Doctor Who: The Web of Fear

The Web of Fear is the fifth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast in six weekly parts from 3 February to 9 March 1968.

Following the events at the end of The Enemy of the World, Jamie manages to close the TARDIS’ doors, stabilising its flight. The TARDIS stalls in flight, however, as it is enshrouded in a web-like substance. The web clears, and the ship lands in a deserted Covent Garden tube station. The city outside appears completely abandoned.

Approximately 40 years after The Abominable Snowmen, an elderly Professor Travers accidentally reactivates a control sphere. The sphere inserts itself into an intact robot Yeti from Tibet at a private collection in London and escapes.

In the following days, London is beset by thick fog and a deadly web-like fungus. Professor Travers is brought to the Second World War deep-level shelter under Goodge Street tube station, where his daughter Anne has asked for his help to defeat the menace.

Moving through the underground train tunnels, the Doctor and his companions encounter the military, who are trying to stem the spread of the fungus by demolishing tunnels with explosives. Explosives laid at Charing Cross tube station are neutralised by the robot Yeti by smothering the explosion with the fungus.

The reappearance of the Yeti signifies to the Doctor that the Great Intelligence has returned. While others in the shelters are suspicious of the Doctor and his companions, Professor Travers, recognising them from their encounter in Tibet, convinces Captain Knight that the Doctor will be key to defeating the Yeti.

The group are joined by Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart and Private Evans, the sole survivors of an ammunition detail which was attacked by Yeti. Lethbridge-Stewart assumes command. The web suddenly speeds up its expansion, engulfing the whole of the Circle Line within minutes. Further attempts to use explosives to halt the web are blocked by Yeti attacks, and the military’s explosives store is consumed by the fungus.

The Doctor discovers a Yeti-attracting beacon at the scene, showing someone at HQ must be in league with the Intelligence. Meanwhile, Harold Chorley, the only journalist allowed to report on the crisis, is told of the TARDIS by Victoria and he rushes off to Covent Garden to find it and escape. The base is attacked by Yeti, killing several of the soldiers and knocking out Anne and Professor Travers. The Yeti leave with Professor Travers’ unconscious body.

The Doctor informs Lethbridge-Stewart and Knight about the intelligence and the TARDIS; the Colonel decides to recover the TARDIS from Covent Garden station, hoping that it will allow them to escape. The Colonel fails to lead the remaining troops overground to Covent Garden; despite downing several robots in the ensuing battle, all except Lethbridge-Stewart perish. Staff-Sergeant Arnold vanishes into the fungus while delivering a baggage trolley to the Colonel.

The Doctor and Anne plan to build a control box to block the Intelligence’s control signal, though the Doctor finds that they are low on components and is escorted above ground by Knight to find more. Knight is killed by a Yeti, though the robots leave the Doctor alone. He discovers a Yeti beacon in Knight’s pocket.

Later, the Colonel returns to HQ alone where the Doctor finds a model Yeti in his pocket, too. Based on this, the Doctor concludes the traitor is still active in HQ. At that moment, two Yeti break in with Professor Travers, who is possessed by the Great Intelligence.

The Great Intelligence explains that it brought the Doctor to London in order to drain his mind of all his knowledge. He is given 20 minutes to submit, else it will drain the minds of Jamie and Victoria instead. Travers is taken as a hostage by the Yeti along with Victoria, and released from control. The Doctor and Anne work on the control box further and successfully reprogram a control sphere, which they load into a disabled Yeti to make a covert, voice-controlled ally.

A dishevelled and bleeding Staff-Sergeant Arnold meets the Colonel and Jamie in the tunnels. All three agree to return to HQ to support the Doctor, though they find that he and Anne have left. At that moment, the fungus bursts through the walls of HQ, swamping Goodge Street shelter.

They escape, and meet up with the Doctor and Anne, before the group is ambushed by the Yeti and herded to Piccadilly tube station. Arnold slips away and meets Chorley, who has been wandering the tube network and has become hysterical with fright.

At the ticket hall of Piccadilly station, the group rejoins with Travers and Victoria. Chorley and Arnold appear and Arnold is revealed to be the traitor, having been killed and his corpse reanimated as a vessel for the Intelligence. The Doctor appears to submit to the Intelligence and places himself inside a pyramid-shaped machine that the Intelligence intends to use to drain his mind.

Just as the Doctor is apparently about to have his mind drained, Jamie calls out to the servile Yeti to attack Arnold; Jamie, Anne and Professor Travers try to drag the Doctor from the machine against his wishes. After Jamie rips its wiring out, the pyramid explodes and the Yeti and Arnold fall to the floor, lifeless without the influence of the Great Intelligence, which has now been dispersed back into space. Everyone is happy except for the Doctor.

He explains that he had sabotaged the conversion headset and would have drained the Intelligence had the device been used – but now the Intelligence is free once more. After saying goodbye, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria slip away and head back to the TARDIS.

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To view the list of other Doctor Who serials, please click this link

Doctor Who Episode Guides for Sale on Amazon

Step aboard the TARDIS and journey across the universe with every incarnation of The Doctor in this series of unofficial Doctor Who episode companions.

This collection of twelve books explores every televised adventure of the Time Lord’s lives.

Each volume in the series delves into a different Doctor’s era, offering detailed episode guides, behind-the-scenes insights, character profiles, and story synopses.

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