Doctor Who's FIRST Ecological Disaster Story - Doctor Who: Planet of Giants (1964) - REVIEW
Vložit
- čas přidán 10. 09. 2024
- Support MrTARDIS on Patreon for Perks + Rewards: / trilbee
Zavvi Affiliate Link: bit.ly/3eU0owb
Coupon Code: MRTARDIS
MERCH!: teespring.com/...
Opening Animation + Logo by George Sheard: www.georgeshea...
Twitter Page: / trilbeereviews
#doctorwho
"These things haven't been made bigger. We've been made smaller!"
Thanks for watching this review! Season 2 begins! Be sure to "like" and leave a comment to appease that almighty algorithm!
The small scene of the Doctor apologizing to Barbara in episode 1 is so sweet. Barbara often gets most of the Doctor’s anger early on, so this scene, as well as his apology to her at the end of The edge of destruction truly show that he is changing as a character, and starting to realize that he needs to start taking himself accountable.
1’s arc, mixed with his personality are really what make him my favorite incarnation, he has a rough exterior, but deep down is so whimsical and caring.
I love the cuts between Susan's and The Doctor's dialogue as they are explaining to Ian and Barbara what has happened to all of them, it really goes to show that these two are related.
Holy crap! Hearing about this insecticide spraying in my home town is wild. Watching DDT being sprayed in a river that I walk down regularly is terrifying! I’d never even heard of DDT before this. Thanks for this little bit of my town’s history Mr. TARDIS!
There is an old USA advert assuring it's "safe and effective" with a photograph - an actual photograph of real people. A woman in a nurse uniform, a little boy with his mum, and the smiling nurse with a large old insecticide spray covering the little one with it.
I love it when you provide the contextual background and discuss the inspiration behind these stories, it's always really interesting and informative. I'd never even heard of Rachel Carson until now, she sounded quite remarkable.
Always found this one such a weird little oddity in Who history. No aliens, a really strange central premise with a gritty environmental backdrop, and only three episodes.
There were tons of environmental stories ("gritty" or not) in Classic Who. Hardly an oddity, at all.
"More like an ancient cannon"
Well, I mean, he's not wrong considering he's from Gallifrey in the future. And to top it off, it IS a cannon, it's simply been made smaller.
23:29-23:44 That use of the Who Shot Mr Burns audio was genius. 😂
Though I had already seen this serial, I had forgotten one of the guest characters was named Smithers. So, when the name was mentioned, well, the first thing that came to mind was "The Simpsons". Had I been drinking anything come that 23:29 timestamp, I surely would have performed a spit take! As it was, I laughed until I started coughing, anyway! Consuming a beverage, I likely would have outright choked from laughter! Bravo, Mr. TARDIS! Bravo!
@@Redfern42 this probably should've been on its own separate comment, instead of here. Mr. TARDIS will never, ever see this here. 🤷♀️
Excellent!
When I was watching Hartnell for the first time this episode really stood out to me. The concept wasn't new for me but it was so fun and honesty it's one of my favourite Hartnell episodes because I think they did such a fantastic job at it
Ian at Graham's group " l was shrunk once- honest! "
Jo afterwards, "Sarah Jane told me she had a spider on her back once!"
*Graham looks over at Yaz and Ryan remebering the events of Arachnids In The UK*
Donna: "Was it like a space beetle? I had that on mine."
This is one of my favorite Hartnell stories! Those props and sets are fantastic, with that era and the budget they had!
This is my comment (and I left a like, too) for the care and feeding of the Almighty Algorithm. 🙏
❤️❤️
LOV£ the gall to have 2 very separate stories going on in this story.
I also this story has started a love for characters who play it cool but are internally utterly panicking. The businessman is the perfect example of such a character, and it's hilarious.
Never knew this was originally meant to be 4 parts, but I enjoyed this quite a lot
10:03 Honestly, this has to be some of the most dystopian advertisements I've ever seen, and that's saying something in 2023.
Advertisements? Um, what? Or are you saying that the _message_ is dystopian? It might be a bit, but the facts are accurate, for sure. Might want to locate a copy of Silent Spring and read it. It should help you get it, instead of thinking this is... "advertisements," of all things!
Honestly I just miss Hartnel's 1st Doctor so much... it's been such a while, I mean sure I watched The Three Doctors recently, but I think we can all agree it's not the same thing. (Throughton was killing in that serial tho. And yes I know Hartnel was ill and all, and that he did the best he could, but you really just have to watch his episodes to feel why the 1st Doctor is so great.)
Well... some just don't care for Hartnell so much, no matter how often his episodes are watched. I've seen tons of people say that. Even I can't say he's in my Top 3 favorite Doctors. Mine are Capaldi, Pertwee, and depending on my mood, #3 is filled with Tennant, T. Baker, or Peter Davison. Not that I don't enjoy his episodes, mind you. But I know that many others just don't. 🤷♀️
You gotta admit, Forester’s smarter than most Tv criminals.
If this was Midsomer they would be at it for a hour or two at most
Carole Ann Ford told me that this is her favourite story!
Odd pick? Her next to last story.
@@nathantew946 she said they all really enjoyed the huge props
@@nathantew946 what difference was the order of the story to whether it's her favorite or not? Odd point to make, IMO.
@@IsaacWhittakerDakin I have to agree with her - those props and sets are amazing for that time period and the budget they had to work with!
I wouldve loved this story arc back in the day. As a kid I was a big fan of Land of the Giants and Dr. Shrinker (not to mention the Atom Filmation cartoons). They did a great job making their shrinking sem real; very cleverly done. And the environmental angle was a good added layer.
3:09 - or an evil doppelgänger of the Doctor trying to take off with the doors open like later in ‘The Enemy of the World’ (namely Salamander)
That's one of my favorites with Troughton!
I love the shrinking explanation scene, how it bounces between the characters. I think Classic Who really shines with the little things it does.
Fun fact: Alan Tilvern would later play as Captain Rodriguez in Dad’s Army’s ‘Battle School’
He also was an American captain in Dad’s Army in the episode My British Buddy.
@@bobo577 🤔
Thank you, Mr. Tardis. I like your reviews. It drives me to seek out the classic Dr. Who series. Cheers!
Fun fact: Dudley Simpson would later work on the music for the BBC's other Sci-Fi series - Blake's 7
This story is way too political. That's obviously Chibnall's fault.
Based take.
And he has never even apologised for it! It's time he gets replaced by a straight Tory-hugger who's never written a politically-charged piece of TV!
I've been watching through Classic for (mostly) the first time and have been having the same thought constantly lol. I've only just reached the 4th Doctor, and I feel like nearly every story has had some kind of obvious political message or parallel--especially so in the 3rd Doctor's era, where it's all much more blatant than anything in 13's run. I have zero problems with it, but it does make me wonder where people get off arguing that Doctor Who wasn't political back then lmao.
@@BlueSparxLPs amotherfreakingmen!
Denis, I very, very often find myself listing this with several of the other clearly political stories from Classic Who when I run across blatant whining that sounds just like this for real, LOL! Great comment! 👍🏼
I first saw this story when I was about 10 and first getting really into environmental conservation, and I absolutely loved it! I totally forgot how ridiculous the villains scheme was, (though I do always have a soft spot corporate kids stories that make CEO’s cartoonishly evil!) But I had no clue the story was meant to be 4 parts!!! The final edit feels so tight it feels fully formed! I’m glad to see this episode finally get a bit more love!
While not my favorite, Planet Of Giants is an interesting idea, and I wish they had done more miniaturized stories as they continued. I have been enjoying watching the Hartnell era with S2, I am still watching the blu ray. Thank you for this.
The set design is the biggest part of these serials for sure. Overall, a worthwhile Doctor Who story because of it
“Can’t,Can’t? There’s no such word as can’t!”
there isn't. It's contracted from cannot 😅
I like Planet of Giants
10:32 D'oh! I'm from San Antonio!
Dudley Simpson is a big reason why I got into film scoring. Love love love his work.
