Sarah is invited by Mike Yates to visit him at a Buddhist meditation centre where he has been staying. A group of people there, led by a man named Lupton, are misusing the meditation rituals in order to make contact with powerful alien forces, which manifest themselves as a giant spider.
The spider is an emissary from the ruling council on the planet Metebelis 3, sent to recover the blue crystal that the Doctor previously found there and that has now been returned to him by Jo.
My Doctor’s dying.
It’s 1974, and my Doctor, the Third one, collapsed exhausted on to the laboratory floor and, with a little nudge from Cho-je, changed.
Heartbreaking for a nine year old, as it would be for a 2010 nine year old as their Tenth Doctor did the same.
Would I have the same feelings of desolation as I closed the DVD tray, watching the same inevitability (losing the Doctor again but 37 years later) sliding silently into the machine?
The Barry Letts’ co-written (Robert Sloman) and directed, DOCTOR WHO - PLANET OF THE SPIDERS is a four-parter in the sheep’s clothes of a six-parter, and there is far too much padding to be comfortable including a gadget-led chase sequence that was neither exciting or driven by the plot. However, for fortysomethings, the story has remained an iconic cornerstone in the series’ long history; a conclusion to Pertwee’s avuncular Doctor, and the disbandment of the “Letts’ Family” (this is extensively analysed in the DVD’s featurette, THE FINAL CURTAIN) that had become so engrained over the previous four years.
Released on 18 April 2011, this newly restored (and, yes, the quality of this new “print” is stunningly clear, saturated with colour and devoid of dirt & dust specks) release will entertain and enthral younger fans of the NEW SERIES whilst it will reinforce within older fans why they embraced the series in the first place and continued to do so as the series ebbed & waned through its turbulent years of the 1980s.
Firstly, I would recommend watching the DVD’s “value added material” (VAM) – as the retail market terms “Extras” – before re-watching the episodes (with the “Information Text” shown and/or with the Commentary) as it establishes and discusses the disjointed background for the production.
Asserting that DOCTOR WHO had been re-invented by three men (Barry Letts, Terrence Dicks and Jon Pertwee) and saved from “the axe”, THE FINAL CURTAIN chronicles the genesis of PLANET OF THE SPIDERS by critically assessing the previous four years, highlighting 1973 as a defining period for irreversible change. Whilst Terrance Dicks admits that, “I didn’t have a particular desire to leave DOCTOR WHO at that time”, the event that accelerated a wholesale change was the unexpected death of 1/6 th of the team, Roger Delgado (Richard Franklin recalls, “A terrible shock to everybody”). The highlight to this featurette are contributions from a Jon Pertwee interview recorded in the 1990s, wherein he admits that by 1974, “it seemed like an end of a era”, and he discusses that he would have remained with the series for another season (of stories) if his request (made to Head of BBC Drama, Shaun Sutton) for an salary increase had been granted. Later, DOCTOR WHO Producer, Barry Letts contradicts this by stating that he was in charge of the finances and would have found additional funding for the lead’s salary if he had wanted to continue as the Third Doctor. Pertwee recalls that an arachnophobic Elizabeth Sladen had to be “trained” everyday with increasingly bigger spiders, and that, following the final recording sessions on PLANET OF THE SPIDERS, he “cried a great deal. I had a good five years”.
The featurette not only draws together the experience of the cast & crew (set designer, Rochelle Selwyn’s insight is professionally informative though brief, as is Matt Irvine’s forever cheeky contribution) but also sought a valuable contribution from NEW SERIES write/actor, Mark Gatiss. Plainly a fan of the “Pertwee Era”, Gatiss, in an unambiguous tribute to the actor, affirms that such was his performance that he “was genuinely scared of the Great One”. Like Tennant after him, Pertwee understood that the role could not be “sent-up” and taken seriously for it to work and accepted by viewers.
Occasionally, just occasionally, there is a shiny example of “value added material” simplicity that makes viewing a pure delight and a deservedly re-watching. JOHN KANE REMEMBERS… may be a “talking head” format but the openness and honesty of the actor – who played Tommy in the production – is both thoroughly entertaining and informative. In an humorous account of travelling by taxi whilst in character as the “mentally handicapped” Tommy and that the cast seemed to be a proactive “inclusive family” where all newcomers were welcomed, Kane provides a breath of fresh air to the (sometimes) ”naval-gazing” DVD releases.
Barry Letts’ contribution to DOCTOR WHO is quite rightly recognised as one that saved the series from decommissioning in 1969, and in being the true foundation upon which was built a lasting legacy that even affects the NEW SERIES. DIRECTING WHO WITH BARRY LETTS is inspiring, intelligent and entertaining, and it is a pleasure to be tutored by Letts as he discusses the art of directing the almost impossible even though at times, he admits, he “cherry-picked” any Robert Holmes penned stories that he commissioned.
As ever, NOW AND THEN is an amusing diversion that will never win a BAFTA but for fans who have the inclination to see the field or beach that Jon Pertwee skimmed over in a borrowed hovercraft then this featurette is for you.
An interesting inclusion on this two-disc set is the 105-minute OMNIBUS EDITION of the story broadcast on 27 December 1974 in its unrestored format. It’s an add addition and as it has been “restored” I question its validity as a “value added” inclusion. A filler, perhaps, and only that.
Where was the “profile” of Jon Pertwee or a “retrospective” featurette?
