Product Details

• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: August 24, 1994
• Run Time: 148 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303145892
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #241,032 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

One of the most widely-watched of all the '60s-era Doctor Who serials, The Web Planet (1965) puts the first Doctor (William Hartnell) and his companions in the middle of a war between two alien races--the moth-like Menoptra and a hostile race of ant creatures known as Zarbi--for possession of the planet Vortis. With the help of a grub-esque people called the Optera, the Doctor discovers the Zarbi's hidden weapon--the seductively voiced spider creature the Animus, which plans to ensnare the Time Lord and thwart his assistance to the Menoptra. An estimated 13.5 million viewers tuned in to watch all six episodes of The Web Planet, which manages to overcome its unfortunately awkward creature costumes (which are grim even by Doctor Who standards) to deliver a dramatic and suspenseful story with a subtle touch of social commentary; Hartnell is at his flinty best as the Doctor, and gets solid support from William Russell, Jacqueline Hill, and Maureen O'Brien as his fellow time travelers. The DVD includes the usual abundance of new and archival extras: in addition to commentary by Russell, Martin Jarvis (who played Menoptra prince Hilio), producer Verity Lambert, and director Richard Martin, there is a 40-minute making-of featurette (with Hill, Lambert, and others among the many interviewees), and Russell provides the narration for "The Lair of the Zarbi Supremo," a short story based on the serial that was taken from the first Doctor Who Annual (that periodical is also included on the disc in PC-ROM format). A crudely illustrated but historically interesting film strip version of the serial, as well as the usual text-only production notes track and photo gallery, round out the supplemental features. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Planet of the Giant Ants?, March 25, 2004

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor Who - The Web Planet [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"What have we got? Echoes, interference, gold, and now acid. Yes, similar properties to formic acid. It's strange, isn't it?" says the Doctor on the planet Vortis, on which the TARDIS has been forced to land. It's a dark and forbidding place, dotted with mesas and plateaus.

The Zarbi, gigantic ants, with larvae guns, sowbug-looking creatures with a long snout that shoot lethal bolts of electricity, terrorize the Doctor and his friends. Trying to regain their planet are the Menoptera, gentle butterfly-like creatures.

Controlling the Zarbi is the Animus, whose deep, malevolent female voice, is one of the well-realized aspects of the show. The Doctor is forced to discover the plans of the Menopteran invasion force so the Zarbi can defeat them. Young Vicki helps him and her actions here, unintended or not, shows her to be more resourceful compared to his wimpy granddaughter Susan. One piece of dialogue that'll make one either cringe or laugh is the Doctor's demand to the Animus re its ceiling-built tube-like communication unit: "Drop down this hairdryer or whatever it is."

The reason why some may consider this story to be one of the worst is the realization of the Zarbi, but these steel and fibreglass-constructed insects are great, unless you have to be one. The rearmost legs, closest to the tail, are the actors, and John Scott Martin, who played one of them, said that one couldn't stand upright because the tail was longer than the actor. The only way to stand upright was to get on a one-foot riser block and place the tail over the block's end. The subterranean grub-like Optera are clearly laughable, the actors jumping up and down and grunting away, but their pale makeup indicate their time spent underground, and the hopping showing their evolutionary regression.

But the Menoptera costumes are simply wonderful, black bodysuits with strips of yellow fur, and wings with the veins painted black that could flap a full five feet from wingtip to wingtip with a hidden mechanism. The actors playing the Menoptera adapt mime-like hand gestures hinting at a more feeling aspect of the race.

In looking at the name of the giant insectoids, it's clear the storywriting team looked to entomology. There are the Zarbi, who are giant ants, the Menoptera, who look like butterflies, but have bee-like stripes, and then their subterranean evolutionary offshoot, the Optera. Well, ants and bees are all under the insect order Hymenoptera.

Another interesting aspect is the name of the enemy. It's called the Animus, which means bitter hostility or hatred. However, the Menoptera see it more medical terms, by calling its headquarters the Carcinome. Vrestin tells Ian that the Animus appeared and grew like a fungus. In other words, they see it as a malignant cancer on the world of Vortis. And the Living Cell Destructor, or Isop Tope, is analogous to an isotope that kills cancer.

For people raised on Star Wars or Jurassic Park, the visuals may seem lame, but as an experimental story, it works wonders. One of the most imaginative stories, and an attempt to see how weird Dr. Who could get. Ratings for this story averaged 12.5 million viewers, and Episode 1 charted at #7, the lowest-rating one at #14, so not bad at all!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some people don't understand, March 24, 2007

By 

John Liosatos (Crook County, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor Who: The Web Planet (Story 13) (DVD)

To judge a story made 40 years ago using today's standards is absoluely unfair. Some people are clueless. Of course it's gonna look inferior. It was made in 1966. They didn't have the artsy effects that they currently have. DUH!!! The truth is that Web Planet was considered ground-breaking at the time. The effects used had never been tried before. Had it come out today, it would be labeled innovative and win many Sundance movie awards for independent film making, or whatever it is they call that festival. The preceding rant was brought to you by me. If you don't like it dial 5477-69-277 on your phone pad (or simply click on the "no" button). I've stated this in a previous review but here it is again. If the story is bad, that is one thing, but to knock a 1960s story for using the special effects of the 1960s is utterly ridiculous. The Web Planet will keep the viewer enthralled throughout.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gotta' Give an "A" for Effort, October 25, 1999

By 

Tim Miner ([e-mail]) (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doctor Who - The Web Planet [VHS] (VHS Tape)

As you can see from the entries below, "The Web Planet," is one of the most debated Dr. Who episodes of all time, evoking a true "love it or leave it" feeling with all who see it.

William Hartnell is one of my favorite Doctors and his adventures have always been a great deal of fun to watch. If you love Hartnell, along with Ian and Barbara, buy this video. If you hate Vicki...buy this video...you'll hate her even more.

The story, although very strange and 2 episodes too long, is commendable for the lengths it tries to go to to create more than just an ugly, evil alien species on an "Earth-Normal" world. One of the series' greatest faults is that it too often made you hate the 2-D monster. Here, seriously constrained by production vaulues and the f/x of the time, the author tries very hard to paint the picture of a 3-D world with interacting species who are trying to survive. The Zarbi are not bent on world conquest...they are mindless slaves. The Menoptera and the Optera are silly, but interesting allies for the TARDIS crew.

The Menoptera dancing always comes under attack. I think that this movement was an attempt to come up with a style and cultre that was alien to Earth...that was odd and off-putting. It succeeds.

When you watch this video...do it in the spirit with which it was presented. Think about the ideas they are trying to convey and the scope they tried to embrace. If you do that...you'll have fun and enjoy it.

If you want it all to be wrapped up in a pretty picture with incredible effects and superb acting...you may want to reevaluate whether or Doctor Who is for you...you'll never quite get that.