Review of the Complete Story:
This well-remembered DOCTOR WHO story was broadcast in six episodes and is famous for being the one involving the giant maggots. I was interesting to see how it held up to modern scrutiny, and I'm pleased to say that for the most part it's a well-paced and engaging story, filled with entertaining interludes.
It starts off on exceptionally strong footing, veering into horror territory as some Welsh coal miners find themselves at the mercy of something green and glowing deep under the ground. Before long, the Doctor and Jo are sniffing around and soon uncover a conspiracy involving a local chemical factory. What follows is an adventure that taxes both the Doctor and his assistant and the reserves of UNIT led by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.
Unfortunately it transpires that the giant maggots are only part of the storyline, and there's a separate, associated threat at the local factory. The factory story, with its mind-control and sinister upstairs room, is less engaging and, by DOCTOR WHO standards, more than a little clichéd. But there's still plenty of maggot mayhem for the fans, and quite a lot of it involving the beloved Brig, too. The relatively large-scale scene of the army bombing the heck out of the writhing masses is well achieved and the special effects still look fairly good today, aside from that woeful chase scene involving a flying creature that's criminally poor.
Pertwee is on good form here, dressing up in disguise on occasion and proving himself rather athletic when escaping from security guards. Watch out for his stand-in during one surprising martial arts interlude. The supporting cast are cardboard-thin, made up of Welsh yokels (it's all boyo this, boyo that and leek-eating stereotypes here, I'm afraid) and officious bigwigs, but the scriptwriters inject plenty of good old-fashioned cliffhanger suspense into the proceedings. It may be silly, it may be cheesy and it may be dated, but this is the kind of DOCTOR WHO that many of us fell in love with: clean fun that makes you hark for the nostalgic old days.