A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 60. Escape To Danger (The Web Planet Part Three)

Since this is an episode where Barbara was written out so she could go on holiday, it looks like we're going to concentrate on the Doctor, Ian and Vicki.  The helmet demands that the Doctor help them in locating the invading Menoptran Fleet, but the Doctor--being super-pissy, which is the Best Doctor--arrogantly play for time while Ian escapes.  Ian ends up paired with Vrestin, who tells them the Animus (you know, the voice that speaks through the helmet) drove the Menoptrans off Vortis using the otherwise placid Zarbi as its soldiers...and the Menoptrans, not being able to survive on the moon they retreated to, are trying to take the planet back.  Ian and Vrestin join forces to free Barbara and make for the Crater of Needles.  Also, the Zarbi are freaked out by a...spider?...in a glass case that Vicki mistakenly retrieves from the Tardis.

After two episodes of fiddling about, this is the Big Exposition Dump, and I can't help but thinking that we could have taken all this background and put a chunk of it in the second episode so this episode didn't seem like a big 'stop so we can explain the plot' thing (which also would have easily cut down the length of the serial).  It sets up background stuff, stuff that'll pay off in the third act, all sorts of stuff...and yet there's this sense of the characters (sometimes literally) standing still.  I understand that certain things had to be rearranged to give Jacqueline Hill her time off, but the whole episode seems to be just shuffling its feet.

I should probably mention there are a couple of moments that made me confused.  The reference to the 'Menoptran Invasion' made me wonder if the Menoptrans were the bad guys here even though it is obvious Bill Strutton is sympathetic to the butterfly/bee peoples.  Also, with Vicki in her hairstyle and outfit from 'The Rescue'...her behaviors would indicate this serial follows it even though there is explicit call backs to 'The Romans.'

So far 'The Web Planet' seems okay, but boy, are the grounds shaky and threatening to fall apart real quick.