The Lair of Zarbi Supremo

"There was a force on this world which was intent on invading Earth."

Writer: David Whittaker

Format: Short Story

Released: September 1965

Printed in: Dr Who Annual 1966

Featuring: First Doctor

Synopsis

Dr Who finds himself back on Vortis and must rescue groups of humans and Meoptera from an intelligent Zarbi power.

Verdict

The Lair of Zarbi Supremo was a really fun and quirky adventure to kick off my reading of the original Doctor Who Annual! It is only fitting that with this story and the cover of the Annual that the PDF version is a bonus feature on The Web Planet DVD. Now, this adventure is actually one I consider to probably be in my bottom ten least favourite serials of all time, but returning to the web planet known as Vortis is fascinating and I think the story here actually works better with still images and no dodgy costume work. Of course, there's only so far a BBC budget for what was deemed a children's show can go in the middle of the 1960s, but the presentation of the Zarbin and Menoptera in that serial was far from ideal. I thought the description of the Zarbi in particular here meant for a better visual and the artwork that accompanies this short story is nothing short of sensational. The Annuals of the Classic era are often renowned for their somewhat dodgy and inconsistent illustrations, but here I was completely blown away! It looked absolutely stunning and that definitely helped with my enjoyment of the story. It was striking and even the artwork for the look of the Doctor was glorious. Those strokes! The likeness of William Hartnell was captured with effortless ease and that really does make a difference. Unusually from my experience of the Annual stories, this one was actually clocking in at a hefty fifteen pages which really allowed for a full story. This wasn't quick and that added depth to things. The early days of Doctor Who are a wonderful time and so interesting to explore the quirks that contradict everything the mythology of over sixty years now has built up. The Doctor here is described as an Earthman and the human who wonders which is poetic but obviously completely false. It's also fun for him to be described in character as Dr Who which honestly infuriates me. We know the Doctor is a title but to have it in short case here really irked me! It was literally used as his title and not his name. It would honestly help if they had always produced the full 'Doctor' before the 'Who' when mentioning our lead character. Something I am massively intrigued by is trying to place this story into the chronology of the First Doctor era. There's no companion which we never saw on screen and Susan left Gallifrey with him, so where are the companions and why aren't they mentioned? That's a fun quirk to think about. Returning for encounters with the Zarbi is good and whilst I appreciate the efforts in trying to make them replicate Dalekmania, giant ants was never going to be a success. I really loved the concept of having Zarbi robots though and the Menoptera being dummies within was terrific! The illustration of the Doctor within a Zarbi was magnificent and that's honestly a figurine waiting to happen. I would buy it instantly! The Zarbi Supremo as an enemy was good and I like the forefront of a lead monster. It was essentially a queen and I liked the brief exploration of different classes of Zarbi. Most of the ones we'd met were the soldier class and that was really great and fitting. I do think the conclusion was a little weak as I'm not convinced the Doctor was actually required considering he was just doing everything else the other Menoptera were doing in being dummies, but he was quick to take credit! The characterisation for him was a little mixed and I thought the contradiction of the Zarbi Supremo name was amusing. We literally heard that name played on the tape from George Hamilton's father, but then later on it was supposedly what the Doctor had come to think of the villain as. In the Doctor Who Annuals, I'll allow it as they're always quirky in that regard! Overall, honestly a privilege to be reading this considering its age and a fun little start to the book! I sense this won't be the last of the Zarbi and Vortis. A good read. 

Rating: 7/10