The Web of Fear

Last updated
041 –The Web of Fear
Doctor Who serial
Cast
Others
Production
Directed by Douglas Camfield
Written by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln
Script editor Derrick Sherwin
Produced by Peter Bryant
Executive producer(s)None
Music by Stock music
Production codeQQ
Series Season 5
Running time6 episodes, 25 minutes each
Episode(s) missing 1 episode (3)
First broadcast3 February 1968 (1968-02-03)
Last broadcast9 March 1968 (1968-03-09)
Chronology
← Preceded by
The Enemy of the World 		Followed by →
Fury from the Deep
List of episodes (1963–1989)

The Web of Fear is the partly missing fifth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who , first broadcast in six weekly parts from 3 February to 9 March 1968.

Contents

The serial is set on the London Underground railway over forty years after the 1967 serial The Abominable Snowmen . The plot concerns the incorporeal Great Intelligence leading the time travelling Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) into a trap where it can drain the Doctor's mind of his knowledge. The serial marks the last regular appearance of the Yeti, although they would return for cameos in "The Five Doctors" and the Reeltime Pictures spin-off Downtime . The Web of Fear marks the first appearance of Nicholas Courtney as Colonel Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart and is a precursor to later serials involving the UNIT organisation.

Only five of the six episodes are held in the BBC Archives; one is missing. For decades, all but the first episode were thought to have been destroyed, but on 11 October 2013, the BBC announced episodes two and four to six had been recovered from Nigeria. The third episode was apparently stolen on its way back to the UK, so it appeared as a photo-reconstruction for the first DVD release, which occurred in 2014. On 16 August 2021, a special edition Blu-ray and DVD release of the serial saw the missing episode reconstructed using 3D motion capture animation, a first for missing episodes.

Plot

Following the events at the end of The Enemy of the World, Jamie manages to close the TARDIS' doors, stabilising its flight. The TARDIS stalls in flight, however, as it is enshrouded in a web-like substance. The web clears, and the ship lands in a deserted Covent Garden tube station. The city outside appears completely abandoned.

Approximately 40 years after The Abominable Snowmen , an elderly Professor Travers accidentally reactivates a control sphere which inserts itself into an intact robot Yeti from Tibet at a private collection in London and escapes. In the following days, London is beset by thick fog and a deadly web-like fungus. Travers is brought to the Second World War deep-level shelter under Goodge Street tube station, where his daughter Anne has asked for his help to defeat the menace.

Moving through the underground train tunnels, the Doctor and his companions encounter the military, who are trying to stem the spread of the fungus by demolishing tunnels with explosives. Explosives laid at Charing Cross tube station [lower-alpha 2] are neutralised by the robot Yeti by smothering the explosion with the fungus. The reappearance of the Yeti signifies to the Doctor that the Great Intelligence has returned. While others in the shelters are suspicious of the Doctor and his companions, Travers, recognising them from their encounter in Tibet, convinces Captain Knight that the Doctor will be key to defeating the Yeti.

The group are joined by Lieutenant-Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart and Driver Evans, the sole survivors of an ammunition detail which was attacked by Yeti. Lethbridge-Stewart assumes command. The web suddenly speeds up its expansion, engulfing the whole of the Circle Line within minutes. Further attempts to use explosives to halt the web are blocked by Yeti attacks, and the military's explosives store is consumed by the fungus. The Doctor discovers a Yeti-attracting beacon at the scene, showing someone at HQ must be in league with the Intelligence. Harold Chorley, the only journalist allowed to report on the crisis, is told of the TARDIS by Victoria and he rushes off to Covent Garden to find it and escape. The base is attacked by Yeti, killing several soldiers and knocking out Anne and Travers. The Yeti leave with Travers' unconscious body.

The Doctor informs Lethbridge-Stewart and Knight about the intelligence and the TARDIS; the Colonel decides to recover the TARDIS from Covent Garden station, hoping that it will allow them to escape. The Colonel fails to lead the remaining troops overground to Covent Garden; despite downing several robots in the ensuing battle, all except Lethbridge-Stewart perish. Staff Sergeant Arnold vanishes into the fungus while delivering a baggage trolley to the Colonel.

The Doctor and Anne plan to build a control box to block the Intelligence's control signal, though the Doctor finds that they are low on components and is escorted above ground by Knight to find more. Knight is killed by a Yeti, though the robots leave the Doctor alone. He discovers a Yeti beacon in Knight's pocket. The Colonel returns to HQ alone where the Doctor finds a model Yeti in his pocket, too. Based on this, the Doctor concludes the traitor is still active in HQ. At that moment, two Yeti break in with Professor Travers, who is possessed by the Great Intelligence.

