Doctor Who 2.01 Planet of Giants
First Doctor with Susan, Ian and Barbara
Follows on from Season One
DOCTOR: "I'm not going to give up before I've tried."
Overview
This is quite a fun little story maybe not the most thrilling new season-opener ever, but it wasn't really intended as such and is an entertaining and rather beautifully made adventure that I enjoy watching. Originally written as a four-parter, it was cut down to just three episodes in order to tighten it up, and although this leads to a few choppy moments where the action doesn't flow quite as smoothly as it should because a bridging scene has been removed, on the whole it works well: three episodes makes for a nice, neat little story, while all four characters are in tip-top form here, showcasing the lovely dynamic that has developed between them.
This story was filmed as the final instalment of the first season, but was then held over to be aired as the second season premiere, something that happened quite regularly on the show over the years. Yet despite belonging to the first season filming block, the production values feel much higher. Visually, the story is stunning: the sets and props are amazing and the special effects are very ambitious for 1964 primitive, yes, by modern standards, but very impressive by the standard of the time, and enhanced by the black and white cinematography. This was a concept that should have required a budget many times bigger than this show ever actually had, yet they managed to not only pull it off, but to pull it off with style. Kudos.
The basic plot of the story, in a nutshell, is this: a fault during the materialisation of the TARDIS causes both it and its crew to shrink to a miniature size. By the time they realise what has happened they have been separated and must first find one another and then navigate their way through the suddenly hostile environment of a suburban garden to return to the TARDIS and get back to their proper size. All this takes place against the backdrop of ruthless industrial power-plays and bloody murder, and the desire of our protagonists to secure their own safety and escape is complicated by their moral compulsion to raise the alarm and prevent a lethal insecticide being released into the market.
As a plot it is effective, albeit simple, but the real strength of the serial lies in the production values and in the characters. There's a real sense of friendship, family and camaraderie between this first ever TARDIS team now as they enter their second season together, and the story makes good use of them all, mixing up the character interactions as it goes along in order to explore as many combinations of the four as possible. Ian and Barbara have always been the strongest characters of the show, but Susan is much better written here than in some of her previous outings, while the Doctor is really starting to come into his own now, recognisably the Doctor we all know and love, after his shaky beginnings. I love all four characters in this.
Observations
Random thoughts while watching:
After his fractious behaviour at the start of The Reign of Terror, the Doctor is apparently trying once again to get Ian and Barbara home to 1960s England, but this time as a gesture of friendship rather than in a fit of pique. Rather more to the point, it actually works: the TARDIS does land in 1960s England, the first time since An Unearthly Child that the show ever visited contemporary times. Not that Ian and Barbara actually get to go home, of course. This is Doctor Who nothing is ever that simple!
The first sign of the TARDIS malfunction is an overheating section of the console, on which Barbara burns her hand I love how quick Ian is to fuss over the minor injury! Those two have become so very close during their adventures together.
The TARDIS malfunctions just as it is materialising and this is A Very Bad Thing. Moreover, the malfunction causes the doors to open during materialisation, which escalates the level of crisis from Bad to Dire. All this within about the first 60 seconds of the story; way to start the show running! The Doctor's stress levels certainly shoot sky high over it all, the urgency of William Hartnell's performance really sells the crisis, and he takes his anxiety out on his companions, as usual, snapping and snarling at them for not reacting as quickly as he'd like and for not understanding the nature of the crisis as instinctively as he does. I like, though, that he has now evolved enough that he apologises for his rudeness as soon as he has calmed down a bit. He seems genuinely concerned that he might have upset Barbara, while his companions know him well enough by now not to take his temper personally, although they are very frustrated by his refusal to explain why he is so agitated. As character material goes, this scene is excellent, re-establishing the basic group dynamic for the new season and shedding light on the personalities of all four characters as they enter their ninth adventure together.
Didn't the TARDIS doors open once before while it was in flight, back in Edge of Destruction? It didn't have anything like the same effect then, although it did result in some very odd behaviour. Perhaps the difference is that while then the TARDIS was in flight, it wasn't in the middle of materialising, as happens here the timing of this malfunction is clearly crucial.
I'm not exactly sure why the scanner blows out when the Doctor tries to turn it on, but I'm amused by Ian's casual suggestion that they strip it down and replace the tube, like it's just another telly. Maybe it is just another telly that would make it the one piece of equipment on the ship that Ian can grasp the engineering of!
Ian is looking very smart in this story. He's found a new suit somewhere aboard the TARDIS since they left 18th century France. I like it.
The show was very much in its educational phase still, here at the start of its second season there's a lot of talk about ecology and geology and nature and whatnot as the gang wander around exploring their new environment, but then, having two teachers aboard the TARDIS is a natural set-up for that kind of thing. As characters, Ian and Barbara both drop into lecture mode so instinctively I'm not sure they even notice they are doing it!
I love that Ian and Barbara are as ready and eager to explore new environments as the Doctor and Susan are, these days. After the hesitance of their early days aboard the TARDIS, they have come to accept that this is their life now, for however long it takes to get home, and part of that life is the thrill of discovery and the challenge of learning about new times and places.
Because it isn't overly dragged out, I like how slowly and inexorably the story builds toward its surprise plot reveal as our intrepid travellers exit the TARDIS feeling relieved that they seem to have survived the crisis unscathed, begin to explore their strange surroundings only to be weirded out as they immediately start to stumble upon giant dead insects all over the place and gradually reach the terrible realisation that they haven't landed on a planet populated by giant bugs but rather are on Earth, which is the same size it has always been but they have been miniaturised!
