10 Classic Doctor Who Moments That Really Haven’t Aged Well
9. The Menoptera Vs The Zarbi The Web Planet (1965)
The Story The Tardis lands on the planet Vortis in the midst of a war between insectoid aliens the Menoptera and the Zarbi. The Moment The fight scenes involving the Menoptera and the Zarbi. Why It Hasnt Aged Well Whatever you may think of The Web Planet either technically or in terms of story, its sheer ambition has to be applauded. To this day it stands out as the only story to feature no humanoid characters apart from the Doctor and his companions. Which was a massive achievement at that time. Its also something that dates the action scenes a lot. The Zarbi costumes were bulky and became increasingly fragile as the six week studio shoot wore on. These factors significantly restricted the movement of the actors playing the Zarbi and meant that great care had to be taken during fight scenes so that the costumes wouldnt be damaged. As a result of this fragility, the fight scenes featuring the Zarbi (particularly those at the end of Episode Four when their battle with the Menoptera begins in earnest) ended up looking very stilted and have dated considerably because of it. The hand-to-hand combat is very slow and a lot of the fighting ends up as the Zarbi standing around while smaller subordinate insects shoot at the Menoptera who return fire with ray guns of their own. This was definitely a case of ambition outstripping ability and it really shows in the action scenes. Though no matter how poorly the fight scenes have aged, the flight effects for the Menoptera still look great nearly fifty years later.
JG Moore is a writer and filmmaker from the south of England. He also works as an editor and VFX artist, and has a BA in Media Production from the University Of Winchester.
