🙏🏼64% = Fine! = Skippable!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

NOTES & COMMENTS ON “PLANET OF GIANTS”

Planet of Giants gets off to an intriguing start. The TARDIS materialises with its doors opened, which causes the four travellers to move sideways and appear on contemporary Earth miniaturised to thumb size. This revelation doesn't appear until halfway through Part 1, with the exploration of time and setting forming an intriguing mystery until then.

After solving the initial mystery, the characters spend the rest of the story attempting to return to the TARDIS while navigating various obstacles. There is very little story here, but the last-minute decision to condense the story from four to three episodes helps the adventure avoid running too stale. Of course, this means that the original Part 4 is technically another missing episode of Doctor Who. Some attempts have been made to recreate the original vision based on the script and edit notes for Part 4 for those who want to experience the full story.

The story includes the entire episode of Barbara accidentally becoming poisoned to add tension and a sense of urgency, but I find it incredibly stupid and uncharacteristic of her. Her refusal to say what is going on doesn’t feel right for her character at this point in their travels.

The Part 2 cliffhanger could have been more effective if it had played out slightly differently.

The idea of scientific miniaturisation causing troubles for the protagonists of a story is a classic one within science fiction and one that suits the early, experimental nature of Doctor Who very well.

This story is an early example of Doctor Who taking a stance on important political or social themes. This time, it is an environmental message against the use of pesticides; the villain here is Forrester, who is trying to sell an ever-lasting pesticide that would be harmful to insects as well as humans. It’s also a rare Doctor Who story in that it’s set on contemporary Earth but features no aliens or science fiction elements other than the TARDIS and the regulars.

One of Planet of Giants' major strengths is the production design, which is remarkably convincing for a show with such a small budget. The model's work on some of the objects (such as the worm, the ant, and the sink) is convincing.

However, the superimposed head of the deceased Farrow and the black cat (in the notoriously unconvincing cliffhanger) completely undermine the intended illusion.

The music and sound design are also excellent at displaying a sense of scale.

With almost no guest cast involved, this story relies heavily on the four main cast members, and their chemistry is magnetic by this point. The Doctor is likeable and curious, while Barbara and Ian bounce off each other effectively, and even Susan is bearable.

Sadly, I’ve never been very interested in the guest characters involved in the by-the-numbers B-plot surrounding Farrow and Forrester. They are such forgettable characters, and every time we cut to their interaction, the magic of the regulars being miniaturised is weakened. The telephonist and her husband, who appear in Part 3, add nothing to the narrative.