Doctor Who - Planet of the Spiders

Director - Barry Letts

Cast -  Jon Pertwee, Elisabeth Sladen
Country of origin- U.K.

Distributor - BBC Worldwide

Number of discs –  2

Reviewed by - Brad Hogue

Date- 08/20/2019

Disgraced and discharged from UNIT, Mike Yates (Richard Franklin) is studying at a Zen meditation center when he enlists Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) to investigate some weird goings on. They witness a ritual in the basement when a group, led by Lupton (John Dearth) are chanting and conjure up a giant spider that jumps on Lupton's back and disappears. The spider, invisibly still attached to his back, mentally commands Lupton to locate a blue crystal that will be taken back to the Planet Of The Spiders.

Meanwhile, The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and the Brigadier have engaged a charlatan mind reader, Professor Clegg, whose dark secret is that he's actually psychic, to help in a study on mind reading. In the middle of testing, The Doctor receives a package from the Amazon from former companion Jo, containing a....blue crystal! (Scott adroitly pointed out that the following events are all Jo's fault; married a hippie, left the show, and is still causing trouble.) Sadly, while holding the blue crystal Clegg has a heart attack (Jo 1, Team 0). It all boils down to the eight legged inhabitants of Metebelis 3 are planning to use the blue crystal to enhance their Great One spider whom seeks to hold dominion over other realms with her blue crystal enhanced power. There's a lot of back and forth from Metebelis 3 and Earth, we meet the Doctor's mentor (mentioned in previous serials) and we end up ultimately with the Third Doctor's regeneration into the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker. (Jo 2, Team 0)

The Third Doctor (my favorite Doctor) had rejuvenated the series' ratings but the advent of Tom Baker would shoot the show into the stratosphere, in America especially, due to PBS' showings of the Fourth Doctor's serials. And from Tom Baker being awesome. I've done some informal surveying and if Tom Baker isn't your favorite Doctor, he's usually second. (Unless you start talking about David Tennant. I'm looking at you Elizabeth. Okay, fine, I love David Tennant too.) The show's producer was leaving, Katy Manning (Jo) had left, UNIT was being phased out and Roger Delgado (The Master) had tragically died in a car wreck, so Jon Pertwee decided it was time to move on. He had been the Doctor form 1970-1974 and had been the first Doctor to be shown in color. I think Planet Of The Spiders is a fine send off for the Third Doctor, as several things are mentioned tying his run together. It was probably time for him to move on and like I mentioned, Tom Baker would take a show to new heights. He was a patrician while also sometimes an anti-authoritarian. He used his mind but would throw down with the baddies with his mastery of Venusian Aikido when he had to. He didn't travel in the Tardis as much as his successor, but he did have a canary yellow roadster named Bessie that acted as a sentient being. There are certain actors in roles that have become standards to me. Christopher Lee is Dracula, Basil Rathbone is Sherlock Holmes, Edmund Gwynn is Santa Claus. In my mind Jon Pertwee is The Doctor. Even though I do genuinely love other portrayals of him, the one affectionately known as 'the Granny Doctor,' is the one for me.

BBC Worldwide provided DVD-Rs for review. It seems to be of the same video and audio quality of the previous releases. They did include English subtitles, which I can't thank them enough for.

BBC Worldwide dropped a treasure trove of extras on us, like they do. Audio commentary by Elisabeth Sladen, Nicholas Courtney, Richard Franklin, Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks - The Final Curtain Making Of The Third Doctor's last story with Jon Pertwee, Richard Franklin, Barry Letts, Terrance Dicks, designer Rochelle Selwyn, Mat Irvine and Mark Gatiss - John Kane Remembers...interview with the actor who played Tommy - Directing Doctor Who Barry Letts retrospective - Now And Then film locations - Planet Of The Spiders: Omnibus Edition Full length unrestored edit - Omnibus trailer - Photo Gallery - PDF Materials