"... A tear Gothmog? Where there's life there's..."
Emotional end to a fantastic era.
Planet of the Spiders is a good end for Pertwee. Not perfect, this isn't Inferno or Silurians, and your right Dem it is too long.
I personally think that it started out really well, before you got to Metabelius III, and ended really well right around Episode 5 where the Great One dominates the Doctor (more on that in a bit). The problem is the stuff in the middle. We've seen it all before. Two characters arguing about attacking or waiting (Planet of the Daleks and Monster of Peladon stand out, whether its Thals and explosives or Miners impatient to attack). Its been done and done better than this. I couldn't care less about these people.
However back on Earth there are a lot of people I do care about. And its thanks to them that this Story and this era are so strong.
Benton volunteers to put himself at the crystals mercy instead of the Doctor because "I'm more expendable". What a trooper.
Yates. He was not as good as Benton but I feel like he re-deems himself here. Trouble is on the way and he has to go get help (I do wish he shared a scene with the Brig somehow after pulling a gun on him last time).
The Brig has terrible aim, as displayed when he can't hit Lupton. But the scenes where his eyes are nearly popping out his head due to a stripper, along with his final scenes with Pertwee, are good in their own ways.
Sarah Jane is now firmly the next companion. She already was but there is no doubt as to how good a character she is by this point.
And that letter from Jo! A nice touch to know she's doing well. Sarah and Liz are good, but Liz was there for a single Season whilst Sarah is more at home with the next Doctor. Jo was the companion for this Doctor, so good to hear from her.
But what about the other characters? Tommy is amazing and his development is done well, with how the crystal helps him. The other people in the house are all decent actors too...
One of the more controversial parts of this Story is the entire last half of Episode 2. The chase. And you know what? I loved every second of it. Its like a "greatest hits compilation". Right from the start its like "Oh yes Bessie and the Who-mobile in one scene, chasing each other!" They basically thanked Pertwee for all he'd done for the show, giving us the most consistently good era, and gave him an almost entirely long episode chase sequence. To that I say GOOD! It's a nice addition that I accept adds nothing to the story but I don't care because it's simply fun to watch the Doctor enjoying himself. At least it's in character for the third Doctor. I couldn't see any of the others doing this, besides perhaps Tennant and Capaldi.
Now people like to talk about how Sutekh dominates the Fourth Doctor in Pyramids of Mars. Its great but so is this, when the Great One makes the Doctor walk in a circle. Why? Because as the Great One notes, this Doctor isn't used to fear. He is usually the one to dominate any situation he's in, either physically or verbally. So to see him powerless like this is very uncomfortable.
Metabelius III looks terrible. I wish I could be nice but it looks fake, even for back then. There are Stories from the 60's that have more convincing worlds than this one. And again the villagers were same old same old, done better in other Stories.
Finally the regeneration. He's "home". UNIT is now his home. Having longed to get away from the planet he's finally accepted that this is where this Doctor belongs. He collapses onto the UNIT HQ floor and leaves us, the Brig and Sarah (characters he's spent time a lot of time with. Unlike say Tom Baker falling from a satellite surrounded by people he doesn't know) with a few last sad words. Now, who's that strange man on the floor with the curly hair?
My only real regret is that Roger Delgardo wasn't alive for this. Its a good Story with the best regeneration yet. But what might have been...
Pertwee done and dusted. And it took less than a month I believe.
His era revived the show and ensured it continued to this day. UNIT were a great concept (thankfully they still have a couple more hurrahs to go) and they, spearheaded by the Brig, helped back up a great Doctor. I'll miss him more than I missed Hartnell or Troughton. But as I said a while back when I finished the Troughton era, its time for change. Tom Baker... And Philip Hinchcliffe.
Or at least the latter when I get through the Barry Letts produced Jon Pertwee Story Robot, which is only missing Pertwee himself!
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