Day 376: Planet of the Spiders Part 1

And so the end begins. Pertwee had decided that it was time to leave the series, making Planet of the Spiders his last story. As such, it begins with what feels like a reunion. The Doctor is back working for UNIT, the Brigadier and he are exploring strange goings on with a clairvoyant, while Mike and Sarah Jane are investigating a Buddhist monastery which is being remarkably suspicious. Benton's there as well fulfilling the role he always has of being in scenes and being likeable. There's even a letter from Jo Grant, and references to Metebelis 3. All in all, it feels like everyone coming together for the last hurrah, going through the motions one last time. There are some indications of the theme behind this story, and we shall delve into that later, but for now it feels comfortable and safe. This is, of course, one of the things that the Pertwee era brought to Doctor Who. Instead of being uneasy about each new story or location, we grew to know that we were always safe with these characters, and that we can just oet everything fold out in front of us. But then again, sometimes it's nice to be able to get something truly unexpected and out of this world. And who knows what the future will bring...