Planet of the Spiders

Notes

For conversion into full article:

• By far and away the best story for Mike Yates, he gets some character development instead of simply being a higher-ranking Benton.
• Watching this always makes me want to find out more about Buddhism and visit a retreat.
• Pleased that psychokinesis is used instead of telekinesis - always bugs me when people use the latter.
• Is this the only time the Doctor calls the Brigadier by his first name instead of his rank? 'A little too much, perhaps, eh Alistair?' (he also uses the Brigadier's first name in The Android Invasion but the Brigadier isn't in that story).
• Tommy/Tom is an interesting character, both before and after his mind is cleared.
• When the men come down into the cellar, Yates and Smith are right in their line of sight, but no one sees them.
• Medical officer is called Sullivan - consistent with his name in the next season? Deliberate planning or just coincidence?
• How does Lupton manage to stroll into UNIT HQ? He can knock people out one at a time using his spider powers, but surely someone would raise the alarm when they find one of the bodies? This is supposed to be a top secret organisation!
• What happens to the first man Lupton attacks? Benton recovers pretty quickly, so by the time Lupton has the crystal the mechanic should have raised the alarm.
• Unfortunately in several of the boat/hovercraft scenes the camera angle allows you to see that the driver is clearly a stuntman who looks nothing like the Doctor or Lupton.
• What happens to the hovercraft after the Doctor jumps into the boat? Does he let it run on and collide with something else?
• CSO effect for the spiders is particularly bad - bleeds through Lupton, the floor etc.
• When the door to the house in which Arrack is hiding is opened, Arrack can clearly be seen - how do the guards not notice this?
• One of the better finale stories - The War Games is a bit too long (though introduces the Time Lords) and The Tenth Planet has truly dreadful cybermen costumes. Much better than Logopolis, not as good as The Caves of Androzani.
• Fight scene between the Doctor and the Queen's guards is well cut - hard to tell it is a stunt double unless you look closely.
• How many humans live on Metebelis III? One small settlement seems heavily guarded yet are there any others? High guard to prisoner ratio.
• How does the the spider weapon work? Seems to be earthed by the Doctor using his machine and that is what saves him.
• Why can Tommy withstand the spider attacks (multiple times!) when everyone else, including the Doctor (a Time Lord) and Benton (presumably physically fit as an active NCO) are knocked out? His 'innocence' is a weak explanation, especially as the attack comes after his mind has been cleared.
• Why does episode 6 have an overlap with episode 5 which differs? There is an extra scene in between Tommy leaving the room and being attacked in the hall outside.
• Why does the cave of crystals damage the Doctor's cells but not those of the Great One?
• Love how confident the Brigadier is that the Doctor will return at the end of episode 6.