Planet of the Spiders (TV story)

Well, here we go again...Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

Planet of the Spiders
Doctor:	[[doctor::Third Doctor (regenerates) Fourth Doctor (introduction at end)]]
Companion(s):	Sarah Jane Smith Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart Captain Mike Yates Benton
Main enemy:	Great One Lupton Eight Legs
Main setting:	Earth; 1970s Metebelis III
Key crew
Writer:	Robert Sloman
Director:	Barry Letts
Producer:	Barry Letts
Release details
Story number:	74
Release number:	Season 11
Premiere broadcast:	4th May - 8th June 1974
Format:	6 25-minute episodes
Production code:	ZZZ

Planet of the Spiders was the fifth and final story of Season 11. It marked the final appearance of Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor and the first appearance (uncredited) of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. The character of Mike Yates also makes his final appearance.

Synopsis

The blue crystal that the Doctor took from Metebelis III in a previous adventure is desperately sought by the Eight Legs, a race of mutated spiders, as the final element in their plan for universal domination. With help from an old mentor, the Doctor realizes the only way to foil the plot is to make the ultimate sacrifice. The Doctor must risk death to return to the cave of the Great One and save the universe.

Plot

Part One

Somewhere in the English countryside, a bushy-haired young man is taking a relaxing walk. It is Captain Mike Yates -- recently drummed out of UNIT for betraying his superiors.

As he walks, the Doctor and the Brigadier are attending a show. A comedian with a thick accent is making bad jokes. The Brigadiers rolls his eyes at the Doctor, who looks embarrassed. The Brigadier comments to the Doctor that they are wasting their time. But when the announcer tells them the next act is an exotic dancer, his attention perks up.

Mike approaches a big country house. He walks in and hears some quiet chanting. Ever the operative, he sneaks down into the cellar to investigate.

He sees five men sitting around an ornate Mandela, chanting the lotus chant and banging cymbals. He watches in quiet fascination as the chanting grows louder and more frantic. A blue glow appears on the Mandela. Mike leans forward to get a better look but touches a spider web, making him jerk back. He knocks over a candle, which rolls loudly down the stairs. The men stop chanting and look around suspiciously but Mike has vanished.

The exotic Scheherazade has finished her act. The Doctor teases the Brigadier for his rapt attention; the Brigadier deflects it saying he should adapt some of her exercises for men. But before the Doctor can get in another quip, the next act is announced -- the mind-reader Professor Clegg. The Doctor eagerly sits up. This is what they came for.

The group of chanting men ask their middle-aged leader -- Lupton -- if they should try again but the mood is clearly lost. They think that it was only the wind that knocked down the candle until they hear a car drive off - the sports car belonging to their "new friend, Mr. Yates."

The next day, Clegg arrives at UNIT headquarters to met the Doctor. He thinks that the Brigadier wants him to perform his act for some regimental show. But the Doctor explains he is researching ESP and wants Clegg to help him.

Clegg is a little embarrassed and the Brigadier asks him if his act was all a trick. Clegg admits to this and the Doctor speculates he was using a word code with his assistant. Clegg asks him if the secret of his act is safe the Doctor assures him that it is: he will never tell anyone that Clegg is a powerful clairvoyant. Clegg is alarmed but the Doctor points out he made some mistakes the night before -- giving answers before his assistant had spoken a word.

Clegg collapses into a chair, lamenting that he doesn't want this new power. He was happier just doing his act. The Doctor is sympathetic, asking if there have been any other power such as psychokenesis - moving objects with his mind. Clegg nods and the Doctor asks the actor to demonstrate his powers.

Clegg reluctantly agrees and concentrates on a breakfast tray. To their astonishment, it rises and floats across the room. But Clegg can't keep it up and the tray falls to the ground with a clatter.

The amazed Brigadier suggest that should be used in his act but Clegg thinks he would lose his sanity doing it. The Doctor reassures him, explaining that his powers are normal -- they are just dormant in most humans. Clegg incredulously asks if the Doctor can figure out why he's different and the Time Lord agrees to help all he can.

