Doctor Who Original Series 09 - Planet of Giants
Okay, wrote this ages ago, but only just getting it up (oo-er) now.
2.01 Planet of Giants Pt. 1 - Planet of Giants Written by Louis Marks, Directed by Mervyn Pinfield
The TARDIS crew find themselves reduced in size to about an inch.
I remember liking this story on previous viewings, but this time around it seems a little slow. An okay starting episode, though the production design is quite reasonable as the travellers explore their surroundings and come to realise what has happened to them. The other storyline with Forester and Farrow seems a little clumsy, but does its job. Not a bad start, but mostly saved by the novelty of the idea more than anything.
6/10
"This isn't business, this is science." - Frank Crawshaw (Farrow)
2.02 Planet of Giants Pt. 2 - Dangerous Journey Written by Louis Marks, Directed by Mervyn Pinfield
Ian and Barbara get taken to the laboratory, and the Doctor and Susan follow.
Better paced than the first episode, with more nice props. The giant fly is especially nice. For the day, that range of movement was a major technical achievement, and I certainly didn't notice any obvious wires. That said, not a lot happens.
5/10
"The experiment must go through, it's too important! Nothing else matters! Not if we can save people from dying of starvation!" - Reginald Barratt (Smithers)
2.03 Planet of Giants Pt. 3 - Crisis Written by Louis Marks, Directed by Mervyn Pinfield
The Doctor and his companions must find a way to stop the production of DN6.
A reasonably fast paced finish, though the defeat of the bad guys is reached through what seems like a fairly unlikely coincidence.
7/10
"Yes, that it! We'll cause trouble! Start a fire, my boy!" - William Hartnell (Doctor Who)
Planet of Giants 6/10
The base idea for this tale dates back to the earliest story ideas of the series. It was one of the very first ideas put forward regarding situation the travellers would find themselves in.
The production team made a very wise decision with Planet of Giants. It was originally filmed as a four part story, and deciding that it dragged too much, they edited it down to a three parter. Given that I found it to drag a little this viewing, I can't imagine how slow it was originally.
The story isn't bad, and some of the production design is great. Forester comes across as fairly two dimensional, and Smithers, while passionate, obviously isn't much of a scientist to have worked on this project for so many years and missed what should have been a very clear and obvious issue. That said, it was the sixties and TV could get away with ignoring such issues a lot easier than they could these days with a better educated public.
Over all, not a bad story, a bit slow, but a nice idea and some nifty props help elevate it a little.
2.01 Planet of Giants Pt. 1 - Planet of Giants Written by Louis Marks, Directed by Mervyn Pinfield
The TARDIS crew find themselves reduced in size to about an inch.
I remember liking this story on previous viewings, but this time around it seems a little slow. An okay starting episode, though the production design is quite reasonable as the travellers explore their surroundings and come to realise what has happened to them. The other storyline with Forester and Farrow seems a little clumsy, but does its job. Not a bad start, but mostly saved by the novelty of the idea more than anything.
6/10
"This isn't business, this is science." - Frank Crawshaw (Farrow)
2.02 Planet of Giants Pt. 2 - Dangerous Journey Written by Louis Marks, Directed by Mervyn Pinfield
Ian and Barbara get taken to the laboratory, and the Doctor and Susan follow.
Better paced than the first episode, with more nice props. The giant fly is especially nice. For the day, that range of movement was a major technical achievement, and I certainly didn't notice any obvious wires. That said, not a lot happens.
5/10
"The experiment must go through, it's too important! Nothing else matters! Not if we can save people from dying of starvation!" - Reginald Barratt (Smithers)
2.03 Planet of Giants Pt. 3 - Crisis Written by Louis Marks, Directed by Mervyn Pinfield
The Doctor and his companions must find a way to stop the production of DN6.
A reasonably fast paced finish, though the defeat of the bad guys is reached through what seems like a fairly unlikely coincidence.
7/10
"Yes, that it! We'll cause trouble! Start a fire, my boy!" - William Hartnell (Doctor Who)
Planet of Giants 6/10
The base idea for this tale dates back to the earliest story ideas of the series. It was one of the very first ideas put forward regarding situation the travellers would find themselves in.
The production team made a very wise decision with Planet of Giants. It was originally filmed as a four part story, and deciding that it dragged too much, they edited it down to a three parter. Given that I found it to drag a little this viewing, I can't imagine how slow it was originally.
The story isn't bad, and some of the production design is great. Forester comes across as fairly two dimensional, and Smithers, while passionate, obviously isn't much of a scientist to have worked on this project for so many years and missed what should have been a very clear and obvious issue. That said, it was the sixties and TV could get away with ignoring such issues a lot easier than they could these days with a better educated public.
Over all, not a bad story, a bit slow, but a nice idea and some nifty props help elevate it a little.