Doctor Who (TV Series) Planet of Evil: Part Three (1975) User Reviews

"We may have to play the rites but we don't have to listen." Going nowhere fast.

[poolandrews · 6/10 · 6 July 2007]

Doctor Who: Planet of Evil: Part 3 starts as the Morestran spacecraft is about to take off from Zeta Minor minus the anti-matter that Professor Sorensen (Frederick Jaeger) collected from the surface, the Doctor (Tom Baker) managed to cross over & bargain with the forces that created the energy creature. In return for leaving all the anti-matter & samples behind on Zeta Minor they will be allowed to take off safely, however there is still anti-matter aboard & it affects Sorensen as well as halting the spacecrafts progress. As more of the Morestran crew die & the ship is slowly dragged back to Zeta Minor time is running out to find & get rid off the anti-matter...

Episode 7 from season 13 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during October 1975, directed by David Maloney my patience is running out with Planet of Evil which started promisingly. The script by Louis Marks started off really well set on a dark & sinister alien planet that had a cool monster going around killing everyone, unfortunately apart from a few inconsequential scenes of people walking through the jungle it hasn't been used in any effective way & Part 3 takes place almost entirely on-board the Morestran spacecraft as the Doctor & Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen) are yet again accused of the murders & they yet again try to convince Salamar (Prentis Hancock) that they weren't responsible, to be honest it's getting old very quickly. The character's aren't great & the story just isn't clear enough, when Sorensen changes into the thing with glowing eyes what causes the change? The potion he drinks with steam rising from it? The anti-matter that changes colour? The energy monster? Why does he change & why doesn't he stay changed? Maybe these will be answered in Part 4 but I must admit this story has lost me a bit & I'm not that interested in it anymore especially since it left Zeta Minor & encamped itself on the dull spacecraft.

Despite having one of the best alien world sets ever on Doctor Who Planet of Evil has completely wasted them, apart from seeing various character's walk through them it hasn't been used to any effect whatsoever. There's no alien monster to jump out at people, no carnivorous plants or other threats & dangers at all, very disappointing & it barely features in Part 3. The see-thru energy monster was actually quite impressive & had decent special effects but that too has been underused, wasted & gets about 30 seconds in this episode.

Planet of Evil: Part 3 has really let the first two parts down, it's a bland, dull & not very good. This could have been a great story but all the elements that I thought would make it one have been largely ignored or underused, disappointing but still fun on a basic sci-fi level I suppose.

The Answer's Really Very Simple...

[Xstal · 7/10 · 29 June 2022]

I blinked and he was gone, but I'm sure young Billy won't be anonymous for too long, who knew that after the Angels sent you back, that when you die you'll actually forward track, a bit like back to the future you scatter, but it doesn't really matter, no really, it doesn't.

Mind over anti-matter.

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 24 November 2014]

Review of all 4 episodes:

This story has The Doctor and Sarah arriving on a planet which is the meeting of our universe with the universe of antimatter. A scientist, Sorenson, is dangerously trying to use antimatter as a limitless power source and the planet has forces within it that manifest as an antimatter monster to try to stop the two universes being brought together into destruction. The crew of a rescue ship are caught up in this and are being killed one by one as The Doctor gets involved and becomes the figure of blame (as usual).

There is great action and dialogue along the way and a thoroughly entertaining adventure. It has strong horror themes of a monster attacking people and the killings themselves are properly horrific with gruesome corpses left behind. This is fantastic and effective. There are also other horror themes similar to Jekyll & Hyde as a human is transformed back and forth into a monster. This again is a powerful idea that works well. We also get the addition of big science fiction ideas with anti-matter, scientific exploration and space travel and whilst this is baffling it is fascinating and satisfying too. There are some similarities with Forbidden Planet and because it is done so well here the comparison is a good one. The technology we see in this futuristic setting is pretty well done, the planet itself is very well realised on screen and the effects are decent. The dynamics of the crew add further qualities as Salamar and Vishinsky clash.

The plot involves complex science which sometimes leaves you scratching your head but is also just really good fun in terms of menacing monsters and character interplay. The script also has intelligent dialogue which is delivered well. Writer Louis Marks and director David Maloney have delivered really well, not for the first time.

The acting is excellent throughout with Ewen Solon and Frederick Jaeger particularly good as Vishinsky and Sorenson. Tom Baker is on his usual electrifying form for this era, lighting up the screen at every moment. Lis Sladen is wonderful as Sarah Jane and it is again noticeable what a strong female character she is compared to the usual screaming damsel in distress. Sarah Jane is brave, intelligent and independent. When the Doctor falls into a pit she does not scream or react hysterically, she just exclaims "Doctor!" then goes to rescue him herself when nobody else does.

This is top class sci-fi mixed with a Hammer-Horror style story. It is engrossing, thrilling and has very high standards in all departments.

My ratings: All 4 episodes 10/10.

Zeta Minor welcomes Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 1 July 2018]

The gripping story of anti matter monsters on the forboding Zeta Minor planet takes a twist, as Phillip Hinchcliffe true to form draws on the bank of horror stories, and opts for Jekyll and Hyde, with Professor Sorensen taking up the role.

I often think Planet of Evil is somewhat underrated, but it is so rich in content, this third part has a different feel to the first two parys, but it's just as dark, if not more so.

Baker and Sladen are terrific as always, the sets look tremendous, bit it's the threat coming from the planet itself that's the major success.

A fantastic episode. 9/10