"Planet of Giants" - Season 2, Episode 43

Written by Louis Marks | Directed by Mervyn Pinfield | Produced by Verity Lambert | Original air date 10/31/64


I have great affection for Planet of Giants - there are some problems with it, particularly episode 3, but overall, I really enjoy the concept. The scene at the beginning is really well done, as well - the TARDIS not working properly has been done before, but here it's a lot less nonsensical than in Edge of Destruction (as much as I love that two-parter). The Doctor is brilliant in it - once things have calmed down, he gives Barbara a heartfelt apology for his tetchiness, saying that he forgets the niceties when he's on edge (Ian may as well have gotten a poke in the eye from him, which is funny).


I'm sure if they were in color they'd look a lot worse, but the props and set designers have to be given credit here. The giant dead insects look great, the model TARDIS being used to pull back on the sidewalk to show how small it has gotten is gorgeous. While the prop team doesn't get 100% of everything right in this serial, most of it is well beyond what you'd expect for this show. There's some interesting editing going on, too - when the TARDIS crew splits into two groups, they simultaneously figure out what is going on, and rather than have each party explain what's going on separately (thus giving us a scene repeated in full), the camera cuts back and forth between the two groups, suggesting to the audience that they all come to the same realization as to what environment they're in. It's a deft move not often seen in 1960s Doctor Who.


The insecticide is well-seeded throughout the serial as well. The dead bugs the crew sees throughout this episode are explicitly mentioned as things that shouldn't be killed as they're not pests, so we know DN6 is bad - and the greedy businessman murders the scientist who arrived at the conclusion that DN6 should not be produced and sold. I admire how well-written this all is, even if the third and fourth episodes had to be mixed together due to some scenes being incredibly boring.


Still, this first episode is excellent. I love the premise, and the whole crew is on their game this week. Let us not forget the cliffhanger with the cat looming over the TARDIS crew! Taking something every day like a cat and making it terrifying is always effective in this show, and this serial is the first time it's done. Moffat's main shtick originated here.


And so begins my favorite Hartnell season. I've been looking forward to writing about it - the first season is uneven, and the third season is, sadly, mostly missing. Most of this season is good, though.


"Doctor Who" puns so far: 2 | Tomorrow: "Dangerous Journey"