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Apart from rubbing our legs together like some sort of grasshopper, I doubt if we can get on speaking terms with them.
—The Doctor ponders the difficulties of communication.
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Continuing the series general policy at this point of alternating history and science themed stories, we head to the planet Vortis, populated by the butterfly-like Menoptra and ant-like Zarbi. The latter of these have fallen under the influence of the Animus, a parasitic creature which is slowly enveloping the whole planet in webs.
The Doctor and friends join up with a group of Menoptra and defeat the Animus, freeing the Zarbi from its control.
Tropes[]
- Alien Sky: Vortis has multiple moons, drawn there by the Animus.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: The Zarbi and the larva guns.
- Bug War: In this case, bugs versus bugs rather than bugs versus humans.
- Continuity Nod: Ian and Barbara finally get on the same page with the Doctor and Vicki about their adventures in Rome.
- Eldritch Abomination: The Animus qualifies both in terms of its powers and in terms of its appearance. In the Expanded Universe, it's actually named as one of H.P. Lovecraft's Old Ones, Lloigor...
- In-Camera Effects: The unique look of this serial was achieved by attaching a distorting lens to the camera.
- People in Rubber Suits
- Puppeteer Parasite
- Starfish Language: The Zarbi.