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''The Web Planet'' is the fifth serial of the second season in the British
science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
series ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
''. Written by Bill Strutton and directed by Richard Martin, the serial was broadcast on
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
in six weekly parts from 13 February to 20 March 1965. In the serial, the
First Doctor The First Doctor is the original incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor William Hartnell in th ...
(
William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (; 8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor, who is best known for portraying the first incarnation of the Doctor, in the long-running British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 t ...
) and his travelling companions Ian Chesterton ( William Russell), Barbara Wright ( Jacqueline Hill), and Vicki (
Maureen O'Brien Maureen O'Brien (born 29 June 1943) is an English actress and author best known for playing the role of Vicki (Doctor Who), Vicki Pallister in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', although she has appeared in many other te ...
) 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 Dennis Spooner (1 December 1932 – 20 September 1986) was an English television writer and script editor, known primarily for his programmes about fictional spies and his work in children's television in the 1960s. He had long-lasting profess ...
found the narrative to be multilayered, with the Menoptra representing
free enterprise In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
and the Zarbi
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
. Martin hired a mime artist to develop choreography for the serial, and forwent a traditional score in favour of prerecorded
stock music Production music (also known as stock music or library music) is recorded music that can be licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media. Often, the music is produced and owned by production music libraries. Backgrou ...
. ''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.


Plot

The
TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space") is a fictional hybrid of a time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. While a TARDI ...
is forced to land on a planet which the
First Doctor The First Doctor is the original incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor William Hartnell in th ...
(
William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (; 8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor, who is best known for portraying the first incarnation of the Doctor, in the long-running British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 t ...
) recognises as Vortis, but he is puzzled by the presence of several moons around the normally moonless planet. A force acting through Barbara Wright's ( Jacqueline Hill) gold bracelet draws her outside, leaving Vicki (
Maureen O'Brien Maureen O'Brien (born 29 June 1943) is an English actress and author best known for playing the role of Vicki (Doctor Who), Vicki Pallister in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', although she has appeared in many other te ...
) alone. The TARDIS is pulled by an unseen force across the planet surface. Barbara is drawn into a trio of the butterfly-like Menoptra who free her of the trance by removing the bracelet. She escapes but is captured by the ant-like Zarbi who use her to find the Menoptra. 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). The Zarbi take the Doctor and Ian Chesterton ( William Russell) to the Carsinome where they find Vicki and the TARDIS. The Animus forces the Doctor to help track down the Menoptra invasion force. Ian escapes and meets a Menoptra called Vrestin (Roslyn de Winter). He learns the Menoptra and the Zarbi are native to the planet. The Animus has taken control of the planet, and the Menoptra have fled to one of the moons that the Animus has pulled into orbit. The Doctor accidentally reveals the Menoptra spearhead plan to land near the Crater of Needles, giving the Animus the opportunity to ambush them. 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. At the Crater of Needles, Barbara and Hrostar fail in their attempt to warn the Menoptra and the spearhead is massacred. The Doctor deduces that the Animus uses gold to channel its mesmerising force and counteracts it to control a Zarbi and escape with Vicki. They meet Barbara and the Menoptra and devise a plan to attack the Carsinome. The Doctor and Vicki are taken by the Zarbi to the Animus, a great spider-like creature. Barbara and the Menoptra attack the Carsinome from outside while Ian, Vrestin, and the Optera reach the Animus from below. They defeat the Animus with the Isoptope, a cell-destroying weapon devised by the Menoptra. The Zarbi return to their docile state, and the planet turns to its purer state. The Doctor and his companions leave in the TARDIS, and the creatures of Vortis promise to tell stories of their saviours.


Production


Conception and writing

In 1964, Australian writer Bill Strutton viewed ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' and decided that he wanted to write for it, although he had no knowledge of
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
. After his agents at Associated London Scripts contacted the production team, Strutton was invited to discuss his story idea with producer
Verity Lambert Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer. Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of t ...
and story editor David Whitaker. They asked him to avoid robotic monsters due to the success of the
Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of extremely xenophobic mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in th ...
s. Strutton recalled a memory as a toddler, watching two bull ants fighting inside an empty
kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...
can; he linked this memory with his two sons, aged six and four, fighting each other. He discussed the idea with Lambert, and Whitaker officially commissioned the story, ''Doctor Who and the Webbed Planet'', on 28 September 1964. Richard Martin was assigned to direct the serial. Although disappointed with the scripts, Martin observed that they were as close to a
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
adventure as ''Doctor Who'' should get; he felt that they had visual potential, but that the available studio facilities would limit it. He disliked the dialogue and found the scripts too short, working with new story editor
Dennis Spooner Dennis Spooner (1 December 1932 – 20 September 1986) was an English television writer and script editor, known primarily for his programmes about fictional spies and his work in children's television in the 1960s. He had long-lasting profess ...
on amendments. Martin overspent the serial's budget to achieve the desired visuals, which led to conflict with the cost-conscious Lambert. To account for the high cost of the props and costumes, Martin forwent a traditional, original score, instead using recordings of ''
musique concrète Musique concrète (; ): " problem for any translator of an academic work in French is that the language is relatively abstract and theoretical compared to English; one might even say that the mode of thinking itself tends to be more schematic ...
'' performances arranged by Jacques Lasry and François Baschet for '' Les Structures Sonores''; Martin found the sounds extraterrestrial, as they were created using glass rods and steel. Lambert edited the final episode as Martin had departed for a holiday shortly after its recording; she edited out a shot of the Carsenome web dissolving, explaining in a memo to Martin that "I thought nobody would know what on earth was happening". The scripts were due on 13 November; Strutton wrote them while in the process of relocating homes. Strutton's wife Marguerite created the name of the Zarbi. Other names originated from an encyclopedia: the Greek word
Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...
inspired Menoptera (later Menoptra) and Optera; and
Carcinoma Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells. Specifically, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that arises from cells originating in the endodermal, mesoder ...
inspired Carsinome (later Carsenome). Spooner made edits to the script towards the end of 1964; he found the narrative to be multilayered, with the Menoptra representing
free enterprise In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
and the Zarbi
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
. Spooner also made edits to tie the serial into the preceding one, '' The Romans''; the golden bracelet used to make Barbara fall under the influence of the Animus was a gift from Emperor
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...
in ''The Romans''. Two of the Menoptra were renamed: Roster became Hrostar, and Papillus became Prapillus. The show's main designers, Raymond Cusick and Barry Newbery, asked for a third designer to be allocated to the production block, leading to the appointment of set and effects designer John Wood; Wood welcomed working on the show as it allowed more freedom than other programmes. He used Strutton's descriptions to create sketches for the eight-foot Zarbi; he wanted them to be believable while disguising the human element. They were also based on suits of armour for balancing. Lambert was enthusiastic about the design, though other members of the team were hesitant regarding its practicality. Four costumes were constructed by Shawcraft Models; light
Styrofoam Styrofoam is a brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), manufactured to provide continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and as a water barrier. This material is light blue in ...
was originally suggested for construction, but
fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass c ...
was used instead. The outfits were modelled on Robert Jewell, and they took around 30 minutes to don. For a shot of the Temple of Light, Wood was inspired by the Aztec temples of Central America.


