The Doctor is forced to co-operate with the Animus but Ian uses the opportunity to make an escape attempt.The Doctor is forced to co-operate with the Animus but Ian uses the opportunity to make an escape attempt.The Doctor is forced to co-operate with the Animus but Ian uses the opportunity to make an escape attempt.
Photos
- Director
- Writers
- Bill Strutton
- Sydney Newman(uncredited)
- Donald B. Wilson(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBarbara is absent from this episode in order to give Jacqueline Hill a holiday during production.
- GoofsA Zarbi runs into a camera, causing it to wobble.
- Quotes
Ian Chesterton: What do you think they are, Doctor?
Dr. Who: Hmm?
Ian Chesterton: Those things out there.
Dr. Who: Well, to use a term of Earth's, I suppose we should call them insects.
Ian Chesterton: Ants?
Dr. Who: Hmm.
Ian Chesterton: I've seen a colony of ants eat their way right through a house. That size, they could eat their way through a mountain. Why are they that big?
Dr. Who: Size is only relative. In this rarefied atmosphere, it appears that evolution has chosen that particular form of life on this planet.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Tales of Isop (2005)
This story gets a lot of bad reviews and dislike but it also has fans who defend it vociferously.
I do not hate it like some people but I also do not love it or really enjoy it very much. It isn't as terrible as some viewers say but also isn't particularly entertaining for me.
Surely it definitely deserves points for ambition as it attempts to show us a completely alien world with insect-like aliens which look and behave in a very non-human way. I applaud it for such a brave attempt but there are two problems. Firstly the technology and budget were not up to presenting the aliens well enough and secondly there is a lack of a compelling story.
If you are fair to it by bearing in mind its age you should not hate it too much for its dodgy costumes and other effects. I try not to heavily criticise and hugely deduct points for dated effects. I only do that if the effects are poor for the time it was made. However, even being fair in this way and recognising it is better than the worst Doctor Who stories from the 80s or modern Who, this is the weakest Hartnell era adventure in my opinion and well below the usual high standard of the show because it just drags too much for me.
The effects were acceptable for their time given the low budget and time constraints but the problem is there is too much reliance on the effects even though the budget was not nearly enough to create the effects required. The story puts all the emphasis on the creation of alien beings in insect form on a very alien landscape. It neglects giving us an exciting enough adventure to keep me interested.
The costumes and effects look silly to many modern viewers and give it all a pantomime feel but this would be forgivable if the story and script were strong enough to stand up on their own. Sadly, while it is far from awful, I do not think the story or dialogue are strong enough. If you imagine overlaying modern CGI effects onto this to make it all look plausible I am afraid it would still leave a lacklustre story with some below par performances in my opinion.
I am sad to say I find it rather boring and repetetive for too much of the time. It is very stretched and lacking in content. It is filled up with ear splitting sounds going on for too long and events going a bit round in circles. It has good aspects but is a weaker than average story by comparison to the great adventures in the history of Doctor Who.
However, it is saved from total failure by its ambition in presenting a strange world full of non humanoid aliens and the better parts of script, story and acting. It is not all bad and it is an interesting idea but it is badly realised and becomes boring. It is what I would call a brave but ultimately disappointing misfire.
My Ratings: Episode 1 - 5.5, Episodes 2, 3,4 and 6 - 5/10, Episode 5 - 4.5/10
Average rating : 5/10.
- A_Kind_Of_CineMagic
- Jul 6, 2014
Details
- Runtime23 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1