The technobabble behind the central plot concept is a bit woolly, so we won't linger over that. Somehow the opening of the door during materialisation and the spatial pressures and whatnot that this caused have resulted in the TARDIS and its crew being shrunk to no more than an inch high. We'll just take that explanation and run with it because the science really isn't important; it's just a device to allow the plot to happen. What matters is watching the reactions of the characters as they slowly figure out what has happened to them and try to deal with the situation.
I really like the way we are shown the Doctor and Susan figuring out what has happened simultaneously but separately, the group having split up to explore I always appreciate it when the writers remember that Susan isn't just an emotional teenager, but is also a highly advanced alien and experienced traveller through time and space. It's also interesting that Ian the scientist remains so very sceptical of her conclusion for quite some time, in the face of the evidence even after everything he has seen and experienced, he can't quite bring himself to believe that something so preposterous could happen. I like the way Susan stands her ground against his scepticism; it's a shame she isn't always so assertive. It makes sense for her character, though, that she knows Ian well enough now to be comfortable taking him to task when he doubts her on a subject she is better qualified to speculate on than he is, but still tends toward panic when she's out of her comfort zone or is frightened of losing someone she cares about.
One of the strengths of Doctor Who has always been its ability to take something totally mundane and turn it into the stuff of nightmares, and this story turns that ability into an art form. Whoever would have imagined that such simple things as a box of matches, a cat or the emptying of a sink could be used to generate such drama? But when the heroes of the story are only an inch high, even a neatly manicured garden is transformed into a place of dread where even a common bumblebee or ant could be potentially deadly if they weren't all dead themselves, that is, which is a nicely visual introduction to the second plot strand of the adventure. While our protagonists are battling their way through the death-trap that is this humble garden, another story is unfolding up above them in the world of the normal-sized people: a surprisingly modern story about an experimental and extremely deadly new insecticide and the lengths its developer will go to in order to protect his investment, heedless of the ecological damage it might do. I like the way the two stories are gradually woven together: the way the normal-sized humans go about their murky business, plotting and scheming and inadvertently causing all kinds of problems for our miniature protagonists without ever so much as suspecting that they are there, while the tiny TARDIS team have their own adventures to preoccupy them but gradually become very aware of what is going on in the real world above them, only to be frustrated by their inability to interact with that world.
This story gives me all kinds of flashbacks to 'Land of the Giants', which I remember loving as a child but haven't seen in about 25 years. It's all a bit 'Honey, I Shrunk The Kids', too but much better!
The props used in this story are amazing, especially when you consider that this was made in 1964. Giant ants, bees, earthworms, matchsticks, seed packets, all carefully reproduced to scale for our protagonists to encounter. The attention to detail is fantastic. It helps, of course, that all the insects in the garden are dead, so that the props aren't required to move (apart from the giant fly that Barbara encounters) and the fact that they are all dead, enormous and dead, lends quite a chilling and eerie air to the early scenes of the story.
In many respects, this is a classic First Doctor plot the TARDIS lands, the crew go outside to explore, get separated, and then face a series of obstacles before they can make it back to the ship again, which is their chief goal. The nature of the obstacles they face in this story are a bit different than usual, though starting with the moment Ian gets trapped inside a box of matches, which the oblivious normal-sized human owner of (a Mr Farrow) then picks up and carries to the other side of the garden. It isn't even a big garden but to our inch-high protagonists that small yard represents an enormously long and arduous journey, fretting along the way about what might have killed all the insects and whether it could be dangerous to them, too, given their current size. And then no sooner have they reunited with a slightly bruised Ian than they face their next problem how to avoid becoming dinner to a very interested cat!
Meanwhile in the world of normal-sized humans, a sordid tale of murder and extortion is emerging, as Farrow is shot dead by a Mr Forrester to stop him preventing the launch of Forrester's deadly insecticide. It's the kind of very normal, mundane human crime that Doctor Who wouldn't normally have anything to do with, but here it is merely the backdrop for the more science fiction aspect of the plot and the adventures in miniature of the TARDIS team. I am rather startled that after Farrow is shot, we are actually shown the bloody bullet hole in his shirt and are shown Forrester and his unwilling accomplice Smithers trying to wash the blood off the path! Early Who was a lot more gritty and daring than it became later, in the days when UNIT soldiers and their opponents alike would get shot down left, right and centre, with never so much as a drop of blood in evidence!
Yeah, it's very obvious that our protagonists are standing in front of a giant photo in the shots we see of them examining the corpse. It was the best that could be done in 1964 and doesn't detract from the story.
A new obstacle to the TARDIS team's safe retreat to the ship emerges when Ian and Barbara take shelter from the cat inside a briefcase which Forrester promptly picks up and takes inside to the laboratory. If traversing a small garden involved a gruelling journey for our inch-high heroes, getting in or out of a building represents an even more enormous challenge!
Susan is in really good form in this story. She has a few hysterical moments, sure, when she is frightened for the lives of her friends, but the rest of the time she is bubbly, positive and pro-active, genuinely delightful to have around.
