 This story - which marks the return of the Yeti, the Great Intelligence, and Professor Travers (played again by Jack Watling) – is a sequel to the popular story "The Abominable Snowmen" that was shown earlier in the season.
This story follows directly on from the events of "The Enemy of the World". Reference is made to Salamander being sucked out of the TARDIS and The Doctor is seen to have a plaster on his head - later this is removed and a small scar is visible.
Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (aka The Brigadier) makes his first appearance in this story (but with the rank of Colonel) in episode three. Played by Nicholas Courtney (who played a different role, Bret Vyon, in "The Daleks' Master Plan"). Nicholas Courtney was due to play Captain Knight in this story until actor David Langton pulled out). Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, later to be promoted to Brigadier (in "The Invasion") would go on to be the longest-running non-regular and one of the most memorable characters in the shows' long history.
The part of Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart was originally to be played by David Langton. But when he pulled out before recording Nicholas Courtney (who was originally cast as Captain Knight) was given the part instead.
The Colonel's debut is actually in episode two, when only his boots are seen walking through the tunnels. For this sequence, the part was played by an uncredited Maurice Brooks. Maurice Brooks carried out this role to avoid the BBC having to hire Nicholas Courtney for an extra week. Nicholas Courtney joined the cast in studio on the 27th February 1968.
Anne Travers, Professor Travers’ daughter, also makes an appearance in the Virgin Books' The Missing Adventures novel "Millennial Rites", which also features the Great Intelligence.
John Levene also makes his second appearance as one of the Yeti. John Levene later went on to play regular character Sergeant Benton - one of the regular members of UNIT during the seventies.
Jack Watling, as the older Professor Travers, was achieved with the use of heavy make-up.
Patrick Troughton took a week's holiday during the rehearsals and recording of episode two. Consequently, The Doctor appears only in the reprise from episode one, and The Doctor's first meeting with Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart actually takes place off screen.
The design of the Yeti is significantly different from those in this story's predecessor, "The Abominable Snowmen". The scenes in Julius Silverstein's private museum, in the first episode, marked the only appearance of an original Yeti costume in this story. Once inhabited by the control sphere, this Yeti ‘transformed’ into one of the new-style outfits. The Doctor describes the subsequent Yeti as ‘Mark II’. As well as the change in their appearance the Yeti can now roar, have glowing eyes when attacking, and carry web guns. Several other props were reused from the previous Yeti story. These included control spheres and the model Yeti.
Aiming for the utmost authenticity, Director, Douglas Camfield, hoped to carry out some location filming in the London Underground, specifically the Aldwych platform and the entrance to Covent Garden. The BBC duly wrote to London Transport seeking permission but as London Transport demanded an exorbitant fee, and restricted filming to just a handful of overnight hours, the decision was made to replicate the Underground in the studio using sets designed by David Myerscough-Jones. The Underground sets proved to be so accurate that midway through the story's broadcast the BBC were accused of illegally filming on London Underground property without permission or payment. London Transport were eventually convinced that what they were seeing was in fact David Myerscough-Jones' very convincing sets.
Various tube stations within or on the Circle Line, (including Covent Garden, Charing Cross, Piccadilly Circus, Holborn, Goodge Street, Cannon Street and Monument) were represented in this story.
When talking about 'underground trains', The Doctor says that this is 'a little after your time, I think, Victoria'. However, as Victoria Waterfield comes from 1866 he is wrong as the Underground line between Farringdon Street and Edgeware Road opened in 1863.
In this story the events in "The Abominable Snowmen" are said to have taken place in 1935, which Professor Travers is heard to say was over forty years previously (possible an approximation).
The TARDIS is seen to become trapped in space by the Great Intelligence's web like material - which it seems the Great Intelligence can create anywhere and which has properties which interfere with the TARDIS systems. It is also indicated that the Great Intelligence can observe The Doctor's travels.
"The Web of Fear" is the first hint of the future of Doctor Who in the 1970's.
The stock incidental music accompanying the Yeti attack at Covent Garden in episode four is the same as that previously used as a theme for the Cybermen.
The final few moments of the closing credits of each episode (except for episode six) were displayed over a pulsating web instead of the regular black screen.
A trailer for this story was recorded, featuring the Second Doctor. It included a special warning advising young viewers that they might find "The Web of Fear" scary and suggesting that they watch the programme with their parents. It was broadcast at the conclusion of episode six of the previous story "The Enemy of the World" on the 27th January 1968.
The Seventh Doctor refers to this adventure in "Remembrance of the Daleks", asking his companion Ace if she remembers ‘the Yeti in the Underground’.
This is the last on-screen appearance in Doctor Who for the Yeti - except for a brief appearance in the 1983 Twentieth Anniversary Special "The Five Doctors". The Yeti would also return in the video spin-off story "Downtime".
For a number of years only the first episode of this six part story existed in the BBC Archives. All six episodes had been initially lost in the BBC's stock clearance of the 1970s and so all were reported missing from the BBC Film and Videotape Library following an audit in 1978. However, in 1978 a 16mm film of the first episode was discovered on the floor of a loading bay at BBC Enterprises. Of the remaining episodes all were missing except for some New Zealand censor clips, from episodes two, four and five.
In 2003, episode one of this story, along with episodes one and three of "The Faceless Ones" were the final episodes of Doctor Who to be released on VHS by BBC Worldwide.
Episode one was also shown during BBC Four's "London Underground" season in 2007.
Five episodes, of this six part story, where then discovered, along with all six episodes of "The Enemy of the World", at a television station in the Nigerian city of Jos in 2013. For this story the episodes discovered were episodes one, two, four, five and six. Unfortunately episode three is still missing.
Along with "The Enemy of the World" the newly discovered episodes were promptly released on iTunes, with episode 3 included as a tele-snap reconstruction. A Limited Edition DVD release of this story quickly followed in February 2014.
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The Firsts:
The first appearance in Doctor Who of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (aka The Brigadier) played by Nicholas Courtney.
Derrick Sherwin's first involvement in the show as Story Editor.
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(Position = 10 out of 159)
(Position = 23 out of 200)
(Position = 16 out of 241)
