Planet of Evil

Zeta Minor, a planet at the edge of the known universe, is the boundary between the universe and the universe of anti-matter. The Morestan scientist, Professor Sorenson believes he can use the anti-matter particles of Zeta Minor to provide energy for his dying civilisation. However, there is a sinister force at work on the planet…

Despite the obvious influence of Forbidden Planet and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (and the less obvious influence of Stanisław Lem’s Solaris) Planet of Evil adds a spin of its own to these sources. Louis Marks creates a planet that seems to have an intelligence of its own- the title, in fact, is a misnomer, but Planet of Self-Defence probably wouldn’t have been as catchy. The actual script is a mixture of the majestic with the commonplace- there is excellent dialogue, but it is oddly paced and the ending is a bit rubbish- in story terms, Sorenson has not really ‘earned’ the right to survive. The characterisation is also lacking in colour, with all supporting characters conforming to type.

Where this story excels is in its visualisation. The jungle set, especially the filmed one, is one of the best alien environments ever seen on television- the level of detail is astonishing and it honestly looks like a genuine location at times. This is contrasted with the Morestan space ship which, although sparse, do not look tacky. The full size set of the door to the ship is one of the few times in the programme that one actually believes that it is part of a space-ship, with a very tall structure with characters standing on two levels. David Maloney, one of my favourite directors on the programme, creates some very effective shots and is helped by having very effective lighting on all scenes, both film and video. The anti-matter monster is simply realised, but the effects it has on people are very memorable, with some gristly ‘freeze-dried’ corpses.

However, there are problems with the acting. As said, none of the characters are particularly well written and their eventual effectiveness depends on the actors. In the case of Frederick Jaeger and Ewen Solon, this is fine, both of them making their respective characters of Sorenson and Vishinsky convincing. However, there is the major problem of Prentis Hancock as Salamar. As I see it, Hancock is a bit-part actor who got very lucky and he is woefully out of his depth in a major supporting role. Even when he isn’t fluffing his lines (forgiveable in the Hartnell days, less so in the 70s, where they had more flexibility) he utterly fails to convince in any of the scenes he is in. Tom Baker and Lis Sladen are generally good, although Baker at times seems to be less than enthused by the story. Sladen is excellent throughout, despite being lumbered with an outfit that makes her look like a hillbilly’s fantasy.

This story is by no means a classic, but it is watchable and an effective shocker- but could easily have been a whole lot better.

NEXT: Pyramids of Mars