The Great Intelligence explains that it brought the Doctor to London in order to drain his mind of all his knowledge. He is given 20 minutes to submit, else it will drain the minds of Jamie and Victoria instead. Travers is taken as a hostage by the Yeti along with Victoria, and released from control. The Doctor and Anne work on the control box further and successfully reprogram a control sphere, which they load into a disabled Yeti to make a covert, voice-controlled ally.

A dishevelled and bleeding Staff Sergeant Arnold meets the Colonel and Jamie in the tunnels. They agree to return to HQ to support the Doctor, though they find that he and Anne have left. The fungus bursts through the walls of HQ, swamping Goodge Street shelter. They escape, and meet up with the Doctor and Anne, before the group is ambushed by the Yeti and herded to Piccadilly tube station. Arnold slips away and meets Chorley, who has been wandering the tube network and has become hysterical with fright.

At the ticket hall of Piccadilly station, the group rejoins with Travers and Victoria. Chorley and Arnold appear and Arnold is revealed to be the traitor, having been killed and his corpse reanimated as a vessel for the Intelligence. The Doctor appears to submit to the Intelligence and places himself inside a pyramid-shaped machine that the Intelligence intends to use to drain his mind. Just as the Doctor is apparently about to have his mind drained, Jamie calls out to the servile Yeti to attack Arnold; Jamie, Anne and Professor Travers try to drag the Doctor from the machine against his wishes. After Jamie rips its wiring out, the pyramid explodes and the Yeti and Arnold fall to the floor, lifeless without the influence of the Great Intelligence, which has now been dispersed back into space. Everyone is happy except for the Doctor. He explains that he had sabotaged the conversion headset and would have drained the Intelligence had the device been used – but now the Intelligence is free once more. After saying goodbye, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria slip away and head back to the TARDIS.

Production

EpisodeTitleRun timeOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)  [1] 		Archive  [2]
1"Episode 1"24:533 February 1968 (1968-02-03)7.216mm t/r
2"Episode 2"24:3810 February 1968 (1968-02-10)6.816mm t/r
3"Episode 3" † 24:3417 February 1968 (1968-02-17)7.0Only stills and/or fragments exist
4"Episode 4"24:5024 February 1968 (1968-02-24)8.416mm t/r
5"Episode 5"24:192 March 1968 (1968-03-02)8.016mm t/r
6"Episode 6"24:419 March 1968 (1968-03-09)8.316mm t/r

^† Episode is missing

Patrick Troughton took a week's holiday during the rehearsals and recording of Episode 2. [3] Consequently, the Doctor appears only in the reprise from Episode 1, and the Doctor's first meeting with Lethbridge-Stewart takes place off screen.

The Tube sets were reportedly so accurate that the BBC was accused of illegally filming on London Underground property. [4] According to the director permission was sought from London Transport to film in the Underground but the fees they would have charged to do so were unmanageably expensive. [5] Several props were reused from the previous Yeti serial, including control spheres and model Yeti.

This would be the final Doctor Who serial in which 35 mm film would be used for location filming. Starting with the next story, 16 mm film would be used instead. [6] [7]

Cast notes

David Langton was originally cast as Lethbridge-Stewart, but he pulled out before rehearsals and Nicholas Courtney (originally cast as Captain Knight) was given the part instead. [8] Nicholas Selby was also considered for the role, but was not interested in it. [9] However, it is an extra named Maurice Brooks who is first seen in the role, his booted feet appearing briefly late in Episode Two. [10] Actor Nicholas Courtney previously appeared in a different role, that of Bret Vyon, in The Daleks' Master Plan (1965–66). [11] Actor Richardson Morgan went on to appear in the Fourth Doctor serial The Ark in Space. [12]

Missing episodes

For over forty years only episode 1 of the story and a few clips of the other episodes survived in the BBC Archives, the others being presumed lost. The clips are those that were censored and physically cut from the film by the New Zealand authorities when they purchased the rights to broadcast the story.

In October 2013, the BBC announced that copies of episodes 2, 4, 5 and 6 had been found in Nigeria by Television International Enterprises Archive/Philip Morris, and returned to the BBC Archives. [13] [14] [15] Episode 3 of The Web of Fear was originally among the discovered episodes, but went missing in the months between the discovery of the films and their return to the BBC. Morris later said it was most likely the episode had been sold to a collector by a member of staff. [16]

On 23 November 2020, the BBC released a special trailer confirming that the episode would be animated for a DVD and Blu-ray release in 2021.

The original DVD release of this story features episode 3 presented in tele-snap format, with the surviving off-air soundtrack.

The missing third episode was re-created using animation for a new release of the serial. [17] The special edition was released on 16 August 2021.