Lupton speaks to a young monk named Cho-Je. He objects to the arrival of a female journalist but the Tibetan reassures him, explaining they can't just shut out the world. Lupton says that he came there for solitude but Cho-Je explains that he must learn to walk in solitude everywhere. Besides, Mike Yates has already left to pick her up.

At the station, Sarah Jane Smith meets Mike and they hop into his sports car. They roar off into the countryside as the pretty dark-haired journalist pushes the reluctant ex-soldier for an explanation.

Lupton explains to Barnes -- one of the men from the Mandela circle -- that of course it was Yates who was watching them. The men want to stop their experiments but Lupton insists they were on the verge of a breakthrough.

They are interrupted by the arrival of big lumbering man named Tommy. Tommy has the mind of a child -- he speaks simply and tries to show them a pretty flower. He then tries to drag them off to tea but they shove him to the ground, crushing the flower. He starts crying.

Sarah continues to taunt Mike, asking what he wants to show her. He fobs her off with a vague notion that she can write a story about the meditation center in the center of England. But her keen journalistic instincts are unsatisfied. She asks why he is there and he explains that he needed to sort himself out after the business with the dinosaurs. He saw an article about the Tibetan monks and decided to try it out.

In the basement, Lupton's men are once again chanting around the Mandela.

Mike has now told Sarah about the events of the previous night. She suggest that they are doing just doing some extra meditation, but Mike wonders why they would be so secretive about it. He thinks they are tapping some unholy power -- which would concern UNIT. With a laugh, Sarah realizes why he called her.

The chanting grows in power, Lupton's voice becoming fierce in concentration.

As Sarah agrees to act as a go-between with the Brigadier, they suddenly see a tractor in the middle of the road. Mike violently swerves to avoid it, then looks back to see an empty road. Sarah is now convinced something dangerous is going on.

The Doctor connects Clegg to a machine that monitors brainwaves. He asks the Brigadier for an object and the soldier hands him a pocket watch. As the Doctor watches an oscilloscope, Clegg contemplates the shiny object.

Clegg drifts out as he begins a psychic reading of the watch. It is 11 years old. Given to the Brigadier in a hotel by the sea in Brighton. From a young lady named Doris in appreciation for . . . but The Brigadier looks uncomfortable and grabs the watch back before more can be revealed. The Doctor taunts him that maybe too much has already been said.

The Doctor then connects Clegg to an IRIS machine that will make pictures from his thoughts. He hands him the sonic screwdriver. Drashigs appear on the monitor with scenes of the Doctor using the screwdriver to create explosions and drive them off.

Sarah has now arrived at the monastery and is interviewing Cho-Je. He explains that he wants men to face their fears and find their true self. He will see the true mind -- which is no mind. The old man will die and the new man will discover to his inexpressible joy that he has never existed! Sarah asks if exploring the subconscious is dangerous, if it can turn up nasty thing. Cho-Je explains that their way uses the power to help. But he must end the interview to meditate.

Mike then asks if the powers they are developing could be used for evil. Cho-Je reassures him that could never happen in his monastery.

Clegg is still upset by his visions. The Doctor asks abound bending forks but Benton arrives, see the IRIS machine and, not realizing the Brigadier is there, asks the Doctor if he is taking up hair-dressing. The Brigadier chides him and an abashed Benton explains that a package has arrived addressed to the Doctor, the Brigadier, Captain Yates or Sergeant Benton. When he explains that the package is from South America, the Doctor realizes it's from Jo Grant.

The Doctor eagerly grabs it, but then hands it to Clegg. The Professor sees that it has come a long way -- not just from South America but from the star. It's not a meteorite, but something beautiful, a crystal.

The Doctor and the Brigadier realize it is the blue crystal from Metabilis 3. He opens it up and holds up the sparkling blue gem.

Sarah and Mike overhear some chanting in the monastery. They quietly peer in to see a group of men meditating to a tape of monastic chants. Sarah asks what they are meditating about and Mike explains they are not meditating "about" anything. They're supposed to be watching their tummies as they breath. Sarah jokes they are contemplating their belly buttons.

