Doctor Who Rewind - The Web Of Fear

We continue the Rewind with another story that was recently found alongside the Enemy Of The World in Nigeria, and thanks to Virgin Media (the BBC DVD comes out in Feb) me and the lad settle down for this six parter.

We start with Professor Travers (last seen in the Abominable Snowmen, in Tibet) who is at the home of a private collector Julius Silverstein when his daughter Anne arrives to collect him, he tries to persuade Silverstein to return the Yeti robot. Professor Travers claims to have reactivated a control sphere, and now it has gone missing. Silverstein implores Anne to take her father home. Once they have left, the control sphere smashes its way into Silverstein's home and activates the Yeti, which kills Silverstein.

The nail biting conclusion to Enemy Of The Wold has meant that the TARDIS is flying uncontrollably with its doors wide open. Everyone is in danger of being sucked out but good old Jamie manages to make it to the door lever control and order is restored. Although, not for long.

The TARDIS is flying along happily until it gets caught in what can only be some kind of cosmic cobweb, rendering it unable to move. Something, or someone is trying to sabotage the TARDIS.

The Doctor soon launches into action and cobbles together some bit of tech to enable the time machine to land some distance away from its intended destination, in, of all places, Covent Garden Tube Station.

All is not well Underground however, as they soon discover the place is deserted and that the cobwebs are the culprit.

Wondering around the dark and scary tunnels they encounter a group of army soldiers who are laying some kind of power cable. Jamie and Victoria are captured by the soldiers but the Doctor escapes.

At Goodge Station HQ Jamie and Victoria discover that the Yeti have taken over The tube system and the army have set up a trap with explosives.

The Doctor spots a couple of Yeti approaching and hides while they spray the explosives with some kind of gun which covers the boxes with webs. After they leave the Doctor examines the boxes of dynamite, as he does they explode, fortunately, the cobwebs contain the blast and he survives.

Jamie and Victoria meanwhile are reunited with Travers, who has been brought down to the Underground by Anne, to help control the furry pests.
Jamie goes off with Staff sergeant Arnold to try and find the Doctor.

The yeti are spreading poisonous fungus through out the Underground and hemming in HQ. Despite attempts at using guns and explosives to stop them, they carry on regardless.

Something is controlling them? And that something is The Great Intelligence, yes the old G.I, that swirling invisible entity that can take possession over someone else's body and use it to its own ends. The fiendish so and so.

But, who is the G.I? It could be anyone, including the Doctor, or perhaps Prof Travers, or Anne? It could even be the Private Evans , a Welsh goon who Jamie, Arnold and Captain Knight encounter roaming around the abandoned tunnels. It could even be tabloid newspaper journalist Harold Chorley, who is the only pressman aloud to cover the crisis. And, it might even turn out to be Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, who is sent in to take command of the situation. Hold on, Leftbridge-Stewart? Not Brigadier Leftbridge-Stewart of UNIT I hear you cry? Yes the very same, but, he hasn't been promoted yet and UNIT hasn't been set up.

So then, lured here by the G.I, for a bit of a rematch, the Doctor is faced with a bit of a dilemma . Very cute and fluffy, but extremely deadly yeti are wondering around the circle,Piccadilly, and Northern lines creating havoc with the timetable. They are spreading web like fungus that threatens to engulf everything. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the mind that controls the yeti, via the silver spheres inside their chests, is plotting a deadly trap, which ultimately involves transferring itself into the body of the Doctor.

Of course the Doctor does what he does best. He makes it up as he goes along. He uses the very thing which is threatening him, and turns it against it's master, well, with the help of some jiggery-pokery.

The conclusion to the story is riveting and exciting as the host of the G.I is revealed and carries our his master plan. I did think, though that the story lapsed a bit during the middle, I mean, how exciting can you make walking though the same bit of Underground system. I think a four parter would have been more appropriate.

That said a few things that have to be said. First of all Patrick Troughton is missing in action after episode one and doesn't turn up until he has met Leftbridge-Stewart (off screen) in episode three. Nice holiday Pat?

You'd be forgiven for thinking that the this story was filmed on location in the Tube, but you'd be wrong. The sets are phenomenally detailed and so life like that even the London authorities thought the BBC has somehow sneaked down there to film without permission.

The Yeti design has evolved since their first outing. Here they have a more pronounced beak and glowing eyes.

Overall then, not as enjoyable for me as Enemy Of The World but nowhere near as bad as say, The Underwater Menace or The Macra Terror.

Next time on Doctor Who Rewind, it back to reconstructions as I tackle sentient seaweed.