I really enjoy seeing how determined the Doctor is not to let Ian and Barbara down. He isn't about to be defeated by the fact that he is only an inch tall. His miniaturised companions have been taken into the laboratory in a briefcase and he will not rest until he has found them and knows they are safe, no matter how mammoth the task might seem. I love it. He feels really properly Doctor-ish in this story. Compare his absolute commitment to his human friends here with his disdain and hostility toward them back in An Unearthly Child, when they first met he really has come a long, long way.
Ian's failure to figure out that Barbara has touched a seed coated in insecticide while he wasn't looking is a bit contrived, but Jacqueline Hill performs it really well, Barbara's anxiety and hesitance to admit what she's done written all over her face. It gets a bit panto, perhaps, as she is interrupted every time she tries to confess what happened, but the actors pull it off convincingly.
Ian and Barbara have some really sweet scenes together, with Barbara sinking into despair and Ian trying his hardest to reassure her, albeit unsuccessfully because he doesn't know what's really bothering her, and then Barbara pulling herself together and trying to be positive for his sake they have such a lovely relationship, a real partnership of equals.
Oh, Ian's shenanigans trying to unlock the catch of the giant briefcase are a lot more amusing than they should be. I really like that the tiniest things involve so much exertion and effort, there are no quick cheats or shortcuts for our miniaturised protagonists. Every tiny thing they achieve in this state, we see them work for.
I am very impressed by the prop used for the giant fly that lands right behind Barbara. It moves! I think I might faint, too, if I turned around and saw that thing looming over me! Barbara's faint, though, probably has more to do with the insecticide she came into contact with, as she is usually made of far sterner stuff than that.
Ian's reaction to Barbara's faint is to pick her up and sling her over his shoulder to carry to a safer location very alpha male and then sit gazing at her until she comes round again. Boy's got it bad. Barbara is not as reassured as Ian expects her to be when he tells her that the fly landed on the seed pile and died instantly; having handled a seed coated with insecticide, that's pretty much the last thing she wants to hear. But she is still reluctant to admit that she got the insecticide on her hands, although she is clearly fretting about it, and Ian is still being obtuse and male, failing to pick up on the clues. I love the way he tries to keep her spirits up when she gets upset, though, even if he does lose points for not realising that the main reason she's upset is because she knows she has been poisoned!
This is the frailest body the Doctor has ever had, so it says a lot about his drive and determination that he climbs all the way up the inside of a corroded drainpipe full of chemical fumes, refusing to turn back no matter how difficult it becomes, so firm is his resolve to find Ian and Barbara. It's a tough climb for Susan, too, of course, but at least she has youth and energy on her side!
Oh, oh, oh, when the Doctor and Susan reach the top of the drainpipe and climb out into the sink, that's an actual set they are standing in, not any kind of special effect it's a giant set of a sink and plughole, built to scale. That's awesome! It looks amazing!
Man, Ian and Barbara are beyond adorable when they hear Susan shouting for them and get all excited about reuniting with their missing friends. And then Susan and the Doctor are equally excited to see them. So cute! I really love the sense of family these four have built together, all the more so because we have been shown the development of that relationship throughout, from its rocky early days through the ups and downs of season one, to the trusting, mutually respectful and loving relationship they now have it's a dynamic that really does feel earned, and we have seen every step of its evolution.
The scale set of that sink and plughole is fantastic. We usually feel we should apologise for the primitive nature of the sets and props used in classic Doctor Who, so let's also give credit where it is deserved!
Only Doctor Who could make a cliffhanger out of someone washing their hands and then emptying the sink. The panic of the miniaturised TARDIS team really sells it, though.
It is clear that a lot of thought went into the writing of this story all the implications of the characters being only an inch high have been carefully thought through. Normal-sized humans look like mountains to them, too enormous to make out any details. A gunshot sounds like a distant cannon, a slamming door sounds like thunder, the speech of normal-sized humans sounds like a low-pitched record being played back at ultra-slow speed, and so on, while the Doctor notes that the reverse would also be an issue, i.e. their own voices are far too tiny for normal-sized humans to hear. The ability of our protagonists to have any impact on real world proceedings is pretty much nil, in fact and yet, having stumbled upon this murder and having realised how deadly and ecologically dangerous the insecticide is, they are all anxious not to leave this place without doing what they can to prevent further catastrophe. Barbara has the most personal stake in the proceedings, of course, having been poisoned by the insecticide herself although she remains reluctant to admit this to the others, instead trying to steer them toward finding a cure without having to confess.
I'm equal parts amused and impressed by the way the miniaturised TARDIS team work together to map out the formulas they find scribbled on a notebook and then reproduce them in a readable format for their size. Cooperation is the name of the game! I also really, really like that the Doctor makes a point of talking over the formula with Ian, who is a scientist. Even though Ian readily admits that the chemistry here is a bit over his head, the Doctor still pays him the courtesy of discussing it with him as an equal, rather than talking down to him, as he so easily could, since deciphering the formula is child's play to him I love how much the Doctor has grown to respect Ian, over the course of their adventures together.
Oh, the old-fashioned telephone system! Pick up the phone and you're straight through to the local operator, no dialling necessary! I love it and the resolution of the murder story hinges on it.
Despite being only an inch tall, our heroes decide they must do whatever they can to at least inform the proper authorities that there is trouble afoot here at the laboratory. This leads to prolonged shenanigans as they work together to lift the telephone receiver and prop it up on test tube corks so that they can bellow at the operator to send the police. It doesn't work, of course: the operator can't hear their tiny voices at all, while all they can hear of hers is a dull growl. These faltering efforts at raising the alarm aren't in vain, however although the TARDIS crew don't know it, their silent phone call does succeed in generating concern over at the telephone exchange. I am immensely amused by the amateur sleuthing we see on the part of telephone operator Hilda, who is already suspicious about dodgy phone calls placed by Forrester and now decides to send her husband Bert, the village constable, up to the old farmhouse to investigate. Score one to the TARDIS team for actually managing to impact on the real world, even if they don't know they've achieved it.
