I have to be honest, I had a pretty awful time with Planet of the Spiders.  I have largely enjoyed the Third Doctor era, even with its cheesy effects, the spiders just plain look awful here.  This production team was not ready for something like this.  Beyond that, I was kind of just bored with the story.  Normally the charms of this era just work but everything kind of feels tired here.  I know Pertwee was in a lot of pain at this time.  And with Delgado having tragically died, while Jo long gone, it does feel like the Third Doctor's time here had run its course.  Even the sets and filming feels confined and uninspired.  I'm not much of a fan, and its my least favourite regeneration story, though there is definitely a feeling that change is needed by this point because the formula the show found in its first colour era was starting to get stale.

Still, it's not without any kind of merit.  It still has the Brigadier and Sarah Jane, so it can only be so bad.  Still, though, it's not a story I'm really eager to revisit any time soon.

wish this was the finale game

When I started Jon Pertwee's era I wash full of energy and excitement towards this Doctor, after making my way through his five seasons I suppose I have a more measured opinion. I have certainly found his time in the TARDIS inherently more watchable than that of his 1960s counterparts, this is owing to higher production values, the completeness of the archive and for the most part (there are plenty of exceptions) the writing being a little more complex. Jon's Doctor has been energetic, emotional and very wise, but at the same time, five seasons of him I has left me yearning for Patrick Troughton's warmer and less "showy" interpretation of the character. Jon can be patronising and obnoxious to his companions - which is not a trait which I have ever warmed to.

Episode two of Planet of the Spiders (and this is the only episode I am going to slate) pretty much embodies everything I have found troubling about Pertwee's era. The self indulgent chase scene took up the entire episode, it seemed to be made for Pertwee himself rather than the audience. They could have cut it down to best five minutes, or added some narrative and it would have been thrilling - but instead they padded it out beyond belief and there was no real purpose to the chase. This is not a story without padding, each episode recap takes about two minutes for no good reason and the ending of part five doesn't fully recap until ten minutes(!) into part six.

Planet of the Spiders was certainly no failure though. There are bucket loads of redeeming and intriguing features which bring it up to "must watch" status. This is not solely because it is Pertwee's final outing, although he is on fine form throughout his more heroic and subtle moments. His Houdini inspired escape from the spider's web is a perfect example of the kind of playful humour he brought to this story.

This is potentially Mike Yates' best story. Initially I found it odd that Sarah Jane was chatting with him like a pal when her only other story with him he had turned out to be a misguided baddie. Once over this there was a lot of enjoyment to have and I felt that his character was well redeemed, the twist in the previous story having built him up and made him more interesting.

Tommy is a very well handled character. His "simple" nature could look embarrassing with modern eyes, it's certainly playing with fire, but it was very well written and acted. I found myself very invested in this one off character and was glad to see him take on a far greater intelligence. The transition (reading the book and correcting his language) was spine tingling.

There is no doubt that it is the writing and acting which shines best in this story. To get the most out of Planet of the Spiders you have to ignore the CSO, immobile monsters and lack of location filming. Pertwee deals with these challenges admirably - one of his best ever acting moments being when he faces the Great One.

I'm glad that this Doctor regenerated around Sarah Jane and the familiar UNIT crew. Even Jo got a lovely nod in the first episode which helped sign off the era nicely. The Time Lord Buddhist monk regenerating helped prepare The Doctor's age old friends with what was about to happen. The ending of this story could not have been more perfect. The Doctor has a new face again!

I obviously can't wait to see what happens next.

There's one thing I find strange about Planet of the Spiders. The 1974 Doctor Who serial was the regeneration story of the much beloved third Doctor (played by Jon Pertwee), yet for some reason it is very rarely discussed among the Whovian fandom. It almost seems to have been abandoned by the fanbase; even Invasion of the Dinosaurs is talked about more than this serial. In my opinion, this serial definitely doesn't deserve to be forgotten.

Planet of the Spiders is arguably Doctor Who's first example of a series finale. It sees a number of elements from Jon Pertwee's time on the show resolved including the Metebilis 3 crystal and Mike Yates' (Richard Franklyn) betrayal, so not only is the story frequently ignored but it has arguably had a major influence over the new series and the way everything is resolved in a finale.

In Planet of the Spiders, the mutated giant spiders known as the 'Eight Legs' are seeking the Doctor's Metebilis 3 crystal in order to achieve universal domination. The Doctor is the only one who can stop them; he must confront the Eight Legs' leader The Great One and face the possible death of his current incarnation in order to save the day.

One of the things that made Jon Pertwee's era so brilliant was the concept of threats close to home as the villains. It is therefore genius that for his last adventure, the villains are something we recognise from our own planet that many find frightening: I am of course talking about spiders. This serial is wise in its decision to follow in the steps of The Green Death (featuring giant maggots) and The Mutants (giant insects), both highly regarded among Whovians.

It wouldn't feel right for Jon Pertwee's last serial if the story's antagonists weren't similar earth-like creatures, although it is a shame that Roger Degaldo's Master couldn't have featured in his last story as originally planned- sadly Roger Degaldo died in a car crash in 1973. The Eight Legs may not be the most convincing Doctor Who prop but the classic series isn't about the special effects anyway, it's about the narrative and having an adventure with the Doctor. And there was never a more exciting adventure during Jon Pertwee's era than when he tackled monsters close to home.

The decision to include a chase sequence with the Whomobile and Bessie is also to be applauded. These two vehicles are synonymous with the third Doctor era of the show and it is nice that they got the send-off they deserved along with this incarnation of the Doctor. Bessie in particular is a car you can't imagine with any other incarnation and a big part of this era. The chase sequence represents everything people like about Jon Pertwee's Doctor; he is essentially Doctor Bond during an era of television where there were a lot of spy dramas and undercover cop shows. It helps that the scene is wonderfully executed by director Barry Letts; it's one of those scenes in the classic series where arguably you cannot tell the show was working on a shoestring budget.

It's nice to see Mike Yates redeemed by alerting the Doctor and Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) to the strange goings-on at the Buddhist meditation centre. It feels natural and in-character for Mike Yates to want to redeem himself and it's nice to see a signature UNIT personnel who was a big part of this incarnation's time on Earth become firmly on the side of good again after betraying UNIT in Invasion of the Dinosaurs. Mike feels as much like a Doctor Who companion as Liz, Jo or Sarah and perhaps one day Adam Mitchell will get a similar redemption story (although I would love to see Adam as an antagonist at some point akin to the role he plays in the comic series Prisoners of Time).

Despite the serial's forgotten nature, its ending is arguably one of the most iconic regeneration sequences in the show's history. It deserves to be. The third Doctor's regeneration is bittersweet and heart-wrenching without the need for Murray Gold music or a sobbing David Tennant.

The emotion is dealt with in a subtle way and whilst I personally love the tenth Doctor's regeneration scene, I can also appreciate how this sequence is not quite so 'in your face' about how you're supposed to feel. All this sequence needs is four simple words - 'A tear, Sarah Jane?' - and it immediately sells the emotional weight of the scene. A lot of it is down to Jon Pertwee's stunning delivery but it wouldn't have worked without Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, who if you didn't know Sarah Jane was a character you'd think genuinely believed in real life that Jon Pertwee was going to die. Of course, he doesn't die - he regenerates into Tom Baker - but Sarah doesn't know that and Elisabeth Sladenplays it brilliantly.

Overall, Planet of the Spiders is a brilliant and sadly often-overlooked Jon Pertwee serial, especially for Jon Pertwee's regeneration story. The story encompasses everything that made the Pertwee era of the show special, from the Earth-like appearance of the monsters (an approach later taken to the new series by Russell T Davies) to the vehicles that quickly became synonymous with Jon Pertwee's portrayal: namely Bessie and the Whomobile. The decision to have Mike Yates redeemed in the story is a good one and the story contains one of the show's best regeneration scenes that shows you can provide raw emotion without Vale Decem and David Tennant crying on cue.