Planet of the Spiders
Story: Planet of the Spiders – Season 11, Story 74
Year: 1974
Written by: Robert Sloman
Directed by: Barry Letts
Synopsis: Sarah investigates strange goings on at a trendy Meditation Centre, and the Doctor's misdeeds come back to haunt him...
Sarah Moments:
• Mike Yates takes Sarah to the Meditation Centre
• Sarah and Mike sneak back into the meditation centre and witness the materialisation of a giant talking spider!
• Sarah goes to tell the Doctor what she and Mike saw, but she has trouble getting him to pay attention
• She helps chase Lupton when he steals the crystal, and gets to fly in the Whomobile!
• Tommy wants to give Sarah a present, but she’s in a hurry to follow Lupton and see what he’s up to
• She steps on a mandala and is transported to Metebilis Three!
• Sarah tends to the wounded Doctor
• Sarah is taken to meet the Queen Spider and strikes a bargain with her – she can borrow Sarah’s body to go to Earth if she’ll make things better for the humans on the planet. Oh, Sarah. Not a good idea…
• The Queen Spider, using Sarah’s body, tries to steal the crystal
• Sarah looks after poor, heroically wounded Mike
• Sarah and the Brigadier witness the Doctor’s death and regeneration
Capture, Rescue and Mortal Peril:
• Sarah and Mike nearly crash their car when an imaginary tractor appears in the road
• Sarah’s taken for a spy and captured by the people of Metebilis Three
• Tuar tries to throw her off a cliff, but Arak stops him
• Sarah gives herself up to the spiders to that Arak won’t get caught
• The Doctor comes to rescue Sarah, and gets shot! Everyone says he’s dead, but Sarah doesn’t believe it, and, gosh, it turns out she’s right!
• Sarah is captured trying to fetch the machine to save the Doctor’s life, and wrapped up ready to be eaten by spiders!
• The Doctor comes to rescue Sarah, but gets captured too!
• Under the influence of the Queen, Sarah helps the Doctor to escape
• With a little help from the Doctor, the Abbot and the crystal, Sarah throws off the Queen’s influence
Quotes:
• ‘A shameless display of feminine wiles!’ – Mike, on Sarah distracting Tommy with a gift
• ‘Let the Doc and the Brig know what’s going on.’ ‘OK… Hey, Mike!’ ‘What?’ ‘I don’t know what is going on!’ - Mike and Sarah
• ‘You know, this is barmy! Here am I, calmly discussing fabulous planets, blue moons, giant spiders, magic crystals – as if I was talking about, um, pussy cats, fish and chips and the Liverpool docks!’ ‘Well, they’re just as real.’ ‘Oh, I know – that’s what gets me!’ - Sarah and the Doctor
• ‘What kind of machine can save a man’s life?’ ‘I don’t know. But if he needs it I’m going to get it for him.’ – Neska and a determined Sarah
• ‘Even your young muscles aren’t strong enough – try to get some rest!’ ‘Rest? How can you be so calm?’ ‘One is only frightened when there’s hope of rescue – we have no hope left. We are dead, my child.’ ‘No! No, I won’t have it! There is hope, there must be! I might be able to escape, and the Doctor may come to our rescue!’ - Sabor and Sarah, in captivity
• ‘Judging by the habits of our captors’ Earth cousins, I would say we’re probably in the larder.’ ‘Right first time.’ ‘I think they’ll find I’m rather a tough old bird.’ ‘An old boiler, in fact.’ ‘Yes… yes, make a good item on the next agenda of the Spider Council Meeting… whether to stew a Time Lord, or roast him in a slow oven.’ ‘That’ll give them something to chew over…’ ‘Yes, something they could really get their teeth into, what?’ - The Doctor and Sarah are about to be eaten by spiders, but there's still time for a little joke
• ‘Sarah, try and stall them as long as you can!’ ‘You bet, Doctor! I’ll do my best to give them all indigestion!’ - The Doctor and Sarah as she's dragged away
• ‘Please, don’t die!’ ‘A tear, Sarah Jane? No, don’t cry. While there’s life, there’s…’ - Sarah and the Doctor
• ‘Won’t you introduce me to your friend, Miss Smith?’ ‘Oh, um, yes, this is the Abbot of… no, it’s Cho-je – I mean, it looks like Cho-je but it is really K'anpo Rinposhe… I think…’ - The Brigadier and a confused Sarah
Wardrobe Appreciation
It's a bumper story for outfits, as Sarah seems to get changed at the drop of a hat in the first few episodes...
First up is this blue one:
She has pretty accessories!
But we've barely had time to register that outfit when the next one comes on the scene, this red and blue get-up...
Isn't the hat nice? And the pocket is sweet...
She has yet another outfit to go back to the Meditation Centre - is all this supposed to be happening on the same day?
And a shoe shot, hurrah!
And that's the lot, presumably because she didn't happen across any boutiques on Metebilis Three...
Ooh, apart from at the very end, she goes back to the first outfit, but this time she has a flower brooch and a gorgeous chunky necklace instead of that nice scarf:
The Panel Said...
Style Watch:
Sarah_JaneSmith: I like the stripey stuff and the outfit with the red had, but i'm not wild about the blue suit. 7/10
Llin: That red hat is the cutest! 7/10
paranoidangel: I'm not convinced about the blue suit, but the blue jacket with red and the stripey thing are certainly memorable. 7/10
Sarah Watch:
Sarah_JaneSmith: She's great in this, she's sweet with tommy and she goes off to metebelis three and she gets a ride in the whomobile. 8/10
Llin: She makes jokes in the face of death, and she won't give up on the Doctor. 8/10
paranoidangel: It's pretty much her that makes this plot happen. 8/10
Story Watch:
Sarah_JaneSmith: oh the padding, so much padding! i do tire of these 6 parters sometimes, but it's a nice finale to Jon Pertwee. 8/10
Llin: I adore it! If only it weren't so spidery! 8/10
paranoidangel: I was too busy not looking at the spiders to notice much about the plot. I don't remember it being anything special. 7/10
Bonus Pictures
The Doctor and Sarah
The Brig and Benton, being awesome
"Last one into the TARDIS is a rotten egg!"
Sarah sniffs the Doctor's coat, all missing him...
A lovely smile
Goodbye, Third Doctor. You were awesome. HAI!
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