Not knowing they have succeeded in raising the alarm, the Doctor and his companions are swiftly distracted from the larger case they've stumbled upon when Barbara, who has been increasingly unwell, suddenly passes out and they finally realise that she has come into contact with the deadly insecticide. The actors are at their best when interacting as a group like this they have fabulous chemistry, all four of them. Barbara's agitated rant at Ian not to touch the handkerchief she wiped the insecticide from her hands onto is really well done, while Ian's distress is equally well played when Barbara insists that they do more to raise the alarm with the authorities before heading back to the TARDIS to try to cure her. She was still flirting with other men as recently as the last serial, The Reign of Terror, but he definitely has stronger feelings for her than a mere friend!
I like that the Doctor expresses absolute confidence when assuring his friends that he will be able to return them to their normal size when they get back to the TARDIS, and that this will save Barbara's life, but then when his back is turned we see how doubtful he really is. It feels so properly Doctor-ish that he'd keep his doubts to himself to reassure the others and blithely continue as if his plan is utterly foolproof, whether he truly believes that or not. Improvisation is what he does best, after all, however young and inexperienced he may be at this point.
The Doctor and his companions decide that the best way they can attract attention to this laboratory, the insecticide and the murder, is by setting a fire. This is easier said than done when you are only an inch tall, but they have teamwork and determination on their side plus a gas tap, matches and highly flammable spray cans left lying around to be made use of. After laboriously turning on the gas tap, a task that, like lifting the telephone receiver earlier, requires effort from all four of them, Ian and Susan wield an enormous matchstick like a battering ram, running at the matchbox several times until they find the right angle to spark a flame. I'm really impressed at how well these scenes work, using scale models, camera trickery and light to imply the lighting of the match and igniting of the gas tap kudos to the production team for pulling it off so well. The production values of this serial really are impressively high, by the standards of their time.
While taking cover before the burning spray can explodes, the Doctor and Susan refer to a pre-series adventure, Susan remarking that all this reminds her of an air raid they once experienced and the Doctor grumbling about what 'infernal machines' those Zeppelins were. I always like that sense of history and backstory, the implication that the Doctor and Susan were having adventures long before we met them.
Timing is everything. Without knowing it, our heroes save Smithers' life, as the can explodes just as Forrester pulls a gun on his reluctant accomplice, and then village bobby Bert turns up just moments later to investigate the strange goings on. So all's well that ends well, for the real world story: the murderer is apprehended and the deadly nature of the insecticide is exposed before it can go into production.
Meanwhile, the tiny TARDIS team must slog it on foot back out of the laboratory and across the garden to the TARDIS. Presumably they don't encounter any more dangers en route. We aren't told what the Doctor does to reverse the shrinking process, but it seems to work and it is a nifty solution to Barbara's problem, the poison of the insecticide overwhelming her body while she's only an inch high, but becoming practically harmless once she is returned to her normal size. If only it were always so simple for the Doctor to save someone's life! I like that the Doctor thinks to take a wheat seed back to the TARDIS with him, carefully wrapped up in his cloak so as not to poison anyone else, as a test sample by which to prove that they've been returned to their normal size, as the giant seed seems to shrink away to nothing. I'm not going to question the science at all, I'm just going to appreciate the Doctor's cleverness!
I love how chuffed the Doctor is about his success! He's so cute!
Quotable Quotes
DOCTOR: "Oh please, don't keep talking on the twentieth century level. I'm talking about time travel. Neither of you can understand what I'm talking about, I can see that."
IAN: "How could we? You've never explained it to us."
DOCTOR: "Oh, my dear Barbara, was I rude to you just now? If so I'm so sorry. I always forget the niceties under pressure. Please forgive me."
DOCTOR: "Death, you see, has its own particular posture and appearance."
IAN: "It isn't possible, Susan. It's ridiculous."
SUSAN: "Oh, Ian, work it out for yourself."
DOCTOR: "We can't expect sympathy and understanding from an insane or a criminal mind."
IAN: "Of course, it had to happen to us."
BARBARA: "It's all so ridiculous, Ian."
IAN: "Barbara, we must concentrate on getting back. Just forget how absurd things are. Concentrate on getting back."
DOCTOR: "I'm not going to give up before I've tried."
IAN: "Barbara, you're ill. You've got to let us take you back to the ship. You could die. Doctor, make her see some sense."
DOCTOR: "There's nothing I can say, dear boy. Barbara's quite right."
IAN: "Susan "
BARBARA: "Ian, we must find a way to stop them. We must."
IAN: "Take as much cover as you can. When that tin explodes there'll be metal flying all over the place."
SUSAN: "It'll be just like that air raid, Grandfather. Do you remember?"
DOCTOR: "Yes, very well, and what infernal machines those Zeppelins were."
IAN: "Thank you, Doctor."
DOCTOR: "Not at all, my dear boy. Always at your service."
The Verdict
Overall and taken as a whole, this is another charming little outing for the First Doctor and his companions I really didn't expect to fall in love with this early era as much as I have!
