Not one of the better remembered stories of the Hartnell era I think, rarely have I seen this story discussed anywhere let alone on this forum!

As a kick of story for Season 2, it has it limitations but somehow it works. The big sets seem readily apparent to the eye but if it can be overcome it's not a bad little story. The fact it's set in the present day makes it unique for this period of the Series. Jacqueline Hill as Barbara again pulls out another good performance.

Thought it was a good idea to cut it to three episodes as I feel even at this length it had some slight padding. I also think it is overwhelmed by the big stories that came later but it also is a calm start to the Season before the big cast change that was to follow in the next story.

Has anyone else seen this and what do you think of it?

A very enjoyable story, I'm glad it was made then and not during the Pertwee era. Could you imagine how much (more) padding would be put in? Not to mention the giant sets being replaced with CSO.

It does make me laugh though that Forester thinks a handkerchief over the mouthpiece is enough to disguise his voice.

I've seen it edited together into a sort of omnibus thingy and it didn't feel overly padded. Nice little entry in the Sixties shrunken-people genre.

I forget just now what made them shrink. Some fault in the TARDIS I suppose? Bad block transfer computation?

Yeah, I always thought that a bit silly too! In fact, the whole antiquated operator/telephone system from the 60's is amusing to watch!

Seriously doubt the story would have worked during Pertwee's Era either but I daresay even with CSO it would have looked better.

The TARDIS doors opening in mid-flight. At least The Doctor doesn't try to resolve matters by flushing out the TARDIS ala-Logopolis.

I read the Target novelisation before I watched this story. I was reasonably impressed how they managed it when I actually viewed it. It isn't that memorable when I am thinking of what to write about it now, to be fair this has been done to death in TV, I can recall the Fly and little else effect wise.
It is a rare set in modern day (at the time) story for this era. As ever I think it depends on the performances of the regulars for some of the more run of the mill stories, and Barbara and Ian put in good performances. With Barbara being unwell giving the story an edge to the plot (is this the padding bit, maybe)

The effects are actually passable aside from the big cat where it's obvious they are walking past a big picture but aside from that, it worked.

Why do people not have fond memories of this story. It has a great plot to it and a very good story.

Just a personal opinion but I think it suffers in comparison to the rest of Season 2, which is the best Hartnell Season for me. As for the story itself, I agree, it's ambitious and I like it. As I've said, if you can see past the production values it's a not a bad story at all.

I find this one to be a dull story but very memorable for the sets, which i think were brilliantly realized.

nice idea at the time to try some thing different one of those stories that I neither like or dislike.

I watched this last night for the first time in ages, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Why is it not better remembered? The story whizzes along. The sets are glorious. There are strong performances from the leads. It feels fairly slight and fairly inconsequential, but there's enough for it to keep the story going.

It feels like a bit of a "period piece" now, with the village telephone exchange and the gossipy telephone operator earwigging on phone calls. It almost feels "quaint". At what stage did it become "quaint"? Presumably that's how life really was in 1964. No other story feels "quaint" quite like this.

Anyhow, Mrs Chuff and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it's a strong argument for three-parters being an ideal story-length. The McCoy three-parters also zoom along with minimal faff and minimal padding.

It does whizz along, but wouldn't the last two parts have been dull if they'd kept it as a 4 part story?

Interestingly it's the first story fully set in the present day, but Ian and Barbara can't really appreciate being back home as they are so teeny. Planet Of Giants is very quiet and unshowy - the effects are realistically excellent, and it baffles me how Raymond Cusick was create so much with which to menace the miniscule travellers on what presumably was a miniscule budget. But I would have thought that even in 1964 it might have seemed a little old fashioned, especially to townsfolk. However I'm sure that my Grandparents, living in a little Norfolk village still used a local operator to connect their calls as late as the 1970s, so this sort of life wouldn't have seemed all that quaint for quite some time after Planet Of Giants was set.

Actually the very next story - The Dalek Invasion Of Earth - is also basically a present day story, but in a kind of alternate world. Terry Nation may have nominally set it 200 years in the future but there's absolutely nothing in the production looking or feeling even remotely futuristic. There's a throwaway comment, from one of the old crones in the cottage, about an Astronauts' fair in London but even that sounds like Nation is remembering the futuristic parts (like the Skylon) of the 1951 Festival Of Britain. But otherwise DIOE is basically a 'what if the Germans had won the war?' story as Nation rams home his view that Daleks = Nazis.

In fact I don't think we get a whole story set properly in recognisable present day Earth again until The War Machines which is trying terribly hard not be quaint that it becomes dated very quickly. It so wants to be hip and happening in 1966, but still comes across as a rather square middle-aged version of what the kids were really up to. I'm sure no club was ever as defiantly dull and middle classed as the Inferno! But full marks for trying.

Noo, don't bag the Inferno baby!
I guess if the Doc was let in it must have been pretty much 'squaresville". I mean if Paul McCartney was recently not let in the door at an establishment in Hollywood earlier this year, what does that tell you?

....that McCartney is old and past it. Oh well. the Inferno would have let him in (maybe)

"Do me a favour. Open the door. And let me in."

I love the fact that Kitty the barmaid says that they never get anyone over 20 down in the Inferno, yet everyone we see in there looks loads older than that! But Kitty really digs the Doctor's fab gear so that's ok...