Advertising

A week before Episode 1 was shown, BBC1 broadcast a special trailer following Episode 6 of The Enemy of the World , featuring the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) warning viewers about the new, more frightening versions of the Yeti. Only the audio for this trailer survives. It was officially reconstructed by the BBC using animation to tease the animated release of Episode 3. [18]

Commercial releases

In print

Doctor Who and the Web of Fear
Doctor Who and the Web of Fear.jpg
Author Terrance Dicks
Cover artist Chris Achilleos
Series Doctor Who book:
Target novelisations
Release number
72
Publisher Target Books
Publication date
19 August 1976
ISBN 0-426-11084-6

A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in August 1976, entitled Doctor Who and The Web of Fear.

Home media

Audio

The audio soundtrack, along with additional linking narration by Frazer Hines, has been released on MP3 CD. [19]

Video

In 2003, Episode 1 of this story and episodes 1 & 3 of The Faceless Ones were the final episodes of Doctor Who to be released on VHS by BBC Worldwide. Episode 1 and the surviving clips were released on DVD in the United Kingdom in November 2004 in the three-disc Lost in Time set.[ citation needed ]

On 11 October 2013, the newly recovered episodes were released on iTunes along with the original episode 1 and a reconstruction of episode 3 from telephotos and the original soundtrack. This version was also made available on Virgin Media's on demand service, together with numerous other stories, as part of the show's 50th anniversary commemoration.[ citation needed ]

A DVD of the story was released on 24 February 2014 [20] and was the best selling DVD of Classic Doctor Who. [21]

On 23 November 2020 it was announced that The Web of Fear will be released in 2021 on DVD and Blu-ray with the missing Episode 3 now animated. [22] [23] The special edition was released on 16 August 2021. [24]

Notes

  1. ↑ Jack Woolgar also supplied the voice of the Great Intelligence, uncredited.
  2. ↑ At the time the story was made, "Charing Cross" was the name of current Embankment tube station, while the current Charing Cross was two separate stations – the Bakerloo line "Trafalgar Square" and the Northern line "Strand."

Related Research Articles

The Seeds of Death is the fifth serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Brian Hayles and an uncredited Terrance Dicks and directed by Michael Ferguson, it originally aired in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 25 January to 1 March 1969. It sees the return of the Ice Warriors, previously introduced by Hayles in the 1967 serial The Ice Warriors.

Yeti (<i>Doctor Who</i>)

The Yeti are fictional robots from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. They were originally created by Henry Lincoln and Mervyn Haisman, and first appeared in the 1967 serial The Abominable Snowmen, where they encountered the Second Doctor and his companions Jamie and Victoria.

The War Games is the seventh and final serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969.

The Evil of the Daleks is the mostly-missing ninth and final serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967.

"The Five Doctors" is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programme's 20th anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago PBS station WTTW and various other PBS member stations on 23 November 1983, the anniversary date. It was transmitted on BBC1 in the United Kingdom two days later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Waterfield</span> UK TV Doctor Who character created 1967

Victoria Waterfield is a fictional character played by Deborah Watling in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A native of Victorian England, she was a companion of the Second Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1967 to 1968. Only two complete serials to feature her exist complete in the BBC archives. However, DVDs of all her adventures have still seen release, with both official animation and photo reconstructions utilizing the original surviving audio taking the place of the missing episodes.

The Dominators is the first serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in five weekly parts from 10 August to 7 September 1968. The Second Doctor and his travelling companions Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot work with the Dulcians of the planet Dulkis to prevent the alien Dominators from blowing up Dulkis and using its irradiated remains as spaceship fuel.

The Mind Robber is the second serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in five weekly parts from 14 September to 12 October 1968.

The Abominable Snowmen is the mostly missing second serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 30 September to 4 November 1967.

The Power of the Daleks is the completely missing third serial of the fourth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 5 November to 10 December 1966. It is the first full story to feature Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor.

The Moonbase is the half-missing sixth serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 11 February to 4 March 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Doctor</span> Fictional character from Doctor Who

The Second Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. Out of his 119 episodes, 53 are missing.

The Invasion is the partly missing third serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in eight weekly parts from 2 November to 21 December 1968.

The Underwater Menace is the half-missing fifth serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 14 January to 4 February 1967.

The Macra Terror is the completely missing seventh serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 11 March to 1 April 1967.

The Enemy of the World is the fourth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 23 December 1967 to 27 January 1968.

