Planet of Giants

"We have been reduced roughly to the size of an inch!"

Writer: Louis Marks
Format: TV
Broadcast: 31st October - 14th November 1964
Season: 2.01

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara

Synopsis

The TARDIS doors open while the ship is still in flight by accident. Although they have arrived back on Earth in the 1960s, a time they have been trying to return to since they all met, the travellers soon realise that something is very wrong.

The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan discover that they have all been reduced in size and the world they are now exploring has dangers at every turn...

Verdict

Planet of Giants kicked off Season 2 in a fun but dangerous style! The idea of the TARDIS, and its boarders, being reduced in size thanks to the doors opening during flight is brilliant and the result was great - it could have been better - and humorous. Somewhere in a garden, the crew are confronted by dead insects that, now the ratio difference in size has been equalled, are extremely dangerous and pose a massive threat. It was all confusing for the foursome to begin with but once the Doctor worked out what had occurred, Barbara was distressed at the ridiculousness of the situation. Paperclips were bruising, Cats could destroy you in an instant and if found by the normal-sized scientists - history would be changed forever! The danger and thought of death for Barbara as she'd touched the insecticide was bad, the crew needed to get back to normal size so the insecticide would be useless. But that was a lot harder than you'd think as the crew ended up inside a house, and with the size difference things were very different. So much so, that the cliffhanger of episode two saw that the plug of a sink was pulled and the Doctor and Susan were almost drowned! The mad dash to the TARDIS at the end was great but I didn't like how, once the TARDIS and the crew were restored to normal size, there was no real explanation. Nonetheless, still a great serial!

Rating: 8/10