It’s been hundreds of years and several regenerations since the Doctor last visited the insect world of Vortis. Much has changed during his absence, but not necessarily for the better.
This now green and pleasant land isn’t the paradise it first appears. Something malevolent is living out in The Desolation. And the Doctor and Nyssa must solve the mystery before the City of Light is overrun.
RETURN TO THE WEB PLANET
“The Web Planet” — it’s boring, it’s poorly-made, and it’s always one of the lowest-rated Doctor Who stories among fans. Hardly a good candidate for a sequel, then, but nonetheless there’s something fascinating about the TV story’s ambition: to realize an alien world with no humanoid characters whatsoever is captivating, and so we’ve been back there both in the novels — “Twilight of the Gods” — and now in the audios. And with Daniel O’Mahony, one of the most controversial novel writers, behind the script, this was guaranteed to be interesting, subscriber freebie or not.
The biggest surprise about “Return to the Web Planet” is how little it calls back to the original television story. While the Menoptera and the Zarbi reappear, that’s it — there’s no Isoptope and no Animus, nor anything else like that. Instead, we’re given a surprisingly traditional Doctor Who story, which basically involves the Doctor, Nyssa, Acheron (Sam Kelly), and Hedyla (Julie Buckfield) running back and forth between three settings and uncovering more pieces of the plot. The Doctor makes a deductive mistake but fortunately is in time to fix the problem and save the day. It’s also surprising just how easygoing this story is: despite the encroaching Zarbi, there are few scenes of true danger, and the Doctor and Nyssa seem to be very relaxed in the company of their Menopteran hosts.
And the idea at the heart of the play is a fine one: humans realize that colonization isn’t a healthy practice after all, and so they decide to send out seed ships, incorporating the human genome into an ecosystem and allowing humanity to evolve organically with life on other planets. It’s elegant and fascinating, and it’s the sort of throwaway idea that successful science fiction uses to stimulate the mind. I hadn’t heard any scripts by O’Mahony before, and while I was therefore surprised to find that his prose style apparently didn’t translate to audio, I wasn’t surprised at all at the subtle, thought-provoking ideas in an otherwise simple script.
As with the other subscriber bonus releases, “Return to the Web Planet” features a small yet effective cast. Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton have a couple of awkward yelling scenes at the beginning, but they continue to show their usual easy chemistry, especially as the tone of the play grows more relaxed. Kelly and Buckfield provide a good performance of their own, demonstrating a believable father-daughter relationship. Matthew Noble and Claire Wyatt don’t do much as Yanesh and the Speaker, but Noble’s strain under the influence of the Zarbi hive mind is quite effective.
“Return to the Web Planet” also features an excellent production from Steve Foxon, who creates quite an effective soundscape while simultaneously recollecting the TV story. The Zarbi effects are as good as ever! The music, too, fits the tone of the story. Barnaby Edwards’ direction is as solid as ever. The only extras on the CD are selections of Foxon’s music — and quite a bit of it, with almost twenty full minutes of music after the play is over. Lastly, the cover illustration is beautiful, a fine recreation of the Target era.
Overall, “Return to the Web Planet” is the best of the subscriber bonus releases. It refers enough to its predecessor to qualify as a true sequel, but sets out its own ideas and more than justifies itself as worthwhile. Combine this with fine performances and an excellent production and you’ve got a winner.
Recommended.
8/10