Barbara with the Menoptra and a Zarbi. The alien costumes and blurred camera lens received criticism from audiences.[1][2][3]
Cast
Doctor
William Hartnell – First Doctor
Companions
William Russell – Ian Chesterton
Jacqueline Hill – Barbara Wright
Maureen O'Brien – Vicki
Guest
Catherine Fleming – Animus voice
Roslyn de Winter – Vrestin
Arne Gordon – Hrostar
Arthur Blake – Hrhoonda
Jolyon Booth – Prapillus
Jocelyn Birdsall – Hlynia
Martin Jarvis – Hilio
Ian Thompson – Hetra
Barbara Joss – Nemini
Robert Jewell, Jack Pitt, Gerald Taylor, Hugh Lund, Kevin Manser, John Scott Martin – The Zarbi
Production
Directed by
Richard Martin
Written by
Bill Strutton
Script editor
Dennis Spooner
Produced by
Verity Lambert
Music by
Jacques Lasry and François Baschet[a]
Production code
N[5]
Series
Season 2
Running time
6 episodes, 25 minutes each
First broadcast
13 February 1965 (1965-02-13)
Last broadcast
20 March 1965 (1965-03-20)
Chronology
← Preceded by The Romans
Followed by → The Crusade
List of episodes (1963–1989)
The Web Planet is the fifth serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Bill Strutton and directed by Richard Martin, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts from 13 February to 20 March 1965. In the serial, the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and his travelling companions Ian Chesterton (William Russell), Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill), and Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) ally themselves with the Menoptra, the former inhabitants of the planet Vortis, as they struggle to win back the planet from the malignant Animus (Catherine Fleming) and its Zarbi slaves.
When crafting an idea for the serial, Strutton recalled a memory as a child of watching two bull ants fighting, which he linked with his two sons fighting each other. Story editor Dennis Spooner found the narrative to be multilayered, with the Menoptra representing free enterprise and the Zarbi communism. Martin hired a mime artist to develop choreography for the serial, and forwent a traditional score in favour of prerecorded stock music. The Web Planet premiered with 13.5 million viewers, the highest in the series to date; it maintained high viewership across the six weeks. Reviews were mixed, with praise directed at its choreography and action, and criticism towards its costumes and confusing story; retrospective reviews applauded the serial's ambition despite its outdated visuals. The Web Planet was later novelised and released on VHS and DVD.
^Wright 2017, p. 141.
^Muir 1999, p. 104–105.
^Cite error: The named reference Radio Times Review was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Wright 2017, pp. 128–129.
^Bentham 1986, p. 221.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
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