Doctor Who/Recap/S2/E01 Planet of Giants

""Do you know why I'm a success, Mr Farrow? Because I've never allowed the word "can't" to exist.""

- Forester

Given a second series, Doctor Who kicks off with a sci-fi staple — the heroes are shrunk to about an inch tall.

All the usual fun and frolics with perfectly normal household objects becoming perilous deathtraps are there, but they also uncover a plot by a ruthless businessman Forester to launch a new insecticide, DN6, despite it being harmful to other life. A civil servant investigates, but is murdered by the businessman (told you he was ruthless).

Barbara is made ill by the insecticide, but the others manage to foil the plan by tampering with his telephone, causing the local telephone exchange operator to be suspicious and send her policeman husband along to investigate. He isn't murdered, and brings Forester to justice.

The Irwin Allen series Land of the Giants bears a remarkable similarity.

Watch it here.

This story provides examples of:

 * Corrupt Corporate Executive
 * Hand Wave: The reason behind the shrinkage of the Doctor and Co. is...Space Pressure.
 * Incredible Shrinking Man
 * Missing Episode: A near-unique example for the series; "Planet Of Giants" was originally recorded as four episodes, but later the third and fourth were combined into a faster-paced Episode 3 (the unused footage was apparently destroyed). This ended up leaving a one-episode hole at the very end of the Series 2 production block, which was filled by Mission To The Unknown.
 * Poor Communication Kills: Barbara gets poisoned and gets progressively more ill as the show goes on, but hides it because... why?
 * Smart Ball: Susan with her observations about the nature of the insecticide. May simply be her failing to hold the Idiot Ball for once, given her Informed intelligence in the pilot and a few episodes.
 * The X of Y
 * Two Scenes One Dialogue: When they finally realize that no, they're not at the World Fair.
 * Yank the Dogs Chain: the uncontrollable TARDIS lands by chance back on Earth in Ian and Barbara's home period, but they're three inches tall and have no way of getting back to normal without taking off and getting lost again.