The Web Planet

So far, we've had Voords, Sensorites, and Koquillion among others, but still, the only aliens to capture the attention of the public are the Daleks. So, the producers of Doctor Who decided to have another go at creating a hit monster, and they came up with the Zarbi.

The Zarbi are the villains in this serial: "The Web Planet", and it is the complete opposite of the previous story. The TARDIS lands on the planet Vortis, where the Menoptra are trying to claim back their planet from the Zarbi, unintelligent giant ant-like creatures. This serial as quite an other-worldly feel to it, which suits the nature of the story. The plot is mysterious and dark, and as I don't really like insects, quite scary. The TARDIS crew are the only human characters seen throughout the six episodes, which adds to the otherworldliness of the serial as a whole.

The insect characters are superbly done. The ones that are able to speak all speak with odd accents and diction, which is really interesting to listen to, and the races which don't speak move just like insects should. Costumes are also great, but as the weeks passed during filming, the costumes would begin to deteriorate and you do notice it to an extent on camera. As opposed to the great and imaginative costumes, the sets are basic and uninspiring, a real pity. I suppose the serial's budget ran out creating and maintaining the costumes and teaching the actors how to play insects.

However, it all pulls through to be a solid, unnerving and sinister story, devoid of humour or joy. I think it is a little too long though, and interest begins to wain a couple of episodes in.