The Web Planet

013 – The Web Planet
Doctor Who serial
Barbara with the Menoptra and a Zarbi. The alien costumes and blurred camera lens received criticism from audiences.[1][2][3]
Cast
Doctor William Hartnell – First Doctor
Companions William Russell – Ian Chesterton Jacqueline Hill – Barbara Wright Maureen O'Brien – Vicki
Guest Catherine Fleming – Animus voice Roslyn de Winter – Vrestin Arne Gordon – Hrostar Arthur Blake – Hrhoonda Jolyon Booth – Prapillus Jocelyn Birdsall – Hlynia Martin Jarvis – Hilio Ian Thompson – Hetra Barbara Joss – Nemini Robert Jewell, Jack Pitt, Gerald Taylor, Hugh Lund, Kevin Manser, John Scott Martin – The Zarbi
Production
Directed by	Richard Martin
Written by	Bill Strutton
Script editor	Dennis Spooner
Produced by	Verity Lambert
Music by	Jacques Lasry and François Baschet[a]
Production code	N[5]
Series	Season 2
Running time	6 episodes, 25 minutes each
First broadcast	13 February 1965 (1965-02-13)
Last broadcast	20 March 1965 (1965-03-20)
Chronology
← Preceded by The Romans Followed by → The Crusade
List of episodes (1963–1989)

The Web Planet is the fifth serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Bill Strutton and directed by Richard Martin, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts from 13 February to 20 March 1965. In the serial, the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and his travelling companions Ian Chesterton (William Russell), Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill), and Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) ally themselves with the Menoptra, the former inhabitants of the planet Vortis, as they struggle to win back the planet from the malignant Animus (Catherine Fleming) and its Zarbi slaves.

When crafting an idea for the serial, Strutton recalled a memory as a child of watching two bull ants fighting, which he linked with his two sons fighting each other. Story editor Dennis Spooner found the narrative to be multilayered, with the Menoptra representing free enterprise and the Zarbi communism. Martin hired a mime artist to develop choreography for the serial, and forwent a traditional score in favour of prerecorded stock music. The Web Planet premiered with 13.5 million viewers, the highest in the series to date; it maintained high viewership across the six weeks. Reviews were mixed, with praise directed at its choreography and action, and criticism towards its costumes and confusing story; retrospective reviews applauded the serial's ambition despite its outdated visuals. The Web Planet was later novelised and released on VHS and DVD.

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