The commentary is strange to listen to, at the time of writing this review, one of its contributors, Nicholas Courtney died recently and Barry Letts died in 2009. Time and life are intrinsically linked and we should never squander neither. Along with Elisabeth Sladen, Richard Franklin and Terrance Dicks, the commentary is truly “vintage” stuff and demonstrates their appreciation of both Jon Pertwee for being the glue that held DOCTOR WHO together and the series that has given them so much since.
Commentary highlights: PLANET OF THE SPIDERS (recorded in 2007).
On his character Mike Yates, Richard Franklin: I think my hair was longer than my trousers.
And continuing the hirsute theme, Nicholas Courtney: Look at that hair. Very long.
Barking like a Sergeant Major, Terrance Dicks: Get that hair cut!
On writing with Robert Sloman, Barry Letts: We were very happy writing together.
Barry Letts: The first episode’s really good.
Terrance Dicks: The second episode is spectacular.
On John Kane’s performance as Tommy, Barry Letts: Lovely performance by John Kane.
Nicholas Courtney: Slightly simple Tommy.
On the back-story of the Brigadier’s Doris giving him a timepiece, Terrance Dicks: Why give him a watch! Was it a performance award?
On the mention of Jo Grant, Elisabeth Sladen: I nice little touch to tie-in with Jo (Grant), as it was Jon’s last story.
Note: on the first day of studio recording the regeneration sequence was recorded, with Tom Baker leaving location filming (for ROBOT) to attend the evening session.
Barry Letts: I’m fond of spiders. They eat flies.
On Sergeant Benton’s line about being “expendable”, Nicholas Courtney: Noble.
Terrance Dicks: Not very bright but noble.
On Dudley Simpson’s incidental score, Elisabeth Sladen: The music is very doom-laden. Atmospheric.
On the inclusion of actor, Pat Gorman, Terrance Dicks: It was a rule to have Pat Gorman in DOCTOR WHO, and have him killed.
Elisabeth Sladen recalls an time when the make-up lady dashed on to the set following an accident involving John Dearth. The make-up lady did not attend to the wound but attempted to match her “fake blood” colour with “real blood”.
On some of the dated costumes for Lupton’s cohorts, Terrance Dicks: They have an appalling dress sense. These conspiratalists – an ugly lot!
With the potential of hearing a pin drop in the commentary booth, Barry Letts discusses the mating habits of spiders. If you are of a nervous disposition then avoid the commentary for episode three.
With the launch of SERIES 6 in April 2011, it is interesting – in a trivia way - to note that the landscape of Monument Canyon (Utah, USA) was used as a backdrop to create the alien planet of Metebelis III as it will in THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT and DAY OF THE MOON.
On the power of the Spiders, Terrance Dicks: A lot of people get “zapped” in this show.
On Tommy’s “accelerated” learning capabilities due to the power of the Metebelis III blue crystal, Richard Franklin: I think the British Education system could do with some Metebelis sapphire.
On the facial moustache of Arak (Gareth Hunt), Barry Letts: I thought he looks like Borat.
On the low level, close-up shots of Jon Pertwee’s face, Barry Letts: Jon hated this shot. A nostril shot.
Terrance Dicks: A twin tunnel shot.
On the cocoons of Sarah Jane Smith and the Doctor, Terrance Dicks: It looks like a scene in Youth Hostel. Tucked-up in sleeping bags.
On Mat Irvine’s animated spider known as “Boris”, Terrance Dicks: He had a career.
Barry Letts: Even went to the Science Museum.
On episode five’s ending showing Tommy under attack by energy pulses, Elisabeth Sladen: I love a cliff-hanger.
Barry Letts: I hope that he’s not killed, as he’ll be useful in episode six.
On the Third Doctor’s characterisation, Nicholas Courtney: A great gentleman. It comes from Jon’s personality.
On Lupton’s monastery colleagues linking hands to “concentrate”, Nicholas Courtney: Hello, they’re going to play patter-cake.
On the regeneration studio recording and how the two lead actors reacted to each other, Elisabeth Sladen: They didn’t speak to each other. I don’t think Tom wanted to be the centre of attention so he kept back. A bizarre, quiet moment.
On the Brigadier’s facial hair, Nicholas Courtney: My moustache varied greatly during the series.
Barry Letts: And Nicholas Courtney wrote that line; “Here we go again”.
On the regeneration transformation, Terrance Dicks: The mighty Pertwee nose changed into the mighty Baker nose.
With a such wonderfully entertaining and erudite commentary, DOCTOR WHO – PLANET OF THE SPIDERS does feel like a “collective bow” from a team, not, a family, from the 1970s that is inexorably fading away as the next generation takes over to create more memories to be held in trust for the future.
I hadn’t watch this six-parter since the release of the VHS format and, yes, whilst episode two’s “action packed chase” is an oddity that fails to drive the plot forwards, the entire production stands the test of time and, once again, is an intelligent, thought-provoking, honestly acted that were prevalent over the previous four years.
Of course, as a nine year old at the time, DOCTOR WHO – PLANET OF THE SPIDERS witnessed the end of my Doctor. A character that I had seen strapped to a Dalek interrogation table, forced to confront his fear of being engulfed with fire, frozen to his core, and strangled by a telephone cord.
Now, he’s gone. But not forgotten with thanks to BBC DVD.
