RETURN TO THE WEB PLANET

Return to the Web Planet should really be called Return to Vortis, because it’s not a “web” planet any more.  It’s some hundreds of years after the Doctor originally visited Vortis and he’s decided it might be a nice place to settle down for a rest.  How many adventures proceed on the premise of seeking a vacation that end up in conflict?  The Doctor really should know better by now.

It’s not long before the Doctor and Nyssa are embroiled in an uprising of the Zarbi once again, but what’s behind it?  A spaceship graveyard full of crashed space vessels gets the Doctor interested, but it’s not until he discovers a human woman that speaks for one side, and Nyssa encounters a disturbed human male that stirs up the Zarbi, that things start falling into place.

Meanwhile, Nyssa encounters a female Menoptera that has had her wings callously removed, while the Doctor is saved from a Zarbi stampede by a scientist Menoptera that’s been ostracised by his own people and now no longer cares if the Zarbi stampede into his old city risking the destruction of his own people.

Can the Doctor intervene are restore peace once more?

Return to the Web Planet is a Big Finish “bonus release” and, as such, is a single episode 50 minute adventure.  It’s fairly uneventful and could have done with a cliffhanger separating the story into two halves.  Being so short, it’s probably a good thing that the 5th Doctor only has one of his companions at this time.

As a sequel to an underrated TV serial, it’s rather unspectacular.  It ticks all the right boxes of Vortis, the Zarbi, the Menoptera, which makes it familiar to the listener and encourages nostalgia for the fan of the First Doctor’s era but, as a sequel, that same listener wouldn’t have been wrong to have expected so much more from a return to Vortis.

The adventure is followed by trailers for several “Companion Chronicles” releases which, in turn, are followed by a music suite.  There are no behind-the-scenes interviews this time, which is a bit of a shame as I’d imagine they might have been more interesting than the main feature.

You won’t regret listening to this story, particularly if you’ve fairly recently watched The Web Planet, and there are definitely a lot worse ways to spend 50 minutes or so.