They get ready to leave but are approached by Lupton and Barnes. Mike introduces them. Sarah is about to explain about the accident on the road, but Mike deflects her. When Lupton asks is they want to have some tea, Mike suddenly says Sarah Jane has to leave right away and drags the protesting girl off. Lupton delightedly watches as Mike guides Sarah to his car and drives away.

Mike explains to Sarah who Lupton was. He speculates the Lupton created the hallucination of the tractor. Sarah asks why they are running away but Mike explains they will return later in secret.

The Doctor reads a letter from Jo. She explains that they haven't found the mushroom Cliff is seeking. But they are having problems because the Indians don't like the crystal. So she's sent it back to whoever happens to be around.

Sarah and Mike sneak back into the monastery through a window but are caught by Tommy. He thinks they are playing a game and Sarah acts on this, saying it's a secret game and he shouldn't tell anyone about them. He spies her broach, comments on how pretty it is and she gives it to him. He wanders off, cooing over the pretty object. Mike taunts Sarah about her "shameless display of feminine wiles" which Sarah says is nonsense.

They sneak into the basement and hide as Lupton and his followers arrive, brushing against numerous spider webs. The men begin their chanting and cymbal-crashing once again.

The Doctor is still reading the letter when Clegg begins to sense something. Suddenly, the lab starts shaking as fire glows deep inside the crystal. Objects fly all over the lab as the Doctor struggles to get the crystal out of Clegg's hands. When he does, the Professor slumps in his chair, stone dead.

In the monastery, the chanting grows. Sarah and Mike watch in horror as a shape appears in a blaze of blue light in the center of the Mandela. It is a giant spider! .

Part Two

Sarah Jane and Mike Yates are investigating the mysterious events at monastery in rural England. They watch as a group of men, led by the enigmatic Lupton, chant around a Mandela. And amidst a bright blue glow, a giant spider materializes.

One of the men tries to run but the spider blasts him down with a flash of blue lightning. Lupton tries to banish it but it speaks to him! It promises to give him the power he seeks. It instructs him to turn around and then, to everyone's horror, leaps on his back. It disappears and Lupton turns around with a strange smile on his face.

The police have removed Clegg's body from the lab. The Brigadier asks what Clegg died from -- was it the crystal? The Doc realizes that Clegg was connected to the IRIS machine when he died. Perhaps it recorded his thoughts. He switches it on and watches as spiders appear on the screen.

Lupton's unconscious colleague is carried away. They ask him where the spider has gone but he doesn't answer, telling them to go back to their rooms and not talk to anyone. Barnes asks if he's all right and Lupton replies that he's never felt better.

The Doctor switches off the IRIS and decides to look into the crystal for himself. The Brigadier worries about the danger and Benton suggests he try first, since he's expendable. But the Doctor doesn't want to risk the Sergeant's life now that Clegg has been killed.

Mike helps Sarah out a window and urges her to tell UNIT what's going on. She realizes she doesn't really know what's going on, but Mike tells her to just tell them what she saw. He will try to speak to the abbot.

But then he sees Barnes and Lupton in the hallway. Barnes asks if the spider is a demon and Lupton assures him it isn't. He explains that the spider is still there and that, if he concentrates, he can hear it speaking in his mind. The spider tells him that Barnes is stupid -- he should be sent away. Lupton tells Barnes the spider has said he looks tired and should get some sleep. Barnes worries that he won't be able to sleep after what he's seen.

Lupton is about to head to his room but the spider stops him. She can feel the crystal. She explains that she has come to get a crystal -- one that will give them immense power. She tells him to concentrate and he sees a man staring into the blue light of a crystal.

He is seeing the Doctor staring into the Metabilis crystal in a rapture. The Brigadier calls out to him, but the Doctor is unresponsive. Benton arrives with coffee as the Brigadier calls the Medical Officer (a certain Lt. Sullivan). But even as he calls the MO, the Doctor begins speaking, revived by the smell of Benton's coffee.

Before Benton can explain how he makes his coffee, the Brigadier asks about the spiders. The Doctor instead launches into a story about his youth. He tells them that when he was a young man, a hermit lived in a mountain behind his house. He spent some of the best hours of his life with the hermit. It was there he first learned to look into his own mind. And when he looked into the crystal, all he could see was the face of his old teacher.

Yates goes to talk to the abbot K'anpo, but is stopped by Tommy. He threatens to hit Mike if he bothers K'anpo. He notices a necklace Mike is wearing and Mike gives it to him. Tommy, delighted, goes away with one last order for Mike to got bed. Yates waits, then starts heading back up the stairs. But he is stopped by Lupton, who tells him to heed Tommy's advice. Mike retreats beneath Lupton's confident gaze.

The next morning, Sarah tells her story to the Doctor as he continues to examine the crystal. But the Time Lord is not really paying attention, concentrating on the crystal lattice, realizing that it reflects thought. But he suddenly realizes Sarah has gotten to the part of the story about the spiders. He eagerly asks her to repeat it.

Lupton arrives at UNIT and speaks to a soldier working on the Whomobile. He asks about the Doctor and is pointed in the right direction. But the UNIT man then asks for a pass. Lupton responds with a bolt of blue lightning that knocks him to the ground.

Sarah gazes at the crystal as the Doctor explains where he got it. He tells her that it has strange properties -- it can affect the mind, clearing and amplifying it. She wonders if the giant spiders want it back but the Doctor explains there weren't any spider on Metabilis 3.

Benton sees Lupton in the hall and tries to stop him. But Lupton knocks him out with another bolt of lightning.

The Doctor realizes that the spiders could be coming from a different time on Metabilis 3. As he speaks, Lupton peers in and sees the crystal. The spider tells him to concentrate.

As Sarah muses on how calmly they can discuss such outrageous things, the crystal vanishes. It appears in Lupton's hand, who knocks out the recovering Benton again and runs out of the building.

The Doctor and Sarah find Benton in the hall and he explains what happened. Lupton exits the building and sees the Brigadier. As the Brigadier opens fire, he races across the lot and finally jumps into the Doctor's car and races off. Benton starts up Bessie and they all jump in to give chase.

They drive the Doctor over to a tiny helicopter and then begin a long chase after the Whomobile. The Doctor directs the chase from the copter. They race past a policeman who roars after them.

They finally track down the Whomobile, only to find it empty. The constable tries to get an explanation while Lupton watches from hiding. The spider urges him to steal the helicopter. He doesn't know how to fly it, but she insists they can figure it out. He breaks cover, jumps into he helicopter and takes off. The Doctor and Sarah pile into the Whomobile, which launches into the air in pursuit.

The constable tries to report in, decides no one will believe him and instead reports in sick.

Sarah spots Lupton's helicopter and they pursue him until he runs out of fuel. The spider makes him land and he then steals a motorboat. The Doctor and Sarah reach the shore as he leaves and the Time Lord jumps into a hovercraft. He cuts across the land, racing over a vagrant and closes the gap.

The spider is frustrated and tells Lupton to concentrate. The Doctor closes in and makes a bold leap into the motorboat. But Lupton has vanished into thin air!

Episode Three

The Doctor, after a long chase, has just managed to capture Lupton, who has stolen the blue crystal of Metabilis 3. But even as the Doctor jumps on Lupton's boat, Lupton vanishes into thin air.

Tommy is walking down a hallway in the monastery when he sees Lupton materialize out of thin air. He spies the blue crystal and is fascinated. Cho-Je passed Lupton in the hallway with a contended grin.

Exhausted but triumphant, Lupton stumbles into his room. The spider promises him the crystal will give him more power than he can imagine. But she cautions him to cloak his mind -- her sisters on Metabilis 3 will kill him if they know his thoughts.

A link forms between them and they can see the home of the spiders -- a council chamber filled with huge spiders sitting on blue benches. On a raised platform sits the biggest spider -- the queen. Lupton and his host report their success and they are told to hurry back. Lupton wants to know how he will be rewarded but the queen dismisses him as a "two leg". The queen says his reward will be to serve them in their conquest of the Earth -- the secret plan of "the Great One". At the sound of the name, all the spiders chant, "All Praise to the Great One". Shortly after, the power is exhausted and the link breaks.

Lupton is almost dead and opens the window for some fresh air. The spider advises him to rest and regain his strength and he collapses into bed. She then reappears on his back and scuttles off.

