A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 43. Planet of Giants (Planet of Giants, Episode One)

This may be single best half hour of the series so far in this rewatch.  I cannot emphasize enough how much fun this is!

The Tardis malfunctions as it’s about to land--the doors open suddenly and the monitor shatters when the Doctor attempts to use it.  They find themselves on a strange landscape populated by supersized--and dead--forms of insect life and curious rock structures.  It’s only when Ian and Susan come across an enormous matchbox that they realize they’ve landed on Earth--but due to the malfunction, they’ve been miniaturized to one inch in hieght!  And then Ian, who has been standing in the matchbox, is stolen away, we learn why all these insects are dead, someone gets killed and the crew stares down a giant kitty cat!

Watching this was So, Much. Fun.  It’s a science fiction story without any aliens or monsters, a story based on a simple premise with a built in ticking clock (as the Doctor mentions to Barbara and Susan, what killed all these insect will kill them at this size), a logical goal and a villain whose actions immediately impact on the crew.  Even with the kid’s television budget, the props that convey the scale are really well done.  There is one ‘special effect,’ where the crew interacts before the murdered man, where it’s obviously the actors before a blown up photograph....but the BBC didn’t expect that it would ever be viewed on anything other than a grainy television set (especially since they were in the habit of degaussing videotapes of episodes for re-use without back-up), so in that context it would have sufficed.

The bulk of the half hour is focused on our main cast, and writer Louis Marks makes sure to give everyone decent character beats.  I particularly liked how, even though we do get a Susan crying jag, it’s brief and it’s overshadowed by the fact that she figures out what’s going on before Ian does.  I still love the respectful relationship that has developed between the Doctor and Barbara, and I’m not surprised Hartnell seems to consult her before Ian.  No one plays the Girl School Screamer, and no one plays the fool.  It’s a tightly constructed little half-hour.

I don’t know if this is going to keep up this level of energy, but I am digging this serial and can’t wait to see where it goes next!