Written 6/3/2012; revised March 2013
Follows on from Season One
DOCTOR: "I'm not going to give up before I've tried."
Overview
This is quite a fun little story maybe not the most thrilling new season-opener ever, but it wasn't really intended as such and is an entertaining and rather beautifully made adventure that I enjoy watching. Originally written as a four-parter, it was cut down to just three episodes in order to tighten it up, and although this leads to a few choppy moments where the action doesn't flow quite as smoothly as it should because a bridging scene has been removed, on the whole it works well: three episodes makes for a nice, neat little story, while all four characters are in tip-top form here, showcasing the lovely dynamic that has developed between them.
This story was filmed as the final instalment of the first season, but was then held over to be aired as the second season premiere, something that happened quite regularly on the show over the years. Yet despite belonging to the first season filming block, the production values feel much higher. Visually, the story is stunning: the sets and props are amazing and the special effects are very ambitious for 1964 primitive, yes, by modern standards, but very impressive by the standard of the time, and enhanced by the black and white cinematography. This was a concept that should have required a budget many times bigger than this show ever actually had, yet they managed to not only pull it off, but to pull it off with style. Kudos.
The basic plot of the story, in a nutshell, is this: a fault during the materialisation of the TARDIS causes both it and its crew to shrink to a miniature size. By the time they realise what has happened they have been separated and must first find one another and then navigate their way through the suddenly hostile environment of a suburban garden to return to the TARDIS and get back to their proper size. All this takes place against the backdrop of ruthless industrial power-plays and bloody murder, and the desire of our protagonists to secure their own safety and escape is complicated by their moral compulsion to raise the alarm and prevent a lethal insecticide being released into the market.
As a plot it is effective, albeit simple, but the real strength of the serial lies in the production values and in the characters. There's a real sense of friendship, family and camaraderie between this first ever TARDIS team now as they enter their second season together, and the story makes good use of them all, mixing up the character interactions as it goes along in order to explore as many combinations of the four as possible. Ian and Barbara have always been the strongest characters of the show, but Susan is much better written here than in some of her previous outings, while the Doctor is really starting to come into his own now, recognisably the Doctor we all know and love, after his shaky beginnings. I love all four characters in this.
Observations
Random thoughts while watching:
After his fractious behaviour at the start of The Reign of Terror, the Doctor is apparently trying once again to get Ian and Barbara home to 1960s England, but this time as a gesture of friendship rather than in a fit of pique. Rather more to the point, it actually works: the TARDIS does land in 1960s England, the first time since An Unearthly Child that the show ever visited contemporary times. Not that Ian and Barbara actually get to go home, of course. This is Doctor Who nothing is ever that simple!
The first sign of the TARDIS malfunction is an overheating section of the console, on which Barbara burns her hand I love how quick Ian is to fuss over the minor injury! Those two have become so very close during their adventures together.
The TARDIS malfunctions just as it is materialising and this is A Very Bad Thing. Moreover, the malfunction causes the doors to open during materialisation, which escalates the level of crisis from Bad to Dire. All this within about the first 60 seconds of the story; way to start the show running! The Doctor's stress levels certainly shoot sky high over it all, the urgency of William Hartnell's performance really sells the crisis, and he takes his anxiety out on his companions, as usual, snapping and snarling at them for not reacting as quickly as he'd like and for not understanding the nature of the crisis as instinctively as he does. I like, though, that he has now evolved enough that he apologises for his rudeness as soon as he has calmed down a bit. He seems genuinely concerned that he might have upset Barbara, while his companions know him well enough by now not to take his temper personally, although they are very frustrated by his refusal to explain why he is so agitated. As character material goes, this scene is excellent, re-establishing the basic group dynamic for the new season and shedding light on the personalities of all four characters as they enter their ninth adventure together.
Didn't the TARDIS doors open once before while it was in flight, back in Edge of Destruction? It didn't have anything like the same effect then, although it did result in some very odd behaviour. Perhaps the difference is that while then the TARDIS was in flight, it wasn't in the middle of materialising, as happens here the timing of this malfunction is clearly crucial.
I'm not exactly sure why the scanner blows out when the Doctor tries to turn it on, but I'm amused by Ian's casual suggestion that they strip it down and replace the tube, like it's just another telly. Maybe it is just another telly that would make it the one piece of equipment on the ship that Ian can grasp the engineering of!
Ian is looking very smart in this story. He's found a new suit somewhere aboard the TARDIS since they left 18th century France. I like it.
The show was very much in its educational phase still, here at the start of its second season there's a lot of talk about ecology and geology and nature and whatnot as the gang wander around exploring their new environment, but then, having two teachers aboard the TARDIS is a natural set-up for that kind of thing. As characters, Ian and Barbara both drop into lecture mode so instinctively I'm not sure they even notice they are doing it!
I love that Ian and Barbara are as ready and eager to explore new environments as the Doctor and Susan are, these days. After the hesitance of their early days aboard the TARDIS, they have come to accept that this is their life now, for however long it takes to get home, and part of that life is the thrill of discovery and the challenge of learning about new times and places.
Because it isn't overly dragged out, I like how slowly and inexorably the story builds toward its surprise plot reveal as our intrepid travellers exit the TARDIS feeling relieved that they seem to have survived the crisis unscathed, begin to explore their strange surroundings only to be weirded out as they immediately start to stumble upon giant dead insects all over the place and gradually reach the terrible realisation that they haven't landed on a planet populated by giant bugs but rather are on Earth, which is the same size it has always been but they have been miniaturised!