The Doctor and Sarah arrive at the monastery and, with Mike, confront Cho-Je about what happened. Cho-Je calmly explains that he saw Lupton in the corridor at the precise time they claim they were chasing him -- so he couldn't have stolen the crystal. As they talk, both Barnes and the spider listen in.

Barnes wakes up Lupton and explains the situation. He sees the crystal and realizes that the Doctor's story is true. He warns Lupton that they are in great danger, messing with things they don't understand. When Lupton tells him the spider has gone, Barnes pushes him to run away.

Lupton instead explains why he came to the monastery. He was a salesman but was fired after 25 years of service. As he talks Tommy peers in the open window and snatches the crystal.

Lupton continues, telling Barnes that he came to the monastery to get power -- power to take over his old firm, the country, even the world. He'll make everyone else grovel. Barnes is appalled -- he just wanted to find peace of mine.

Tommy goes into a small cupboard under the stairs. He opens a chest and takes out a box filled with pretty trinkets. He happily puts the crystal in.

Lupton explains to Barnes that once he controls the crystal, he won't need the spiders anymore. But as he speaks, the spider returns and tells him Cho-Je is coming for him. Barnes can't hear the spider and she tells Lupton to send "this fool" away. Lupton gets him to leave.

The spider wants him to meet with the Doctor but Lupton refuses. She then twists his mind, creating tremendous pain. She mocks him for claiming he won't need the spiders anymore as he begs her to stop. She relents. But then he figures out what she did and turns it back on her. The spider writhes in agony as Lupton makes her grovel. Finally, he lets up and she admits he is much smarter than the two-legs on Metabilis 3. He boasts that he's smarter than most of them on Earth, too.

She agrees to avoid the Doctor and return to Metabilis. He's not sure he wants to go back and be a slave. She agrees that the queen is arrogant and confesses that she doesn't like the queen any more than Lupton Perhaps they can help each other when they return.

She then jumps on his back and returns to his mind. Lupton reaches for the crystal and realizes it has disappeared.

The Doctor pushes Cho-Je to let him see Lupton soon, but the monk delays, espousing a more philosophical outlook. Tommy looks in and beckons Sarah over. He wants to give her a present and she agrees to go with him. Cho-Je finally asks Mr. Moss to bring Lupton to them.

Lupton and Barnes can not figure out what has happened to the crystal. The spider then warns that the power is building and they will soon have to return to Metabilis 3. If the queen finds out they don't have the crystal, she will kill them. He decides they have no choice but to bluff.

Tommy takes Sarah to his cupboard. While he's inside, she spots Lupton talking to Barnes and Moss. Lupton instructs Moss to tell the Doctor he can't find him and goes to the basement. Sarah is eager to follow. Even as Tommy emerges with the crystal, she tells him to find Mike Yates and explain she's gone into the cellar. She is in such a hurry she doesn't see Tommy holding out the crystal to her.

Sarah sneaks down into the basement and watches as Lupton spreads out the Mandela and begins to chant.

The Doctor is pacing Cho-Je's room when Tommy arrives and tries to tell them where Sarah has gone. They don't pay attention until Moss returns, telling them Lupton can't be found. Tommy finally gets them to understand and they hurry off to the basement.

Lupton's chanting grows. A blue light envelopes him and he vanishes. Sarah, astonished, steps forward onto the Mandela as Mike and the Doctor arrive. They push past Barnes at the cellar door but can only watch in astonishment as Sarah vanishes.

Sarah finds herself in a barren wasteland. She looks around and see Lupton walking toward the cliff. But she is grabbed from behind before she can follow.

When Mike and the Doctor emerge from the cellar, Barnes is gone. The Doctor decides to follow Sarah to Metabilis 3 in the TARDIS. Mike is skeptical that he can make it but the Doctor tells him he fixed the coordinates on his last visit. Mike then asks how he will know where on the planet to find Sarah and the Doctor can only reply that he trusts the TARDIS to find her. Mike laughs that the Doctor talks about the TARDIS as though it were alive. "Yes, I do, don't I?" answers the Time Lord cryptically.

