Planet of Evil Part Two

The one where the planet refuses to let go of its minerals...

I love it when a minor player gets the chance to be noticed, and I particularly love it when that chance takes the form of a tremendously well-milked death scene. O'Hara is killed early in this episode by the anti-matter monster, and actor Haydn Wood takes the opportunity full-throttle and executes a delightfully melodramatic death, very different and much more energetic than those of his predecessors. And as with the death of Baldwin in part 1, evidence of the mechanics behind the scene are evident, when we see that the jungle floor is richly carpeted for him to fall on!

And still that jungle remains the star of this particular show. It can't be over-emphasised just how beautiful Roger Murray-Leach's set is, how rich, detailed and textured it all is. Carpeting aside, it's a faultless creation, and coupled with Brian Clemett's intelligent lighting, it makes for a totally convincing environment (in fact, Clemett's lighting is among some of the very best I've seen in the classic series). And Peter Howell's special sound when the creature passes by - a kind of glassy, tinkling, chattering effect - only adds to the creep factor.

A lot of this episode concerns itself with characters trying to escape, whether it's the Doctor and Sarah from the Morestrans, or the Morestrans from the planet. The Morestrans launch the wonderful oculoid tracker device, which sweeps across the tops of the trees in the jungle in search of its quarry, and the way director David Maloney shoots the tracker's point-of-view is really clever. It skims along the top of Murray-Leach's jungle set to give great height reminiscent of a drone, and the blood red POV shot is the icing on the cake.

Frederick Jaeger's Professor Sorenson enters the story a little more in this episode, helping to compound the developing theme of science vs military. Sorenson is over the moon that he has discovered a potential source of energy for Morestra, but Salamar and his men are appalled at the professor's lack of concern for the seven men who have died (so far) to make that discovery. All Sorenson can think about is the bigger picture, the greater good. But the fact is that O'Hara, Ponti, Baldwin, Lumb etc were friends and comrades of Salamar and his men, and all they see is the loss of life.

Sorenson claims he has discovered the fact that the rocks of Zeta Minor provide an amazing new source of energy that Morestra can harness as its own sun continues to die. He says that just 6lb of refined ore equates to the same amount of heat generated by Morestra's sun over 300 years! Now, I'm no scientist, but that is an incredible amount of heat for just a few pounds of refined ore, so no wonder Sorenson is so pleased with himself. Quite how he intends to "refuel" Morestra's dying sun baffles me though...

"I've made the greatest discovery in scientific history," Sorenson tells De Haan. Watch how Graham Weston waits a beat, nods and then just carries on with the practicalities of loading the ore aboard the ship. It's a wonderful moment which tells us that De Haan neither understands or cares about Sorenson's "bigger picture" or the gravity of his discovery. A great little moment between Jaeger and Weston there.

The trouble is, Zeta Minor isn't happy about letting the Morestrans take the minerals, and the huge red monster which keeps killing people is made up entirely of anti-matter ("nothingness"), and emerges from the inky black abyss which is the gateway between this universe, and the anti-matter universe beyond. We're dealing with big ideas here, big concepts and oodles of science, but it's hard not to notice that writer Louis Marks has pinched the entire premise from the classic 1956 sci-fi film Forbidden Planet, written by Allen Adler and Irving Block. Mind you, Doctor Who is a regular offender when it comes to adapting other people's great ideas into great ideas of its own, and it's not opposed to pinching the same great ideas more than once. Take, for example, the 2007 story 42, written by Chris Chibnall, which is a simple rehash of Planet of Evil and Forbidden Planet!

By the end of the episode the Doctor has agreed to act as a medium between the planet and the Morestrans to convince the sentience that they wish to leave in peace, and without the minerals. But as the anti-matter creature rises out of the pit, the scarfless Doctor (exactly why does the Doctor take his scarf off in the ship?) tumbles into the abyss, with a cheeky freeze frame locking him in time until the next episode. I'm pretty sure he'll be fine though.

First broadcast: October 4th, 1975

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: The way David Maloney shoots the oculoid tracker is really well done.
The Bad: In part 1 there was a felt tip pen line marking where Tony McEwan should "die", and in this episode there's a comfy bit of red carpet marking where Haydn Wood should "expire"!
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

"Would you like a jelly baby?" tally: 05

NEXT TIME: Part Three...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Part One; Part Three; Part Four

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: http://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.com/2014/06/planet-of-evil.html

Planet of Evil is available on BBC DVD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Planet-Evil-DVD/dp/B000VA3IZ8