Casting and characters

The script for the third episode was structured to omit Barbara, as Jacqueline Hill was scheduled to take a week's holiday; she retained a credit in ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'', but not on-screen, as was common when the regular cast was absent. Hill formally complained on 1 March 1965 and requested that her credit be reinstated for overseas sales, but this was not acted upon. Lambert felt that Barbara's occupation as a schoolteacher meant that she should often work to save the day, as in ''The Web Planet''. All guest characters in the serial are non-humanoid. Casting interviews for ''The Web Planet'' took place on 8 December 1964. Martin wanted special choreography for the insects, hiring Australian mime artist Roslyn de Winter to develop the delivery of the Optra and the hand gestures of the Menoptra; de Winter was also cast as Vrestin. For the Menoptra, the production team sought actors with dancing experience; one actor who auditioned was
Peter Purves Peter John Purves (; born 10 February 1939) is an English television presenter and actor. Beginning his career as an actor, he joined ''Doctor Who'' to play Steven Taylor (Doctor Who), Steven Taylor, a companion of the First Doctor, which he play ...
, but Martin felt that his talent would be wasted in the role and kept him in mind for later. Catherine Fleming, who voiced the Animus, stood on set with a microphone and a script to read her lines. 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. Ian Thompson and Barbara Joss were cast as the Optera; Thompson had worked with Martin in the past, and Joss was an experienced dancer from Australia. Thompson and Martin collaborated to create the creatures' dialogue and behaviour. Arne Gordon, who ran an antique stall in
Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from South to North, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello ...
, was cast by Martin as she had large eyes suitable for an insect. Martin also cast Martin Jarvis as Hilio, having met him during his performance of ''Poor Bitos'' in the West End alongside Martin's girlfriend Suzanne Neve. Jolyon Booth, cast as Prapillus, was an old friend of Martin's, while Jocelyn Birdsall, cast as Hlynia, had worked with Martin on stage in 1952. Maureen O'Brien enjoyed working with Martin—''The Web Planet'' was their first collaboration—due to his intelligence and their shared political outlook.


Filming

Model filming for the serial began on 4 January 1965 at BBC Television Film Studios on Stage 2 and lasted for several days. It included several model shots, including the TARDIS being moved across Vortis and the establishing model shot of the TARDIS's materialisation; the one-third scale prop created for ''The Romans'' was used. 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; two special lenses were fitted, both of which broke at some point during production. Some of the
bird's-eye view A bird's-eye view is an elevated view of an object or location from a very steep viewing angle, creating a perspective (graphical), perspective as if the observer were a bird in flight looking downward. Bird's-eye views can be an aerial photog ...
shots were achieved by using mirrors. Several of the shots featuring Barbara were filmed in advance from 6–7 January to accommodate for Hill to take a holiday; she missed rehearsals of ''The Romans'' to film these. Rehearsals for the first episode began on 18 January at the London Transport Assembly Rooms in
Wood Green Wood Green is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms ...
, and weekly recording for the serial began on 22 January. The second episode's recording session, on 29 January, overran by a costly 16 minutes due to several production problems leading to seven retakes; among the problems were broken costumes, actors walking through shots, scenery problems causing actors to forget their lines, and a cast member speaking unprompted. The third episode, recorded on 5 February, was beset by similar problems, including a delay in the delivery of some sets, camera failures, and a delay with the studio lighting; the recording overran by 37 minutes. The recording had finished so late that the dressing room lights were switched off by studio management, forcing the crew to exit in darkness. 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. Fifteen bags of seaweed from Cornish Manures were requested as set dressing for the fourth episode; during recording on 12 February, the seaweed emanated an overpowering vegetable smell under the hot studio lights. William Russell was absent from rehearsals for the fifth episode on 16 February to film for the subsequent serial, '' The Crusade''. Hartnell's granddaughter Judith Carney (later Jessica Carney) visited the studio during the fifth episode's recording on 19 February. The final episode was recorded on 26 February, and the session overran by 15 minutes due partly to sound problems necessitating a major retake. For the final episode, the crew treated the set more carelessly to achieve the damaged look they were seeking, as they knew it would not be used again. Throughout filming of the serial, at the insistence of Lambert, Martin avoided showing much detail for the more brutal visuals, such as deaths; Lambert retrospectively cited criticism that the crew received for a violent scene in '' The Edge of Destruction'' (1964) as her reasoning.