The technobabble behind the central plot concept is a bit woolly, so we won't linger over that. Somehow the opening of the door during materialisation and the spatial pressures and whatnot that this caused have resulted in the TARDIS and its crew being shrunk to no more than an inch high. We'll just take that explanation and run with it because the science really isn't important; it's just a device to allow the plot to happen. What matters is watching the reactions of the characters as they slowly figure out what has happened to them and try to deal with the situation.
I really like the way we are shown the Doctor and Susan figuring out what has happened simultaneously but separately, the group having split up to explore I always appreciate it when the writers remember that Susan isn't just an emotional teenager, but is also a highly advanced alien and experienced traveller through time and space. It's also interesting that Ian the scientist remains so very sceptical of her conclusion for quite some time, in the face of the evidence even after everything he has seen and experienced, he can't quite bring himself to believe that something so preposterous could happen. I like the way Susan stands her ground against his scepticism; it's a shame she isn't always so assertive. It makes sense for her character, though, that she knows Ian well enough now to be comfortable taking him to task when he doubts her on a subject she is better qualified to speculate on than he is, but still tends toward panic when she's out of her comfort zone or is frightened of losing someone she cares about.
One of the strengths of Doctor Who has always been its ability to take something totally mundane and turn it into the stuff of nightmares, and this story turns that ability into an art form. Whoever would have imagined that such simple things as a box of matches, a cat or the emptying of a sink could be used to generate such drama? But when the heroes of the story are only an inch high, even a neatly manicured garden is transformed into a place of dread where even a common bumblebee or ant could be potentially deadly if they weren't all dead themselves, that is, which is a nicely visual introduction to the second plot strand of the adventure. While our protagonists are battling their way through the death-trap that is this humble garden, another story is unfolding up above them in the world of the normal-sized people: a surprisingly modern story about an experimental and extremely deadly new insecticide and the lengths its developer will go to in order to protect his investment, heedless of the ecological damage it might do. I like the way the two stories are gradually woven together: the way the normal-sized humans go about their murky business, plotting and scheming and inadvertently causing all kinds of problems for our miniature protagonists without ever so much as suspecting that they are there, while the tiny TARDIS team have their own adventures to preoccupy them but gradually become very aware of what is going on in the real world above them, only to be frustrated by their inability to interact with that world.
This story gives me all kinds of flashbacks to 'Land of the Giants', which I remember loving as a child but haven't seen in about 25 years. It's all a bit 'Honey, I Shrunk The Kids', too but much better!
The props used in this story are amazing, especially when you consider that this was made in 1964. Giant ants, bees, earthworms, matchsticks, seed packets, all carefully reproduced to scale for our protagonists to encounter. The attention to detail is fantastic. It helps, of course, that all the insects in the garden are dead, so that the props aren't required to move (apart from the giant fly that Barbara encounters) and the fact that they are all dead, enormous and dead, lends quite a chilling and eerie air to the early scenes of the story.
In many respects, this is a classic First Doctor plot the TARDIS lands, the crew go outside to explore, get separated, and then face a series of obstacles before they can make it back to the ship again, which is their chief goal. The nature of the obstacles they face in this story are a bit different than usual, though starting with the moment Ian gets trapped inside a box of matches, which the oblivious normal-sized human owner of (a Mr Farrow) then picks up and carries to the other side of the garden. It isn't even a big garden but to our inch-high protagonists that small yard represents an enormously long and arduous journey, fretting along the way about what might have killed all the insects and whether it could be dangerous to them, too, given their current size. And then no sooner have they reunited with a slightly bruised Ian than they face their next problem how to avoid becoming dinner to a very interested cat!
Meanwhile in the world of normal-sized humans, a sordid tale of murder and extortion is emerging, as Farrow is shot dead by a Mr Forrester to stop him preventing the launch of Forrester's deadly insecticide. It's the kind of very normal, mundane human crime that Doctor Who wouldn't normally have anything to do with, but here it is merely the backdrop for the more science fiction aspect of the plot and the adventures in miniature of the TARDIS team. I am rather startled that after Farrow is shot, we are actually shown the bloody bullet hole in his shirt and are shown Forrester and his unwilling accomplice Smithers trying to wash the blood off the path! Early Who was a lot more gritty and daring than it became later, in the days when UNIT soldiers and their opponents alike would get shot down left, right and centre, with never so much as a drop of blood in evidence!
Yeah, it's very obvious that our protagonists are standing in front of a giant photo in the shots we see of them examining the corpse. It was the best that could be done in 1964 and doesn't detract from the story.
A new obstacle to the TARDIS team's safe retreat to the ship emerges when Ian and Barbara take shelter from the cat inside a briefcase which Forrester promptly picks up and takes inside to the laboratory. If traversing a small garden involved a gruelling journey for our inch-high heroes, getting in or out of a building represents an even more enormous challenge!
Susan is in really good form in this story. She has a few hysterical moments, sure, when she is frightened for the lives of her friends, but the rest of the time she is bubbly, positive and pro-active, genuinely delightful to have around.
I really enjoy seeing how determined the Doctor is not to let Ian and Barbara down. He isn't about to be defeated by the fact that he is only an inch tall. His miniaturised companions have been taken into the laboratory in a briefcase and he will not rest until he has found them and knows they are safe, no matter how mammoth the task might seem. I love it. He feels really properly Doctor-ish in this story. Compare his absolute commitment to his human friends here with his disdain and hostility toward them back in An Unearthly Child, when they first met he really has come a long, long way.
