Doctor Who
The Zarbi (The Web Planet, Part Two)
TV Flash files “The Zarbi (The Web Planet, Part Two)” as hour 59 of 700 in the TV Flash guide — Doctor Who (1963–) on BBC, season 2, episode 17, aired 1965-02-20, 25 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E17: listed hour 59 of 700 in the Doctor Who guide, hour 17 of 39 in season 2. It aired 1965-02-20 (25 min). The listed hour before it is “The Web Planet (The Web Planet, Part One)” (S02E16). Next is “Escape to Danger (The Web Planet, Part Three)” (S02E18). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
On the planet Vortis, the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki are swept up in the struggles of the butterfly-like Menoptera, the original denizens of Vortis who were forced to flee the planet for the moon Pictos to escape the encroaching web of the Animus and its mind-controlled minions, the ant-like Zarbi and their living weapons, the larvae guns.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Zarbi (The Web Planet, Part Two) sit in the Doctor Who guide?
S02E17 is listed hour 59 of 700 — hour 17 of 39 in season 2, season 2 episode 17.
When did Doctor Who S02E17 air?
The Zarbi (The Web Planet, Part Two) aired 1965-02-20 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
- S02E01 Planet of Giants (Planet of Giants, Part One)
- 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)