<i>Downtime</i> (<i>Doctor Who</i>) 1994 Doctor Who spinoff film

Downtime is a direct-to-video spin-off of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was produced by the independent production company Reeltime Pictures. It is a sequel to the Second Doctor serials The Abominable Snowmen (1967) and The Web of Fear (1968).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Intelligence</span> Fictional character in the TV series Doctor Who

The Great Intelligence is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Although the Great Intelligence has no physical form, it is capable of communicating, both by itself and through possession, with other characters within the series. The Great Intelligence was originally created by Henry Lincoln and Mervyn Haisman and first appeared in the 1967 serial The Abominable Snowmen where it encountered the Second Doctor and his companions Jamie and Victoria. The Great Intelligence tries to form a physical body so as to conquer the Earth, making use of Yeti robots that resemble the cryptozoological creatures. Initially the Great Intelligence used the Yeti robots to scare off curiosity seekers, only later using them as an army. Both the Intelligence and the Yeti returned in its sequel The Web of Fear.

<i>Doctor Who</i> season 6 Season of British TV sci-fi series (1968–1969)

The sixth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 10 August 1968 with the first story of season 6 The Dominators and ended Patrick Troughton's reign as the Doctor with its final story The War Games. Only 37 out of 44 episodes are held in the BBC archives; 7 remain missing. As a result, 2 serials are incomplete: only episode 2 of the 6-part story The Space Pirates still exists, while The Invasion has had its two missing episodes reconstructed using animation.

<i>Doctor Who</i> season 5 Season of British TV sci-fi series (1967–1968)

The fifth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 2 September 1967 with the first story of season 5 The Tomb of the Cybermen and ended on 1 June 1968 with The Wheel in Space. Only 22 out of 40 episodes are held in the BBC archives; 18 remain missing. As a result, only 2 serials exist entirely. However, The Abominable Snowmen, The Ice Warriors, The Web of Fear, and Fury from the Deep have had their missing episodes reconstructed using animation.

References

  1. ↑ "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  2. ↑ Shaun Lyon; et al. (31 March 2007). "The Web of Fear". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  3. ↑ "BBC One - Doctor Who, Season 5, the Web of Fear - the Fourth Dimension". Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  4. ↑ Howe, David J.; Walker, Stephen James (1998). "The Web of Fear: Analysis". Doctor Who: The Television Companion. London: BBC Worldwide. p. 144. ISBN   0-563-40588-0. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
  5. ↑ "Douglas Camfield – Doctor Who Interview Archive". drwhointerviews.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "BBC Running Schedule : Doctor Who" (PDF). Downloads.bbc.co.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "BBC Running Schedule : Doctor Who" (PDF). Downloads.bbc.co.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  8. ↑ McManus, Michael (26 February 2011). "Nicholas Courtney: Actor known for his long-running role as the Brigadier in Doctor Who". The Independent. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  9. ↑ Howe, David J.; Stammers, Mark (1995). Doctor Who Companions. London: Doctor Who Books an imprint of Virgin Publishing. p. 52. ISBN   1-85227-582-0.
  10. ↑ Anonymous, "The UNIT Story, Part One," Doctor Who Magazine Special , Winter 1991, Marvel Comics, Ltd., p. 9.
  11. ↑ "The Daleks' Master Plan ★★★★★". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  12. ↑ "The Ark in Space ★★★★★".
  13. ↑ Jefferies, Mark (11 October 2013). "Doctor Who 'lost episodes' found with The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear available on iTunes". The Mirror. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  14. ↑ Jefferies, Mark (22 July 2014). "Doctor Who missing episodes: Recovery expert hints more lost episodes set to be returned". Mirror. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "The Enemy of the World & The Web of Fear – Found!!". Doctor Who Magazine. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  16. ↑ "Whatever Happened to Web of Fear 3 ?". Doctor Who News. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  17. ↑ Alexander, Susannah (23 November 2020). "Doctor Who's classic 'Web of Fear' story will be completed with animated missing episode". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  18. ↑ Potts, Lianne (23 November 2020). "VIDEO: Doctor Who - 'The Web of Fear' - Animated Reconstruction (Teaser)". Blogtor Who. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  19. ↑ Doctor Who: the Abominable Snowman / The Web of Fear (BBC MP3 CD Audio): Books: Original Soundtrack. ASIN   0563494182.
  20. ↑ "BBC Confirms 9 Lost Troughton Episodes Recovered!". Doctor Who TV. 11 October 2013. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  21. ↑ "Web of Fear breaks Doctor Who DVD sales record". Doctor Who. BBC. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  22. ↑ "Classic Doctor Who story The Web of Fear is coming to Blu-ray". SEENIT. MayorWatch Publications Limited. 23 November 2020. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  23. ↑ "Part-missing adventure 'The Web of Fear' to be completed with new animation". Doctor Who TV. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  24. ↑ "'Doctor Who: The Web of Fear' cover art and special features revealed". BBC. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

Target novelisation

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.