Sarah is brought into a village. Her captor - Tuar -- thinks she is a spy but an old man named Sabor persuades them to let her go. Sarah explains to a woman named Rega that she's not a spy. Who would she be spying for -- the spiders?

The word "spiders" frightens the villagers, who refer to the spiders as "eight-legs". Now convinced that she is a spy, they push her toward a cliff, but Tuar's brother Arak stops them. He points out that she's wearing strange clothes. Sarah then explains that she's from Earth and they ask if she came in a spaceship like their ancestors.

Just then, a trumpet rings out. The villagers realize an eight-leg is coming and they hide Sarah.

A group of human guards march in, carrying a pallet with the queen spider on it. They call out for Arak, for having attacked a guard. If he does not surrender, they will kill one man in each family. Before Arak can surrender, however, Sabor, who is his father, steps out. He first pleads that the guard was a cruel to the villagers, but the queen is unsympathetic. He then tells her he helped Arak flee and she decides he will go in Arak's place -- which Arak explains to Sarah means he will be eaten by the spiders. Rega runs out to him but the guards stun her with a staff fixed with a blue crystal.

But in the confusion, the queen spots Sarah leaning out of the door. The guards rush to arrest her and she steps out to keep them from catching Arak.

The Doctor brings the TARDIS to Metabilis 3 -- only to find he has appeared right in the center of the town square. They tell him to kneel before the queen and he does, asking her what they intend to do with Sarah. The queen instead asks him where he has come from. When he tells her he has come from Earth, she is quite agitated. She tells her guards to take him and a fight breaks out. In the confusion, the villagers hide Sarah. But one of the guards fires a lightning bolt out of his staff which knocks the Doctor down. He falls before the TARDIS as though he is dead.

Part Four

On Metebelis III, the Doctor lingers in a coma. Tommy's brain is healed when he looks deep into the crystal. Lupton becomes embroiled in a plot led by his spider host against the Eight Leg Queen. The Doctor recovers thanks to a machine Sarah retrieved for him from the TARDIS. In doing so however, she is captured by the Eight Legs. Thrown into a cell with a man named Sabor, Sarah learns the history of Metebilis 3: The humans are descendants of survivors of a crashed spaceship, and the Eight Legs were common spiders onboard that became mutated by radiation from the blue crystals. The Doctor finds a type of stone which nullifies the effects of the Eight Legs' energy rays, which the humans will use in their rebellion. The Doctor attempts to rescue Sarah Jane, but is captured again by the Eight Legs as well.

Part Five

The Doctor escapes from his cocoon, and reaches the mouth of the cave of the Great One, who warns him not to enter due to the lethal radiation within. She orders him to return the blue crystal that he stole, and humiliates him by forcing him to march in a circle like a tin soldier via her psychic power. The Doctor is too overcome by fear to face her, and escapes with Sarah Jane back to Earth in the TARDIS. They meet the leader of the meditation center, the Abbott K'anpo Rimpoche. Meanwhile Lupton's followers, possessed by the Eight Legs, fire telekinetic force at Tommy, the only person standing in the way of their taking the crystal.

Part Six

Sarah Jane is revealed to be under the control of the Queen, which explains how she and the Doctor escaped so easily. With the blue crystal, which Tommy had given to K'anpo, the Doctor is able to free her mind. The Doctor is astounded to discover an old friend; K'anpo is his former mentor, a fellow renegade Time Lord now enjoying peaceful exile on Earth. The attack of Lupton's followers is repulsed with the help of Tommy, but K'anpo is injured and forced to regenerate by merging with his assistant, Cho Je, who was a projection of K'anpo's own conscience. The Doctor realizes his greed for knowledge and his theft of the crystal has set all these events into motion, and that he must face his fear and probable death by returning it. He pilots the TARDIS to Metebelis III and enters the cave to confront the Great One, an enormous spider, who desires the blue crystal to complete a crystalline web that will amplify her psychic power to infinity. However, once the crystal is in place, the web overloads and destroys both her and the Eight Legs. The Doctor receives a lethal dose of radiation from the cave, and barely manages to escape in the TARDIS. He eventually arrives at UNIT (after being gone, from their perspective, for three weeks), collapses on the floor, and appears to die. As Sarah weeps, K'Anpo/Cho-Je appears and with a little 'push', induces the Doctor's third regeneration.