Reception


Broadcast and ratings

A special trailer for ''The Web Planet'', filmed on 4 February 1965, features the Zarbi arriving at the
BBC Television Centre Television Centre (TVC), formerly known as BBC Television Centre, is a building complex in White City, London, White City, West London, which was the headquarters of BBC Television from 1960 to 2013, when BBC Television moved to Broadcasting H ...
before being shown to their dressing rooms. The trailer, screened on
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
on 6 February 1965, upset Martin, who felt that it undersold his work and made him feel "like a conjurer about to do an elaborate two and a half hour trick when all the audience know the secrets already"; Lambert responded that the comedic trailer was intentional to take "the curse out of the Zarbi" for younger viewers. The serial was broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts from 13 February to 20 March 1965. Viewership increased from the preceding serial, reaching a series-high of 13.5 million viewers for the first episode. The ratings dropped for the following episodes, with the final two hitting 12 million, but they were still considered successful, ranking among the top 20 programmes for each week; the first episode ranked joint 18th in the national charts, with an estimated viewership of 5.45 million households. The Appreciation Index began well but fell rapidly, dropping below 50 for the first time; the final episode set a new record low of 42. The serial was believed to have been wiped in the early 1970s and presumed missing until negative film prints of all six episodes were recovered from
BBC Enterprises The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in the late 1970s. Unedited prints were also discovered in Nigeria in 1984. The fourth episode was shown on 29 October 1983 at the
National Film Theatre BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the United Kingdom, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Ins ...
as part of the 20th anniversary event ''Doctor Who: The Developing Art''; it was also screened at regional events like the Bradford Playhouse and Film Theatre on 8 June 1984.
British Satellite Broadcasting British Satellite Broadcasting plc (BSB) was a television company, based in London, that provided satellite television, direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. It started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company ...
screened the serial between July and September 1990, and it was broadcast in episodic form on UK Gold in December 1992 alongside a compilation version.


Critical response

The first episode was criticised by Peter Black of the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'', who described the main characters as "the dullest quartet in fiction". 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. Following the broadcast of the second episode, Patrick Skene Catling of '' Punch'' wrote that the serial was guilty of "ludicrous
bathos Bathos ( ;''Oxford English Dictionary'', 1st ed. "bathos, ''n.'' Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1885. ,  "depth") is a literary term, first used in this sense in Alexander Pope's 1727 essay " Peri Bathous", to describe an amusingly ...
". After the third episode, Bill Edmund of ''
The Stage and Television Today ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...
'' described the lighting effects as "pointless and annoying". Following the fifth episode, the ''
Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marked ...
'' received a complaint from A. N. Thompson that the show was "slipping" due to its newly-comedic nature. At the BBC Programme Review Board in March 1965,
Alasdair Milne Alasdair David Gordon Milne (8 October 19308 January 2013) was a British television producer and executive. He had a long career at the BBC, where he was eventually promoted to Director-General, and was described by ''The Independent'' as "one ...
said that the series was "difficult to follow, unless one watched every edition"; at the following Review Board, controller of programmes
Huw Wheldon Sir Huw Pyrs Wheldon, (7 May 1916 – 14 March 1986) was a Welsh broadcaster and BBC executive. Early life Huw Pyrs Wheldon was born on 7 May 1916 in Prestatyn, Flintshire (historic), Flintshire, Wales. He was educated at Friars School, Ban ...
said that the serial was going well, while BBC1 controller Michael Peacock felt that the series had too much " mumbo-jumbo" and that the character names were difficult to follow. In April, ''
The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...
''s Peggie Phillips considered the serial to be a flop. 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. Retrospective reviews were mixed. In '' The Discontinuity Guide'' (1995), writers
Paul Cornell Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer. He has worked in television drama and ''Doctor Who'' fiction, being the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield. Other British television dramas f ...
, Martin Day, and
Keith Topping Keith Andrew Topping (born 26 October 1963 in Walker, Tyneside) is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He is most well known for his work relating to the BBC Television series ''Doctor Who'' and for writing numerous official and unofficial ...
praised the serial's imagination and ambition, but noted that it was "slow and silly looking" by modern standards. In ''The Television Companion'' (1998), David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker said that the story's ambition "may be seen as its great strength or its great weakness, depending on the spirit in which it is approached". In ''A Critical History of Doctor Who'' (1999),
John Kenneth Muir John Kenneth Muir (born December 3, 1969) is an American literary critic. As of 2022, he has written thirty reference books in the fields of film and television, with a particular focus on the horror and science fiction genres. Biography Bor ...
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. In 2008, Mark Braxton of ''Radio Times'' acknowledged the costume design efforts and "superbly atmospheric" sets, though felt that they had not aged well; he felt that the story had an "almost total absence of excitement", but enjoyed its ambition and deeper meaning about
good versus evil In philosophy, religion, and psychology, "good and evil" is a common dichotomy. In religions with Manichaean and Abrahamic influence, evil is perceived as the dualistic antagonistic opposite of good, in which good should prevail and evil sho ...
. In 2009, ''
Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a UK and US-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a biannual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ' ...
''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". In 2012, Neela Debnath of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' found the story "enjoyable" with ambitious writing that "lacks impact given the poor quality of the visuals". In 2015,
Twelfth Doctor The Twelfth Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi in three ...
actor
Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, singer and guitarist. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker i ...
said that "the ambition and imagination was great but they just didn't have the resources to deliver".