Ian's failure to figure out that Barbara has touched a seed coated in insecticide while he wasn't looking is a bit contrived, but Jacqueline Hill performs it really well, Barbara's anxiety and hesitance to admit what she's done written all over her face. It gets a bit panto, perhaps, as she is interrupted every time she tries to confess what happened, but the actors pull it off convincingly.
Ian and Barbara have some really sweet scenes together, with Barbara sinking into despair and Ian trying his hardest to reassure her, albeit unsuccessfully because he doesn't know what's really bothering her, and then Barbara pulling herself together and trying to be positive for his sake they have such a lovely relationship, a real partnership of equals.
Oh, Ian's shenanigans trying to unlock the catch of the giant briefcase are a lot more amusing than they should be. I really like that the tiniest things involve so much exertion and effort, there are no quick cheats or shortcuts for our miniaturised protagonists. Every tiny thing they achieve in this state, we see them work for.
I am very impressed by the prop used for the giant fly that lands right behind Barbara. It moves! I think I might faint, too, if I turned around and saw that thing looming over me! Barbara's faint, though, probably has more to do with the insecticide she came into contact with, as she is usually made of far sterner stuff than that.
Ian's reaction to Barbara's faint is to pick her up and sling her over his shoulder to carry to a safer location very alpha male and then sit gazing at her until she comes round again. Boy's got it bad. Barbara is not as reassured as Ian expects her to be when he tells her that the fly landed on the seed pile and died instantly; having handled a seed coated with insecticide, that's pretty much the last thing she wants to hear. But she is still reluctant to admit that she got the insecticide on her hands, although she is clearly fretting about it, and Ian is still being obtuse and male, failing to pick up on the clues. I love the way he tries to keep her spirits up when she gets upset, though, even if he does lose points for not realising that the main reason she's upset is because she knows she has been poisoned!
This is the frailest body the Doctor has ever had, so it says a lot about his drive and determination that he climbs all the way up the inside of a corroded drainpipe full of chemical fumes, refusing to turn back no matter how difficult it becomes, so firm is his resolve to find Ian and Barbara. It's a tough climb for Susan, too, of course, but at least she has youth and energy on her side!
Oh, oh, oh, when the Doctor and Susan reach the top of the drainpipe and climb out into the sink, that's an actual set they are standing in, not any kind of special effect it's a giant set of a sink and plughole, built to scale. That's awesome! It looks amazing!
Man, Ian and Barbara are beyond adorable when they hear Susan shouting for them and get all excited about reuniting with their missing friends. And then Susan and the Doctor are equally excited to see them. So cute! I really love the sense of family these four have built together, all the more so because we have been shown the development of that relationship throughout, from its rocky early days through the ups and downs of season one, to the trusting, mutually respectful and loving relationship they now have it's a dynamic that really does feel earned, and we have seen every step of its evolution.
The scale set of that sink and plughole is fantastic. We usually feel we should apologise for the primitive nature of the sets and props used in classic Doctor Who, so let's also give credit where it is deserved!
Only Doctor Who could make a cliffhanger out of someone washing their hands and then emptying the sink. The panic of the miniaturised TARDIS team really sells it, though.
It is clear that a lot of thought went into the writing of this story all the implications of the characters being only an inch high have been carefully thought through. Normal-sized humans look like mountains to them, too enormous to make out any details. A gunshot sounds like a distant cannon, a slamming door sounds like thunder, the speech of normal-sized humans sounds like a low-pitched record being played back at ultra-slow speed, and so on, while the Doctor notes that the reverse would also be an issue, i.e. their own voices are far too tiny for normal-sized humans to hear. The ability of our protagonists to have any impact on real world proceedings is pretty much nil, in fact and yet, having stumbled upon this murder and having realised how deadly and ecologically dangerous the insecticide is, they are all anxious not to leave this place without doing what they can to prevent further catastrophe. Barbara has the most personal stake in the proceedings, of course, having been poisoned by the insecticide herself although she remains reluctant to admit this to the others, instead trying to steer them toward finding a cure without having to confess.
I'm equal parts amused and impressed by the way the miniaturised TARDIS team work together to map out the formulas they find scribbled on a notebook and then reproduce them in a readable format for their size. Cooperation is the name of the game! I also really, really like that the Doctor makes a point of talking over the formula with Ian, who is a scientist. Even though Ian readily admits that the chemistry here is a bit over his head, the Doctor still pays him the courtesy of discussing it with him as an equal, rather than talking down to him, as he so easily could, since deciphering the formula is child's play to him I love how much the Doctor has grown to respect Ian, over the course of their adventures together.
Oh, the old-fashioned telephone system! Pick up the phone and you're straight through to the local operator, no dialling necessary! I love it and the resolution of the murder story hinges on it.
Despite being only an inch tall, our heroes decide they must do whatever they can to at least inform the proper authorities that there is trouble afoot here at the laboratory. This leads to prolonged shenanigans as they work together to lift the telephone receiver and prop it up on test tube corks so that they can bellow at the operator to send the police. It doesn't work, of course: the operator can't hear their tiny voices at all, while all they can hear of hers is a dull growl. These faltering efforts at raising the alarm aren't in vain, however although the TARDIS crew don't know it, their silent phone call does succeed in generating concern over at the telephone exchange. I am immensely amused by the amateur sleuthing we see on the part of telephone operator Hilda, who is already suspicious about dodgy phone calls placed by Forrester and now decides to send her husband Bert, the village constable, up to the old farmhouse to investigate. Score one to the TARDIS team for actually managing to impact on the real world, even if they don't know they've achieved it.