Cast

• The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
• Fourth Doctor -Tom Baker (uncredited at the end of Part 6.)
• Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
• Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
• Mike Yates - Richard Franklin
• Sergeant Benton - John Levene
• Professor Clegg - Cyril Shaps
• Lupton - John Dearth
• Barnes - Christopher Burgess
• Moss - Terence Lodge
• Land - Carl Forgione
• Keaver - Andrew Staines
• Cho Je - Kevin Lindsay
• Tommy - John Kane
• Policeman - Chubby Oates
• Soldier - Pat Gorman
• Man with Boat - Terry Walsh
• Hopkins - Michael Pinder
• Tramp - Stuart Fell
• Spider Voices - Ysanne Churchman, Kismet Delgado, Maureen Morris
• Arak - Gareth Hunt
• Sabor - Geoffrey Morris
• Neska - Jenny Laird
• Rega - Joanna Monro
• Tuar - Ralph Arliss
• Guard Captains - Walter Randall, Max Faulkner
• K'anpo Rimpoche - George Cormack

Crew

• Assistant Floor Manager - Graeme Harper
• Costumes - L. Rowland Warne
• Designer - Rochelle Selwyn
• Film Cameraman - Fred Hamilton
• Film Editor - Bob Rymer
• Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
• Make-Up - Deanne Turner
• Producer - Barry Letts
• Production Assistant - Marion McDougall
• Production Unit Manager - George Gallaccio
• Script Editor - Terrance Dicks
• Special Sounds - Dick Mills
• Studio Lighting - Ralph Walton
• Studio Sound - John Holmes
• Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
• Title Music - Ron Grainer
• Visual Effects - Bernard Wilkie

References

The Doctor

• The Doctor is familiar with Tibetan customs.

Crystals

• The Doctor receives a package from Jo Grant containing his Metebelis crystal, which he picked up during his previous visit to Metebelis III.

Foods and beverages

• The Doctor likens Sergeant Benton's coffee-making skills to that of Mrs. Samuel Beakes.
• Lupton offers Sarah tea.

Individuals

• The Doctor mentions being taught in the ways of escapology by Harry Houdini.
• Mike Yates refers to the last time he encountered Sarah "that business with the Dinosaurs".
• The Brigadier's watch was given to him 11 years ago in Brighton by Doris.
• The Brigadier phones Sullivan, the UNIT Medical Officer.

Periodicals

• Sarah has worked for Metropolitan magazine.

Story Notes

• This is the first time the term "regeneration" is mentioned on screen.
• This is the first time we see someone other than the Doctor regenerate (K'anpo Rimpoche).
• This story features a large chase scene featuring: Bessie, the Doctor's car (known as the Whomobile), a police car, a gyrocopter, a hovercraft and a boat.
• Tom Baker is uncredited in the conclusion of Planet of the Spiders, when Jon Pertwee transforms into Tom Baker. Since no regeneration was shown at the end of The War Games (although we do see the apparent beginning of it), this marked the first time since William Hartnell changed into Patrick Troughton in 1966's The Tenth Planet that an on-screen hand-over of the role had occurred. End-of-episode changeovers would become the norm for the next few regenerations until the regeneration from the Sixth to Seventh Doctors at the beginning of Time and the Rani (and both played by the same actor) broke the pattern.
• Parts of this story were recorded at the same time as parts of Robot. This not only meant that Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker were literally playing the Doctor at the same time, but also that Elisabeth Sladen — and to a lesser extent, Nicholas Courtney and John Levene — were having to rush back and forth between the two productions.
• The Time Beetle featured in Turn Left shares some similarities with the Eight Legs; It too is a giant-sized insectoid that can latch onto a victim's back, disguising it's prescence at the same time.

