10 Biggest WTF Doctor Who Moments

5. Not-So Creepy Crawlies (The Web Planet)

Doctor Who Pond Life Ood on the Loo
BBC Studios

Most early sci-fi looks really hokey by modern standards, and Doctor Who is no exception. Case in point - The Web Planet.

This First Doctor serial from 1965 transports the Doctor and his buddies to a distant land, where they end up getting caught between various different creepy-crawly species.

The serial was written by Bill Strutton, who was inspired by a childhood memory where he was bitten by a bull ant. Although, in Strutton's mind, those ants were probably not a bunch of extras in rather unconvincing suits.

Indeed, the costuming for the ant-like Zarbi and the butterfly-like Menoptera has aged like a bowl of fish custard left out in the sun. It was a different time with a much lower budget of course, but it's undeniably jarring to go back and watch this footage today.

There's even a moment where one of the Zarbi actors - who couldn't see properly out of the suit - bumps into the camera. That's one way to get yourself noticed!

 
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Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.