1. The Doctor and Vicki converse with the Animus. They are trying to escape from its clutches and go off and find Ian and Barbara.
2. Barbara encounters the Menoptra, with whom she allies herself with and together they, with help from the Doctor and Vicki, defeat the Animus
3. Ian, along with a sole Menoptra, encounter the primitive Optera and attempt to reach the surface.
My major point is that Ian's plotline is almost completely standalone, whereas the other two begin to merge towards the end. My major two thoughts on this are as follows. Firstly, it comes across as bad plotting. Ian turns up for the concluding battle with the Animus, however he brings nothing to the table. His storyline, in terms of the grand overarching plot, means nothing and instead acts as a side step, whilst we concentrate on the real plot. But, that's not to say that it shouldn't have been there. Ian's plotline brings depth and character to the planet. We learn about the culture of the Optera, and through extension the Menoptra. It's a brilliant idea that there are two races, both sharing a common ancestor, but one race are gods to the others, who are just skulking away in the dark, unaware of their potential. To reiterate, this plot is actually quite good. The problem is the decision to shoehorn it, or to be more specific, Ian, into the conclusion. Because Ian is worthless when it comes to the conclusion of this story, and so by extension, the gut reaction is to say that his entire story strand is worthless. But it is not. It serves as world building for this planet, and allows us to act as explorers, looking at other cultures, other worlds, and learning about these places with a sense of wonder, discovering alien worlds and creatures no matter how poorly they are created. Because if there is one thing that The Web Planet has brought us, it is the discovery of an entire planet, hidden away within our televison screens.
No comments:
Post a Comment