Planet of the Spiders (TV story)

Synopsis
The blue crystal that the Doctor took from Metebelis III in The Green Death is desperately sought by the Eight Legs, a race of mutated spiders, as the final element in their plan for universal domination. With the help of a being from his past, the Doctor must make the ultimate sacrifice...

Part One
Mike Yates, discharged from UNIT and recuperating at a Tibetan meditation center in rural England, is concerned about a small group who meet secretly in the basement. Meanwhile, The Doctor is researching psychic energy and enlists the assistance of a clairvoyant, Professor Clegg. His experiments backfire when Clegg's fixation on the blue crystal from Metebelis III (which Jo Grant had recently returned to the Doctor) leads to his seeing giant spiders, and the psychic energy released kills him. Mike enlists the assistance of Sarah Jane. Sneaking into the basement they see the group, led by Lupton, summon a similar giant spider into existence.

Part Two
The giant spider melds with Lupton, and together they infiltrate UNIT and steal the blue crystal, leading to a lengthy chase involving the Whomobile, a small helicopter, a hovercraft, and a speedboat. The Doctor finally catches up to Lupton, but when he jumps on board, Lupton vanishes.

Part Three
Lupton re-appears at the meditation center, secretly observed by the simple-minded handyman Tommy, who later steals the crystal. The Doctor and Sarah Jane investigate the meditation center. Exploring the basement Sarah steps on Lupton's mandala and is transported to Metebelis III, where a small group of humans are held in bondage by the giant spiders. The humans are descendants of survivors of a crashed spaceship, and the spiders onboard were mutated by radiation from the blue crystals and became the Eight Legs. The Doctor follows in the TARDIS to rescue Sarah Jane, but is incapacitated by the Eight Legs' human guards.

Part Four
On Metebelis III, the Doctor lingers in a coma. Tommy's brain is healed when he looks deep into the crystal. Lupton becomes embroiled in a plot led by the Spider Queen against their matriarch, The Great One. The Doctor recovers, but is captured again by the spiders while attempting to rescue Sarah Jane.

Part Five
The Doctor encounters the radiation-filled cave of the Great One, who easily manipulates him through psychic energy. The Doctor is too overcome by fear to face her, and escapes with Sarah Jane back to Earth. They meet the leader of the meditation center, the Abbot K'anpo Rimpoche, who the Doctor recognizes as his former mentor: the Time Lord hermit he described in The Time Monster. Meanwhile, Lupton's followers, possessed by the Eight Legs, attack our heroes to retrieve the crystal, which Tommy has given to K'anpo.

Part Six
The attack is repulsed with the help of Tommy, but K'anpo is injured and forced to regenerate by merging with his assistant, Cho-Je, who was a projection of K'anpo's conscience. The Doctor realizes his greed for knowledge set all these events into motion, and that he must face his fear and probable death by returning the crystal to the cave of the Great One. The Great One, an enormous spider, desires the blue crystal to complete a crystalline web that will amplify her psychic power to infinity. However, once the crystal is in place, the web overloads and destroys both her and the Eight Legs. The Doctor receives a lethal dose of radiation from the cave, and barely manages to escape in the TARDIS. He eventually arrives at UNIT and collapses on the floor. With a little "push" from K'anpo, the Doctor regenerates before the Brigadier and Sarah Jane's eyes...

Cast

 * Third Doctor - Jon Pertwee
 * Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker
 * Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
 * Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
 * Mike Yates - Richard Franklin
 * Sergeant Benton - John Levene
 * Professor Clegg - Cyril Shaps
 * Lupton - John Dearth
 * Barnes - Christopher Burgess
 * Moss - Terence Lodge
 * Land - Carl Forgione
 * Keaver - Andrew Staines
 * Cho-je - Kevin Lindsay
 * Tommy - John Kane
 * Policeman - Chubby Oates
 * Soldier - Pat Gorman
 * Man with Boat - Terry Walsh
 * Hopkins - Michael Pinder
 * Tramp - Stuart Fell
 * Spider Voices - Ysanne Churchman, Kismet Delgado, Maureen Morris
 * Arak - Gareth Hunt
 * Sabor - Geoffrey Morris
 * Neska - Jenny Laird
 * Rega - Joanna Munro
 * Tuar - Ralph Arliss
 * Guard Captains - Walter Randall, Max Faulkner
 * K'anpo Rimpoche - George Cormack

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Graeme Harper
 * Costumes - L Rowland Warne
 * Designer - Rochelle Selwyn
 * Film Cameraman - Fred Hamilton
 * Film Editor - Bob Rymer
 * Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
 * Make-Up - Deanne Turner
 * Producer - Barry Letts
 * Production Assistant - Marion McDougall
 * Production Unit Manager - George Gallacio
 * Script Editor - Terrance Dicks
 * Special Sounds - Dick Mills
 * Studio Lighting - Ralph Walton
 * Studio Sound - John Holmes
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - Bernard Wilkie

Story Notes

 * This is the first time the term Regeneration is mentioned on screen.
 * This story features a large chase scene featuring: Bessie, the Doctor's car (known as the Whomobile), a police car, a gyrocopter, a hovercraft and a boat.
 * Tom Baker is uncredited in the conclusion of Planet of the Spiders, when Jon Pertwee transforms into Tom Baker.

Myths
to be added

Filming Locations
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Continuity

 * Jo Grant send the Doctor a package containing a blue crystal (The Green Death), which makes Planet of the Spiders a sequel of sorts to The Green Death.


 * Mike Yates refers to his last appearance in Invasion of the Dinosaurs.


 * EDA: Interference: Book Two presents an alternate regeneration sequence.

DVD and Video Releases
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Target Novelisations
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