Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...
Day 398: Planet of the Spiders, Episode Four
Dear diary,
While, as we discovered the other day, the vast majority of the guest cast in Planet of the Spiders is made up of Pertwee-era veterans, I think the standout performance has to be from newcomer John Kane, in the part of Tommy. He’s been great to watch since as far back as the first episode, and when I’ve mentioned this story to people over the last few days, several of them have said how much they love the character.
It’s a very strong performance, and one which is very sympathetic. It’s a role which is quite rare within Doctor Who, and a subject such as learning difficulties could be potentially a very dangerous area for the programme. It’s hard not to fall in love with Tommy right from the off, though, and I’m really intrigued by how well his character has been woven into events. We’re given a few episodes being shown how much he loves to collect ‘beautiful’ things, and the point is highlighted when both Sarah and Mike give him gifts for his collection. It therefore feels perfectly natural when he becomes obsessed by the Metebilis crystal and takes it for himself.
Even today is nicely led up to - with him being unable to read the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door and then returning to his little cupboard room to read his children’s book. Once he’s looked into the crystal and had his mind changed, it really is a lovely shift in performance, and I’m very impressed by how subtly it’s all been handled. Watching him stock up on books in the library is a lovely touch, and I really can’t wait to see where we go with the character from here.
I’m finding myself less concerned with all the events on Metebilis III. There’s something about the sheer 1970’s-ness of the two-legs that I’m finding really distracting. The fact that I’ve been catching up with a few episodes of The New Avengers lately means that Gareth Hunt is really standing out for me. It’s not what you’d call an understated look, is it?!
That said, I really am enjoying the background to the planet being filled in. I said yesterday that the idea of a crashed spaceship leading to a more ‘historical’ society was so ubiquitous in 1970s Doctor Who that it could fail to hold my interest, but actually they’re doing something really interesting with it. I love the idea that the spiders have come from Earth alongside the colonists, and it’s not something I ever realised about the creatures. It’s such a lovely idea, and that we should find out about the crystals’ special powers at exactly the same time we see them put to work with Tommy is rather well done.
My only question now… if the spiders fled to the mountains where the blue crystals enlarged both their minds and bodies, then am I to assume the same thing happened to that giant chicken that attacked the Doctor during his last visit in The Green Death? I think the whole story might lose some impact if it were a race of super intelligent giant poultry trying to take control…
