Doctor Who
Planet of Giants (Planet of Giants, Part One)
TV Flash files “Planet of Giants (Planet of Giants, Part One)” as the first listed hour of season 2 — Doctor Who (1963–) on BBC, season 2, episode 1, aired 1964-10-31, 25 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E01: listed hour 43 of 700 in the Doctor Who guide, first listed hour of season 2. It aired 1964-10-31 (25 min). The listed hour before it is “Prisoners of Conciergerie (The Reign of Terror, Part Six)” (S01E42). Next is “Dangerous Journey (Planet of Giants, Part Two)” (S02E02). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The doors of the TARDIS open of their own accord just before it materialises, running out of control. On emerging, the travelers find the ship has been reduced in size and they are now only about an inch tall. As tiny people, they stumble across a plot by a ruthless businessman,Forester, and his misguided scientist colleague, Smithers, to launch a new insecticide, DN6 — a product so destructive that it would kill not only those insects harmful to agriculture but also those vital to it. Forester is willing to commit murder to ensure the success of his business, as civil servant Arnold Farrow discovers to his cost. The criminals are brought to justice when the Doctor and his friends — hampered by the fact that Barbara is ill from the insecticide — tamper with the telephone in Smithers' laboratory, fuelling the suspicions of the local exchange operator, Hilda Rowse, who sends her police constable husband Bert to investigate.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Planet of Giants (Planet of Giants, Part One) sit in the Doctor Who guide?
S02E01 is listed hour 43 of 700 — first listed hour of season 2, season 2 episode 1.
When did Doctor Who S02E01 air?
Planet of Giants (Planet of Giants, Part One) aired 1964-10-31 and is listed at 25 minutes.
Where should I start with the 1960s serials?
William Hartnell's First Doctor is the origin of the TARDIS-and-companions contract. Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor is the proof that regeneration works. Start at a serial whose surviving episodes interest you; missing-episode gaps are part of the classic-era weather.
In the series
Why this series still plays
A Time Lord, a police box bigger on the inside, and regeneration as infinite franchise life: Doctor Who launched from the BBC in 1963 and never really parked. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; Hartnell-to-Troughton proved the lead could change without ending the show. The longest experiment in serialized reinvention — woolly, weird, endlessly renewable.
November 23, 1963, is a drop that never really parked. BBC's *Doctor Who* launched a Time Lord and a blue police box bigger on the inside, then treated the lead as renewable inventory. **Regeneration is the window.** Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber, and Donald Wilson were among the early architects. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; companions, sonic screwdrivers, and cliffhangers became ritual. Rex wants woolly national inheritance. Fine. The business model is recasting without ending the show.
Filed against
- William Hartnell as The First Doctor
William Hartnell’s First Doctor launched Doctor Who from the BBC in 1963 — a Time Lord, a police box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite franchise life. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; Hartnell-to-Troughton…
- Patrick Troughton as The Second Doctor
Patrick Troughton played the Second Doctor on Doctor Who, the 1960s BBC proof that a Time Lord could change faces without ending the franchise. Police box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite life, early black-and-white serials…
- Jon Pertwee as The Third Doctor
Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor kept Doctor Who’s police box moving — a Time Lord, a box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite franchise life. BBC serials launched in 1963 and never really parked; Hartnell-to-Troughton proved the lead…
Also in season 2
- S02E02 Dangerous Journey (Planet of Giants, Part Two)
- S02E03 Crisis (Planet of Giants, Part Three)
- S02E04 World's End (The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Part One)
- S02E05 The Daleks (The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Part Two)
- S02E06 Day of Reckoning (The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Part Three)
- S02E07 The End of Tomorrow (The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Part Four)