvBBC StudiosImmediate Media Company2 EntertainPanini ComicsHachette PartworksW. H. AllenCornell, PaulDay, MartinTopping, KeithVirgin BooksHowe, David J.Walker, Stephen JamesDoctor Who Books