GALLERY
CAST
Regular Cast
William Hartnell (Dr Who), Carole Ann Ford (Susan), Jacqueline Hill (Barbara), William Russell (Ian)
Guest Cast
Alan Tilvern (Forester), Frank Crawshaw (Farrow) [1-2], Reginald Barratt (Smithers) [2-3], Rosemary Johnson (Hilda Rowse) [3], Fred Ferris (Bert Rowse) [3], Sammy, the cat – Noakes (supplied by John Holmes) (uncredited)
CREW
| Written by | Louis Marks |
| Directed by | Mervyn Pinfield/Douglas Camfield |
| Produced by | Verity Lambert |
RATINGS
| 1 | “Planet of Giants” | 23:15 | 31 October 1964 | 8.4m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | “Dangerous Journey” | 23:40 | 7 November 1964 | 8.4m |
| 3 | “Crisis” | 26:35 | 14 November 1964 | 8.9m |
SYPNOSIS
Returning to Earth, the crew find themselves trapped in a jungle with monstrous creatures pursuing them. Soon they realise that they have become miniaturised and are indeed on Earth.
In their miniature state, they discover dangerous experiments with a totally lethal insecticide are being performed but they seem powerless to stop them.
PLOT
Planet of Giants (1)
The Doctor is landing the TARDIS in what he believes to be mid 20th century Earth. He finds the console is burning up and discovers a fault with the TARDIS. However, the fault locator shows nothing is wrong. Despite this, the doors open just as the TARDIS begins its materialisation. The Doctor starts to panic; due to the space pressure differential between the vortex and other planets, any malfunction during materialisation can be very dangerous. However, the only real damage seems to be to an overloading of the scanner circuits, causing the TARDIS’s screen to implode and the Doctor suspects the glass was too big for the screen, causing it to shatter. The Doctor decides it is safe to venture outside.
He leads his companions, Ian, Barbara, and Susan, to the world beyond. Their curiosity is aroused initially by the odd rock formation by which they have materialised. It seems rough but evenly spaced and there appears to be some residue of concrete at their feet. They decide to split up, so The Doctor and Barbara explore around the TARDIS while Ian and Susan go further afield.
Within minutes, The Doctor and Barbara find what they believe to be a snake; however, it turns out to be a dead giant earthworm. At the same time, Ian and Susan are shocked by a large deceased ant. Both of the creatures seem to have died immediately. After some confusion as to what could possibly explain why a planet would spawn humongous versions of Earth creatures, Ian and Susan come across a giant pack of cigarettes and a large matchbox. Ian climbs into the matchbox, believing it an exhibition piece, but then Susan realises that the environment has not been enlarged; the TARDIS crew has shrunk.
After this revelation, thunderous footsteps are heard. Susan runs for cover but Ian is trapped inside the matchbox, which is picked up. The Doctor and Barbara soon find Susan. The Doctor has also made the connection that Susan made. The Doctor climbs a large rock to discover the man who picked up the matchbox containing Ian is far away in the distance, in real terms the length of a garden.
The man is a government scientist named Arnold Farrow, who has come to the home of a callous businessman named Forester to tell him that his application for DN6, a new pesticide, has been rejected. In reality, DN6 should not be licensed; it is far too deadly to all life. When they fall out over this news, Forester pulls out a gun and kills Farrow.
The Doctor, Barbara, and Susan hear the gunshot as an enormous explosion and head for the house. On their way, a bee falls from the sky. The trio marvel at the death of all wildlife that they have met. The Doctor orders the women not to eat anything until they get back aboard the TARDIS. Meanwhile, Ian uses this opportunity to escape from the matchbox. The four meet by the dead body and surmise a murder has taken place. As they head off to the TARDIS, they turn to see a cat hulking menacingly above them.
Dangerous Journey (2)
To avoid the cat, the travellers stay still until it loses interest in them. They decide that while the cat is at large, they dare not try to make it to the ship. Forester returns to the garden. The panic induced by the man returning sees the travellers split up again; The Doctor and Susan run into the undergrowth of the grass whilst Barbara and Ian hide in Farrow’s briefcase.