Ratings

• Part 1 - 10.1 million viewers
• Part 2 - 8.9 million viewers
• Part 3 - 8.8 million viewers
• Part 4 - 8.2 million viewers
• Part 5 - 9.2 million viewers
• Part 6 - 8.9 million viewers

Myths

• Roger Delgado's Master was originally to have been written out in Planet of the Spiders, and after the actor's death the story was revised to incorporate Lupton in place of the Master. It is true that had Delgado had not died he would have been written out in the final story of season eleven. He had informed Barry Letts that he would only appear as the Master in one more story during the filming of Frontier in Space. Letts agreed to the request, seeing it as an opportunity to dramatically end Season 11. Thus, he asked writer Robert Sloman to help him write a story which would at last define the relationship between the Doctor and the Master, before having the Master sacrifice himself to save the Doctor. Sloman delivered at least an initial round of scripts, called The Final Game, before Delgado's death halted the complete suspension on the story line. Planet of the Spiders was a wholly different story, save perhaps for Barry Letts' desire to incorporate certain Buddhist philosophies.
• A frequent corollary to the above is that The Final Game would have also incorporated the regeneration of the Third Doctor. One of the impetuses for Pertwee's decision to resign was Delgado's death. Had Delgado not died, but merely relinquished his role, it is unlikely Pertwee would have looked on Delgado's absence a motivation to quit. More to the point, though, Sloman had delivered scripts to Letts two weeks prior to Delgado's death on 18th June 1973. Pertwee didn't announce his retirement until after his request for a raise was denied in December 1973. The Final Game could not logically have included any elements pertaining to the Doctor's regeneration, because writer Robert Sloman didn't know Pertwee was going to leave.

Filming Locations

• Tidmarsh Manor, Tidmarsh, Berkshire
• Bloomfieldhatch Lane, Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire
• Membury Airfield, Membury, Wiltshire
• River Severn, Westbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire
• Mortimer Station, Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire
• Mereoak Lane, Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire
• Le Marchant Barracks, London Road, Devizes, Wiltshire
• BBC Television Centre (TC1, TC6, TC8), Shepherd's Bush, London

Production errors

• The Doctor's flying car is a different colour in the studio (gold rather than silver).

Continuity

• Jo Grant sends the Doctor a package containing the blue Metebelis crystal (DW: The Green Death), which the spiders covet, making this serial a sequel of sorts to The Green Death.
• Mike Yates refers to his last appearance in DW: Invasion of the Dinosaurs.
• The Doctor previously mentioned the hermit who lived behind his house in DW: The Time Monster.
• EDA: Interference - Book Two presents an alternate regeneration sequence.
• The Eight Legs returned in ST: Return of the Spiders, BFA The Eight Truths and BFA Worldwide Web.
• The Fifth doctor in the ST: Light at the End of the Tunnel tries to fight of his phobia of spiders when he goes inside a large pipe making this story as a reference.
• The Eighth Doctor still has a phobia of spiders in EDA: The Scarlet Empress.
• Professor Clegg divines that the Brigadier's wristwatch was given to him eleven years earlier in a hotel room by a woman named Doris, prompting a somewhat embarrassed reaction from him. In DW: Battlefield, the retired Brigadier is married to a woman named Doris.
• This isn't the same sonic screwdriver as in DW: Carnival of Monsters, Clegg shouldn't associate it with Drashigs.

Timeline

• This story occurs after ST: An Overture Too Early
• This story occurs before DW: Robot
• ST: Ancient Whispers takes place during episode 6 of this story.

DVD and Video Releases

DVD releases

An audio commentary for Planet of the Spiders was recorded in 2007 with Actors Elisabeth Sladen, Nicholas Courtney and Richard Franklin, Producer/Director Barry Letts and Script Editor Terrance Dicks for a future release date. Planet of the Spiders is being released in late 2010 in a two-disc set featuring a number of documentaries, a 5.1 mix, CGI effects, comentary and a special never-seen before feature.

Novelisation

Main article: Doctor Who and the Planet of the Spiders

• Novelised as Doctor Who and the Planet of the Spiders by Terrance Dicks in 1986.

See also

• DW: Doctor Who (1996)
• DW: The Unicorn and the Wasp

External Links

• Planet of the Spiders at the BBC's official site
• Planet of the Spiders at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• Planet of the Spiders at Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel)
• Planet of the Spiders at The Locations Guide