The Web of Fear (TV story)

The Web of Fear was the fifth story of Season 5 of Doctor Who. The story featured the first appearance of future Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, played by Nicholas Courtney, although UNIT would not be conceived until his next appearance in The Invasion.

Synopsis

The TARDIS narrowly avoids becoming engulfed in a web-like substance in space. It then arrives in the London Underground railway system, the tunnels of which are being overrun by the web and by the Great Intelligence's robot Yeti.

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The time travellers learn that this crisis was precipitated when Professor Travers, whom they first met in the Himalayas some forty years earlier, accidentally caused one of the Yeti to be reactivated, opening the way for the Intelligence to make another invasion attempt.

The travellers work alongside army forces - led initially by Captain Knight and then by Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart - as they battle against the alien menace, hampered by the fact that one of their number has fallen under the Intelligence's influence and is a traitor in their midst.

The Intelligence's ultimate aim is to drain the Doctor's mind. The Doctor manages to sabotage the device with which it intends to achieve this, so that he can drain the Intelligence's mind instead, but he is 'rescued' by his friends before he can bring his plan to fruition.

The Intelligence is repelled into space, and the Doctor and his friends leave the army to clear up the mess.

Plot

to be added

A Robot Yeti in Silverstein's museum

Cast

Crew

References

The Great Intelligence is the intelligence controlling the Yeti.

Timeline

When talking about underground trains the Doctor tells Victoria they came a little after her time.

Story notes

First appearance of Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart played by Nicholas Courtney.
To promote this story, a specially shot trailer featuring the Doctor in the London Underground talking about the upcoming Yeti adventure was featured at the end of Episode 6 of The Enemy of the World. Although considered lost, along with Episode 6, the audio survives and formed the basis of a fan-made computer animated recreation of the trailer which has circulated on YouTube.[1]
Professor Travers is once again portrayed by Deborah Watling's father, Jack Watling.
The rendering of the sets in the Underground were so accurate, the BBC apparently received a letter of complaint from London Underground, claiming filming had been done on their property without permission.
Episode 1 was shown with The Abominable Snowmen episode 2 as part of BSB's Doctor Who Weekend in September 1990, under the banner of The Yeti Rarities.
The surviving episode 1 was rebroadcast on BBC Four on 26th June 2004 as part of a night about cult television of the 1960s. Other programmes that night included a documentary about the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and an episode of Verity Lambert's series Adam Adamant Lives.
Episode one was also rebroadcast on BBC Four as part of the BBC's London Underground night on 18th March 2007.

Ratings

Episode 1 - 7.2 million viewers
Episode 2 - 6.8 million viewers
Episode 3 - 7.0 million viewers
Episode 4 - 8.4 million viewers
Episode 5 - 8.0 million viewers
Episode 6 - 8.3 million viewers

Myths

to be added

Filming locations

Old Brewer's Yard, Shelton Street, London
Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London
BBC Television Centre (Puppet Theatre)
Ealing Television Film Studios, Ealing Green, Ealing
Lime Grove Studios (Studio D), Lime Grove, London

Production errors

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.

The Yeti changes shape in the museum scene. (This appears to be intentional, with a deliberate cross fade between the Yeti's two forms.)
When Jamie and the others are looking at the scanner in the first episode, Frazer Hines rests his hand on the console but withdraws it quickly as if he's burnt it.

Continuity

This directly follows on from DW: The Enemy of the World.
This is a sequel to DW: The Abominable Snowmen, which also featured Yeti, the Great Intelligence, and Professor Travers.
The Yeti appear again in DW: The Five Doctors and MA: Downtime.
Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart appears again in DW: The Invasion as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. The events of this story are said in the latter serial to have been the catalyst behind the creation of UNIT.
DW: Remembrance of the Daleks makes reference to the events in this story.
MA: Who Killed Kennedy makes reference to this story, revealing the government's cover story was that there had been a major nerve gas leak.
The Doctor and companions go to London in search of Professor Travers in DW:The Invasion, only to find that he has gone to America.
PDA: The Face of the Enemy depicts an alternate reality where the Great Intelligence's takeover attempt was thwarted by a benevolent version of The Master, who sacrificed his TARDIS to destroy the web.

Timeline

This story occurs after DW: The Enemy of the World
This story occurs before ST: Father Figure

Home video and audio releases

DVD Release

The surviving episode (Episode 1), plus clips from Episodes 2, 4 & 5 were released as part of the Lost in Time set.

Released:

Region 2 1st November 2005

PAL - BBC DVD BBCDVD1353

Region 4 2nd December 2005
Region 1 2nd November 2005

NTSC - Warner Video E2082 (Troughton 2 disc set) / E2083 (Box set)

Lost in Time (Region 2)
Lost in Time (Region 1) Full Set
Lost in Time (Region 1) - Troughton Box

VHS releases

The surviving episode (Episode 1) was released alongside The Faceless Ones Episode 1 and 3 and the remaining episodes of The Reign of Terror as part of a two cassette release entitled Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror.

Released: