2.1: Planet of The Giants
- Doctor: William Hartnell
- Companions: Susan Foreman, Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright
- Creators: Verity Lambert (Producer), Louis Marks (Writer)
- Season 2
What's the rating?
Kid's Stuff.
What's interesting about it?
Planned as the first story of the first season, the concept of the time travelers as 1-inch high people in the normal world was restored to start off the second season. As the first episode of the season, the cast was returning after six weeks off, and it shows. They are refreshed and looking a bit different from the last story, particularly Susan's hair and Ian's suit. The Doctor's new cape is an unfortunate regression in his clothing.
Fortunately the cape seems to be quickly dropped for future stories. So let's just pretend it never happened.
In an unusual bit of visual comedy, directly after Susan and The Doctor conclude they have been shrunk, we get a shot pulling back from the Tardis to show they are correct, and have been trapped in the stone walkway of a yard. This shot has no point of view, so it's direct communication from the director to the viewer, including us in a joke on the time travelers.
The music is like it's from another show, every bit emphasizing comedy elements of the story in a rather head-bashing manner that belongs in a Warner Brothers cartoon. The props are surprisingly good, including the giant insects, which is odd given what's coming up in the execrable Web Planet.
The story was filmed in four parts, but cut down to three for broadcast. The DVD has a reconstruction of the missing episode, though I don't know how useful that episode is in that I didn't notice anything missing. It just made for a refreshingly tighter story than usual.
I've mentioned a number of times the disappointment of Carole Ann Ford with her character Susan; the best thing about this DVD is a modern-day interview with Mrs. Ford in which she tells her side of the story. Also worth watching is the interview with Verity Lambert, before she died. I recommend watching these after the next story, Carole Ann Ford's last appearance.
Ultimately I think it's for the best that this wasn't done as the first story of the show. It's the most clearly child-centered story done so far, similar to shows that would come along in the U.S. such as The Land of the Lost. Though to give Land due credit, the characters there actually did feel like they were in the same space as the dinosaurs and such around them. Unfortunately for this story, while the large props are impressive, the use of a projection screen to try and put the tiny characters in the giant world doesn't work.
If everything had started with this, I'm not sure Doctor Who would have developed into more than a typical kid's affair, to be remembered fondly by a few after a short stint, but never to become what it is today.
What are others saying?
Others are a bit more kind to this one than I am...