Not knowing they have succeeded in raising the alarm, the Doctor and his companions are swiftly distracted from the larger case they've stumbled upon when Barbara, who has been increasingly unwell, suddenly passes out and they finally realise that she has come into contact with the deadly insecticide. The actors are at their best when interacting as a group like this they have fabulous chemistry, all four of them. Barbara's agitated rant at Ian not to touch the handkerchief she wiped the insecticide from her hands onto is really well done, while Ian's distress is equally well played when Barbara insists that they do more to raise the alarm with the authorities before heading back to the TARDIS to try to cure her. She was still flirting with other men as recently as the last serial, The Reign of Terror, but he definitely has stronger feelings for her than a mere friend!
I like that the Doctor expresses absolute confidence when assuring his friends that he will be able to return them to their normal size when they get back to the TARDIS, and that this will save Barbara's life, but then when his back is turned we see how doubtful he really is. It feels so properly Doctor-ish that he'd keep his doubts to himself to reassure the others and blithely continue as if his plan is utterly foolproof, whether he truly believes that or not. Improvisation is what he does best, after all, however young and inexperienced he may be at this point.
The Doctor and his companions decide that the best way they can attract attention to this laboratory, the insecticide and the murder, is by setting a fire. This is easier said than done when you are only an inch tall, but they have teamwork and determination on their side plus a gas tap, matches and highly flammable spray cans left lying around to be made use of. After laboriously turning on the gas tap, a task that, like lifting the telephone receiver earlier, requires effort from all four of them, Ian and Susan wield an enormous matchstick like a battering ram, running at the matchbox several times until they find the right angle to spark a flame. I'm really impressed at how well these scenes work, using scale models, camera trickery and light to imply the lighting of the match and igniting of the gas tap kudos to the production team for pulling it off so well. The production values of this serial really are impressively high, by the standards of their time.
While taking cover before the burning spray can explodes, the Doctor and Susan refer to a pre-series adventure, Susan remarking that all this reminds her of an air raid they once experienced and the Doctor grumbling about what 'infernal machines' those Zeppelins were. I always like that sense of history and backstory, the implication that the Doctor and Susan were having adventures long before we met them.
Timing is everything. Without knowing it, our heroes save Smithers' life, as the can explodes just as Forrester pulls a gun on his reluctant accomplice, and then village bobby Bert turns up just moments later to investigate the strange goings on. So all's well that ends well, for the real world story: the murderer is apprehended and the deadly nature of the insecticide is exposed before it can go into production.
Meanwhile, the tiny TARDIS team must slog it on foot back out of the laboratory and across the garden to the TARDIS. Presumably they don't encounter any more dangers en route. We aren't told what the Doctor does to reverse the shrinking process, but it seems to work and it is a nifty solution to Barbara's problem, the poison of the insecticide overwhelming her body while she's only an inch high, but becoming practically harmless once she is returned to her normal size. If only it were always so simple for the Doctor to save someone's life! I like that the Doctor thinks to take a wheat seed back to the TARDIS with him, carefully wrapped up in his cloak so as not to poison anyone else, as a test sample by which to prove that they've been returned to their normal size, as the giant seed seems to shrink away to nothing. I'm not going to question the science at all, I'm just going to appreciate the Doctor's cleverness!
I love how chuffed the Doctor is about his success! He's so cute!
Quotable Quotes
DOCTOR: "Oh please, don't keep talking on the twentieth century level. I'm talking about time travel. Neither of you can understand what I'm talking about, I can see that."
IAN: "How could we? You've never explained it to us."
DOCTOR: "Oh, my dear Barbara, was I rude to you just now? If so I'm so sorry. I always forget the niceties under pressure. Please forgive me."
DOCTOR: "Death, you see, has its own particular posture and appearance."
IAN: "It isn't possible, Susan. It's ridiculous."
SUSAN: "Oh, Ian, work it out for yourself."
DOCTOR: "We can't expect sympathy and understanding from an insane or a criminal mind."
IAN: "Of course, it had to happen to us."
BARBARA: "It's all so ridiculous, Ian."
IAN: "Barbara, we must concentrate on getting back. Just forget how absurd things are. Concentrate on getting back."
DOCTOR: "I'm not going to give up before I've tried."
IAN: "Barbara, you're ill. You've got to let us take you back to the ship. You could die. Doctor, make her see some sense."
DOCTOR: "There's nothing I can say, dear boy. Barbara's quite right."
IAN: "Susan "
BARBARA: "Ian, we must find a way to stop them. We must."
IAN: "Take as much cover as you can. When that tin explodes there'll be metal flying all over the place."
SUSAN: "It'll be just like that air raid, Grandfather. Do you remember?"
DOCTOR: "Yes, very well, and what infernal machines those Zeppelins were."
IAN: "Thank you, Doctor."
DOCTOR: "Not at all, my dear boy. Always at your service."
The Verdict
Overall and taken as a whole, this is another charming little outing for the First Doctor and his companions I really didn't expect to fall in love with this early era as much as I have!
Written 6/3/2012; revised March 2013