Hey, farmer, farmer, put away your DDT
I don't care about spots on my apples
Leave me the birds and the bees
Please! - joni mitchell big yellow taxi 1970.
I love planet of the ganits William Hartnell and William Russell and Barbara actors look like they are having an amazing time here
12:16 "It's a bit of a cup out"
Yeah, wellcome to Doctor Who's cliffhanger resolutions, where a dramatic encounter with a Sillurian is resolved by the Doctor wanting to shake his hand, and a cliffhanger of The Master throwing a FUCKING KNIFE TO HIS BACK is resolved with The Master being distracted last minute and missing.
Um... cup? 😄
YES, GET ON WITH IT!!!
@8:58 Never allowed the word WHAT to exist??? This was in Doctor Who? in the 60’s??? ;-)
Yeah, that DDT spraying footage is terrifying.
I always liked Planet of Giants, even if I don't love it - it still moves a bit too slowly for me, even cut down to three parts. I cannot believe reading off a chemical formula was ever considered suitable for TV though, even by the scriptwriter lol
Irwin Allen must've been watching this before creating Land Of The Giants.
I recently rewatches this, it is a very good episode
Definitely a quirky story. I can't think of another time when the Doctor and companions were changed in size like this. But of course, others tried a similar premise, like Irwin Allen's Land of the Giants.
If they had simply appeared as normal, they might have made a detective or suspense story out of it, where the Doctor and companions figure out who shot the official, and it would have felt like an early Avengers episode. But the ecological aspect of the insecticide would have been diluted.
When people call Doctor Who for being woke or too political in the present I look to this story as an example of how it has always been very political and "woke". As you point out in the review, this was inspired by Silent Spring which spawned the environmentalist movement we live with in the present. For all its flaws I think this is the first time I've ever seen this subject and theme appear in popular fiction. I don't remember it being a prominent theme in fiction this early on.
PS: The cut scene of the Doctor pushing hard to intervene in events is I think an interesting mission statement in itself. I don't think I've ever seen that part of the Doctor being put across more pointedly as it is done in this story.
Ha! You uploaded this video about this shrinking story the day Ant-Man: Quantumania finally hits the UK!
Coincidence!
This review is about five thousand times more entertaining than the story, William. 🤣
Brilliant work - as always.
Now, if I want to remind myself of this, ahem, masterpiece, I’ll just rewatch your - as always (did I already say that?) - review!
Btw, apologies for not replying to your email yet, Will; I’ve been stupidly busy in the last two weeks, and I’m in Los Angeles for some reason at the moment; it should be with you by the beginning of next week!
And - may I say - you’re a Star!
Stephen
😁
Well, now, that's more than a little harsh, IMO. It really does do some great things, like the sets and bug models - which were brilliant - and especially the basic message of how dangerous pesticides can be. I'm sorry you don't like the story. It's one of my favorites with Hartnell.
@@MaryAnnNytowl
I love them ALL! In my way. 😁
Land of the giants occurred, but that was '68, we got it in '70 apparently
Wondering when in '64 this aired, no recollection at all.. Holiday perhaps 🤔
5:40 HA! We did that irl!
Actually shocking for the time - the murder and violence.
Your look at it with 2020 eyes and mk ultra anyone
Insecticide is misspelled - insectide!
As soon as I heard there was a character called Smithers I was WAITING for the Simpsons joke
23:29 And cue Simpsons audio cilp right here.
Wait… is smithers from the simpsons actually named after the smithers in this story?
Can wait for next one
I'm not a fan of this story. While the effects of making the Tardis crew look small are good. I just think that the slow pacing of the story lets it down.
Not sure who’s the dumbest villain of the Hartnell era now; Forester or the Sensorite City Administrator.
Imagine them teaming up! 😆
"I don't understand, how will they not recognise your voice over the phone?"
"I'll cover the receiver with a handkerchief and claim it is a bad line."
"..."
"...?"
"I HADN'T THOUGHT OF THAT!"
Frankly the main plot is ludicrous. The issues are real and the ecological politics are spot-on but what could have been as exciting as The Green Death is just a half baked crime movie