Doctor Who (TV Series) The Centre (1965) User Reviews

The Centre

[guswhovian · 6/10 · 31 July 2020]

The Doctor and Vicki are taken to the Animus, while Barbara and the Menoptera infiltrate Zarbi HQ.

"The Centre" is a fitting end for The Web Planet. We finally get to see the Animus; it doesn't disappoint, as it's very nicely designed and executed. William Russell is once again wasted, spending a good chunk of the episode pretending to crawls around tunnels.

Barbara saves the day by killing the Animus, and the episode ends. However, "The Centre" has a staggering eight minutes of runtime left after the Animus is destroyed, leaving the cast to stand around the TARDIS in an effort to drag the episode out. You would have thought Dennis Spooner would've straightened this out before filming.

The Web Planet is the most ambitious Doctor Who story of all time. I don't think it could have been made under any producer other than Verity Lambert. Bill Strutton's script is all over the place; his handling of Ian and Vicki is terrible, but he gives characters like Prapillus and Hetra wonderful dialogue. The sets and costumes are excellent, and it's actually quite well directed by Richard Martin.

The performances of the leads are great as always, and Jolyon Booth and Martin Jarvis stand out among the guest cast. Overall, The Web Planet is never going to be anyone's favorite Doctor Who story, but you do have to admire its audacity.

You can't fault the ambition.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 6/10 · 25 October 2019]

Time has run out for The Doctor and Vicki, who are taken before The Animus. It's up to Barbara and The Menoptera to save them.

I was very positive about the early few episodes, and I think I think it's fair to say the last few haven't been quite so good, the obvious limitations have hindered the production. You cannot fault the imagination shown, a very bold, unique and creative story, but sadly the available technology and special effects weren't quite up to the boldness of the story.

A story along these lines may have worked way better in later years, with CGI and other techniques. One of the real triumphs was The Animus, a great creation, well delivered, as I've mentioned previously I thought it reminded me of The Great Intelligence. Some of the sets have looked good, some have been poor. Its major strength lies in the fact that it is pure science fiction, an alien world, alien races, they just needed more money behind the scenes.

It was the 60's, and I bet those making it wouldn't have imagined people would be watching with a critical eye many, many years later.

It's not universally loved among Dr Who fans, and whilst I don't love it, I have a huge admiration for it. 6/10

The Web Planet Part 6: Ambitious but sadly unsuccessful.

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 5/10 · 6 July 2014]

Review for all 6 episodes:

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.

S2: The Web Planet: Manages to be bewilderingly creative and yet dull at the same time

[bob the moo · 15 September 2013]

The previous story in this season mixed serious drama with 1970's sex romp comedy and produced a rather odd series of episodes. For this next serial though there is really no relation in terms of tone or content and it does feel like the show has dropped a massive tab and just seen what happens. The plot sees the Tardis landing on a plant filled with weird creatures and, well, I would describe what happens but to be honest I'm not totally clear on it. It is delivered slowly though, whatever it was, because these 6 episodes really feel longer than they are and everything is delivered in an odd haze.

What it deserves credit for is creating this world of creatures because in the early episodes it was fascinating to see these moth and ant creatures kicking around. Soon though you do start to see they are of course people and it is hard not to see their legs when you look at them, but I did still enjoy the array of creatures and the invention in their design. It is a shame then that more isn't done with this trippy setting, but as I say, the plotting is pretty dull and the delivery is also surprisingly poor. Some shots seem good but generally the planet always feels like a soundstage and it isn't helped by the creatures bashing into each other (and the camera).

The cast seem a bit lost in all of this. They are professionals and they go along with it well – with Hartnell, Russell and Hill all doing good work. O'Brien is better here than she was in her last serial, but I didn't really get a full sense of her as the screen was frequently focused on blurry images and trippy characters as opposed to characters and their stories. In terms of other performances, the supporting cast are heavily costumed and mostly asked to act "otherworldly" in a drugged-up type of way, so it is hard to really get into them as characters even if I did like their look.

This serial deserves lots of credit for trying to be different – even without directly following The Romans, this would still stand out. It sadly doesn't work as a story though and the average delivery wastes the imagination of the creatures, which just ends up feeling like a bad trip for all involved.

Zaaaarrr.... BI!!

[sarastro7 · 3/10 · 17 July 2006]

Proper Doctor Who fans go to the lake on a bright summer night, and, dressed like the Menoptra, perform the control ritual of the giant ant-like Zarbi.

Chant with me: "Zaaaarrr... BI!! Zaaaarrr... BI" and wave your arms around like you're a huge, blind bumble-bee. And be sure to raise your voice if hapless pedestrians happen by.

Now THAT's cult!

Zaaaarrr... BI!!!!!

I mean, what else are you going to take from this story, The Web Planet (six episodes, dull and cheesy like you won't believe)?

No, there's only one thing for it: Zaaaarrr... BI!!

Doctor Who deserves allowances

[zeugitai · 9/10 · 20 June 2017]

Extremely ambitious production that succeeds on many levels in spite of constraints. One wonders if it were possible to appreciate it out of its context in time, and from the perspective of age. The people involved gave it their best effort--something that has been true of the entire and venerable Doctor Who series. The voices are excellent and convincing. The sets and costumes and realizations require maximal suspension of disbelief, and if one is so capable, and willing, one finds that they manage to craft and present appropriately bizarre and otherworldly imagery that leaves the viewer with haunting impressions. The effect is not unlike viewing a staged performance in a theater. As one who has appreciated and enjoyed science-fiction stories in any form throughout my life, I am perhaps not the most detached and objective of critics; however, I believe that the entire Doctor Who series is a precious cultural artifact. It's flaws deserve to be overlooked and forgiven. It provides that mind-expanding glimpse of other worlds, that window onto other realities, that all good science fiction provides, and does it with a consistently good humor and amenability.