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| The Yeti invade the London Underground! |
THE PLOT:
Professor Travers (Jack Watling) fears that he's brought on the end of the world.
It's been 40 years since his expedition to Tibet, and he has spent much of that time studying the control sphere he brought back with him. Now he has reactivated the sphere - only for it to reanimate a Yeti in a private collection in London! The city is evacuated as a web-like fungus spreads through the London Underground. Travers and his scientist daughter, Anne (Tina Packer), consult with the military to try to defeat the Yeti and their fungus, but the situation looks increasingly grim.
The Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria materialize in the Underground. They are brought to the military command, in a World War II shelter, even as it is taken over by a new CO, Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney). As the Doctor studies the fungus and works with the control sphere, Lethbridge-Stewart plans a risky retrieval of the TARDIS, which has been trapped behind the web.
But as their every move is anticipated and countered, they realize there is only one explanation: One among their number must be working with the Great Intelligence!
CHARACTERS:
The Doctor: Remains calm, but his accustomed joviality is largely absent. He knows right away how serious this situation is, and he focuses all his efforts on solving it. He establishes a particularly strong rapport with Anne Travers, who in some respects acts more as his companion in this story than Jamie and Victoria do, assisting him with work on the control sphere even as time runs out.
Jamie: His protectiveness of Victoria and the Doctor is on full display. He spends much of the story's first half searching for the Doctor, after he and Victoria get separated from him early on. When he meets up with the cowardly Evans (Derek Pollitt), Jamie firmly takes charge as they evade the spreading foam. He may not understand the modern world (a well-scripted bit has him potentially electrocuting himself on the Underground rails, simply because he isn't aware of the danger), but he recalls the events in Tibet and is prepared to smash the Intelligence's control pyramid on sight.
Victoria: When Jamie is in the tunnels, Victoria's concern for Jamie is every bit as strong as his usually is for her. That worry leads her to unwisely let the existence of the TARDIS slip to annoying journalist Chorley (Jon Rollason) - who is among the Doctor's prime suspects for being the Intelligence's accomplice. Even so, she remains more resourceful than her reputation. When she is (inevitably) captured late in the story, she drops her handkerchief so that the others will be able to follow her trail.
Professor Travers/Anne: Jack Watling returns as Professor Travers, now an old man. Watling is amusing as the elderly Travers, who is snappish and brusque with everybody except his daughter, though the character gets less of interest to do here than in his first appearance. Anne is a welcome addition. She is genuinely useful while assisting the Doctor, and she shares her father's impatience with those she deems fools. She memorably shuts down a soldier's leering comment about a pretty young woman in her profession: "When I was a little girl, I thought I'd like to be a scientist. So I became a scientist.". She is even more acerbic with Chorley, whom she dubs a member of "the gutter press... a sensationalizer." Tina Packer is terrific in the role, registering strongly even when she's reduced to a more or less generic assistant in the later episodes.
Col. Lethbridge-Stewart: Is introduced in (the still-missing) Episode Three, and is initially framed as a figure of suspicion. As he himself observes when taking command from the beleaguered Captain Knight (Ralph Watson), the other soldiers actually know more about the Doctor at this point than they do about him. Nevertheless, he instantly sets to work organizing his new command, arranging for briefings to get both himself and the Doctor up to speed while engaging in some judicious flattery to keep Chorley out of the way. His unflappability is put to the test in the latter half of the story, as he leads a direct engagement with the Yeti. Courtney plays the aftermath particularly well, as a visibly shaken Lethbridge-Stewart repeats, "Can't fight them" multiple times even as he tries to regain his former poise.
THOUGHTS:
Recovered (save for Episode Three) alongside The Enemy of the World in 2013, The Web of Fear has long been hailed as one of the best Troughton stories. Certainly, it ticks a lot of boxes: The return of the Yeti, upgraded to a less cuddly design; production values that are well above the series' standard, so convincingly recreating the London Underground that the BBC had to fend off accusations that they had shot there illegally; and the introduction of fan favorite Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.
For all of that, I have to confess that I don't enjoy it as much as the Yetis' introductory story. The pace lags in the middle episodes. For all that many fans are upset that the Doctor's first meeting with Lethbridge-Stewart remains missing... If I had to pick an episode to be gone, I would actually select that one, as you could just about summarize it in a single sentence: "Col. Lethbridge-Stewart arrives." For that matter, the story could be tightened by simply eliminating the Capt. Knight character and putting Lethbridge-Stewart in charge from the start; it wouldn't make any particular difference story-wise.
Still, divorcing this story from its reputation and simply looking at it as another serial, it is definitely a good one. Douglas Camfield directs with his usual precision, and the recreation of the London Underground is strikingly well done, particularly in the first two episodes. Performances are good across the board, with most of the characters having distinct personalities. Much of the dialogue is sharp, particularly the scenes involving either Anne or Evans. Nicholas Courtney's Lethbridge-Stewart makes an immediate impression, and Episode Four gets a boost from a genuinely well-shot and sharply-edited set piece that sees his soldiers ambushed by the Yeti.
Finally, I quite like the ending, in which the Doctor's hope to permanently defeat the Great Intelligence is thwarted by... His own allies, who aren't in on the plan and so act according to what they know. Nor can they be blamed - If they stand around and do nothing, so far as they know, the Great Intelligence will take over the world.
Ultimately, The Web of Fear is extremely well-made with a good guest cast, and the introduction of Lethbridge-Stewart makes it a critical piece of the series' history. It will never rank among my favorites... But I'd still give it high marks overall.
Overall Rating: 8/10.
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