Commercial releases

The Zarbi received several pieces of merchandise as toy manufacturers hoped that they would become as popular as the Daleks; they featured in several comic strips and in related merchandising in 1965. The serial was originally released on VHS as a double-tape set in September 1990. It was released on DVD by BBC DVD in October 2005, with special features including a making-of documentary, a copy of the ''Doctor Who Annual 1965'', and an audio commentary by Russell, Martin, Lambert, Jarvis, and
Gary Russell Gary Russell (born 18 September 1963) is a British freelance writer, producer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs in other media. As an ac ...
. BBC Audio released an audiobook of the serial in November 2005, read by William Russell. The serial was released as a
vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, ...
by Demon Records on 13 December 2019, with linking narration by Maureen O'Brien. The serial was released on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
on 5 December 2022, alongside the rest of the show's second season as part of ''The Collection''.


In print

Strutton was approached by
Frederick Muller Ltd Hutchinson Heinemann is a British publishing firm founded in 1887. It is currently an imprint which is ultimately owned by Bertelsmann, the German publishing conglomerate. History Hutchinson Heinemann began as Hutchinson & Co. (Publishers) 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 The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from ...
(
Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the Fourth Doctor, fourth and longest-serving incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television ...
). A paperback edition was published by
Target Books Target Books is 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 wel ...
in May 1973, with illustrations by Chris Achilleos; Achilleos was disappointed by the BBC's insistence that the cover artwork resemble the television counterpart. The Target paperback was reissued several times: with a revised logo in August 1978, with Alister Pearson's artwork in January 1990, and by
BBC Books BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Consumer Publishing and BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidia ...
in April 2016 with Achilleos's cover and Wood's illustrations. A
facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of r ...
edition of the original 1965 hardback was released by BBC Books in November 2016. The book was translated and published in other countries: ''Doctor Who en de Zarbis'', translated into Dutch by M. Hohage, was published by Unieboek BV Bussum in 1974; and ''Doutor Who e os Zarbi'', translated to Portuguese by Eduardo Nogueira and Conceicao Jardim with cover art by Rui Ligeiro, was published by Presenca in 1986.


Notes


References


DVD resources

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Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Web Planet, The 1965 British television episodes Doctor Who serials novelised by Bill Strutton Television episodes about insects First Doctor serials