Forester has brought along with him a scientist named Smithers. Forester tries to pass off the murder of Farrow as self-defence, but Smithers deduces from the angle of the bullet hole that Forester must have murdered him. Forester eventually admits it, but says that Smithers must help him cover up the murder otherwise DN6, which was devised by Smithers, will never see the light of day. The two men conspire to make it look like Farrow’s death happened aboard a boat that he owned and intended to holiday on after his meeting with Forester. They begin to clear up the evidence, including taking Farrow’s briefcase, complete with Barbara and Ian, and placing it in the laboratory.
To gain access to their friends, The Doctor and Susan scale a drainpipe on the outside of the house which leads directly into the laboratory. Meanwhile, Ian and Barbara examine the laboratory. Barbara touches a seed which she later finds has been contaminated with DN6. She does not tell Ian but believes she may have been infected, much as the other creatures they have encountered.
Ian and Barbara decide the best way to scale the drop to the floor level is by making a ladder of paperclips from Farrow’s briefcase. While Ian is trying to open the briefcase, Barbara encounters a giant fly and faints. When Ian rejoins her, the fly flies away and lands on the seeds, dying instantly. Barbara wakes, visibly distressed by the speed with which the fly has died. She is on the verge of telling Ian that she believes herself infected when she is interrupted by Susan’s voice. She is using the sink as a sound box to amplify her voice.
The four travellers are soon reunited and plan to escape down the plughole. Ian and Barbara begin to scale the chain of the plug when the two men return to the lab to wash the blood from their hands. Ian and Barbara return to the work surface, but The Doctor and Susan have no option but to go back down the plughole. As they do, Smithers puts the plug in, washes his hands, and then begins to let the water out.
Crisis (3)
The Doctor and Susan climb into the overflow pipe just as Smithers lets the plug out. Ian and Barbara fear they have drowned. Once they go down to check the pipe it seems as if their friends are dead, but they crawl back out of the drain to their joy.
Forester has used his typewriter to doctor Farrow’s report to give DN6 the licence he wants. Disguising his voice as Farrow’s, he makes a supportive telephone call to the ministry to the same effect. The ministry give the green light to the scheme. This is overheard by Hilda Rowse, the switchboard operator at the local exchange, which is actually the back room of the combined village shop/police station, and her policeman husband Bert starts to suspect something is wrong.
The Doctor and his companions stumble across a notebook with the equations for DN6. After laboriously copying it out, The Doctor realises just how dangerous it is, not only to insects but to all wildlife. They try to alert the police by hoisting up the phone receiver with corks, but cannot make themselves heard. Barbara begins to feel the effects of her exposure to DN6. When they make the phone call, the travellers can’t be heard, but Hilda notes the engaged signal. She and Bert grow more concerned as to the goings-on at the house. Once the phone call is made, Barbara collapses. Her friends smell the DN6 on her handkerchief and conclude she has been infected. When she regains consciousness, The Doctor berates her for not telling them sooner, but he says that when they return to their normal size the poison in her bloodstream will lessen and she will be safe.
Hearing the engaged tone on the phone in the office, Forester and Smithers return to the lab and correct the engaged handset. Hilda rings moments later to ensure that all is OK at the house. When she asks where Farrow is, Forester tries to impersonate him again. Knowing there is something badly wrong, Bert heads off to the house to investigate.
The Doctor and his companions decide the only way to stop the spread of DN6 is to start a fire to attract attention to the house. They use a gas tap to ignite an aerosol can of insecticide. Smithers begins to look through Farrow’s files and discovers the true virulence of DN6. He demands Forester stop seeking a licence. Forester pulls a gun on Smithers. As they move into the lab, Forester spots the makeshift bomb, which goes off in his face. Smithers retrieves the gun as PC Rowse arrives. The policeman takes the gun away and then places the men under arrest, saying they will have a lot of explaining to do.
Their work now done, the travellers return to the TARDIS. The Doctor reconfigures the machine to return them to normal size. Barbara, who was on the verge of death, recovers as a result. The Doctor encourages his friends to have a good scrub whilst he lands the TARDIS, unsure where they are; the scanner is still broken and is showing only interference. Then the interference resolves itself, becoming a faint picture of what appears to be slowly moving water…
NOTES
MEDIA CLIP