10 Most Cringeworthy Doctor Who Moments From The 60s

8. Herding The Zarbi - The Web Planet (1965)

001 Zarbi While The Web Planet hasn't aged all that well - as any story based mainly on special effects and costuming wouldn't - it still has a lot going for it. Despite their bizarre dance movements and lilted speech, the Menoptera are actually quite lovely; and the Zarbi, while they may be men in ant costumes, are men in surprisingly decent ant costumes. It's one of the few times that the early series attempted to show a truly alien environment, and it should get kudos for that alone. Sitting through all six episodes of the story may be too much for some, mind you, but it's not bad, for the most part. Until, of course, we get to episode six, and we get Barbara and the Menoptera trying to herd one of the Zarbi. In the context of the story, this makes a bit more sense: we're told the Zarbi are herd animals, so it makes sense the Menoptera would treat them as cattle. But watching them actually do it, then finishing up by having to listen to the high-pitched squeal of the female Menoptera as she cries "Zar-BEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" is just a bit too much. Compared to that, we can almost forgive the Zarbi who runs into the camera at one point, or this story's thrilling ink pen subplot. Almost.
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Tony Whitt has previously written TV, DVD, and comic reviews for CINESCAPE, NOW PLAYING, and iF MAGAZINE. His weekly COMICSCAPE columns from the early 2000s can still be found archived on Mania.com. He has also written a book of gay-themed short stories titled CRESCENT CITY CONNECTIONS, available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle format. Whitt currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.