Rewatching Classic Doctor Who, some episodes I haven't seen in years, some of the animated reconstructions I haven't seen at all.
Planet of Giants AKA Minuscule Story AKA The Minuscules AKA Serial I
Season 2 kicks off with a bit of a strange one. It feels very much like a prototype Third Doctor story. The first story to take place in the 'modern day' (and in the UK for that matter) since the first one. Apart from the hook/subplot of the TARDIS crew being shrunk, it has no particular SciFi trappings which, from the vantage point of the 21st century, makes it feel like a historical story. The strong influence from Rachel Carson's Silent Spring doesn't hurt either. Doctor Who getting in on the 'insecticide killing pollinators' thing fifty years early.
The TARDIS doors open midflight (something to do with 'space pressure' but that's not important right now) but Ian and Barbara brute force them closed again. The Fault Locator makes it's last (televised) appearance. And the TARDIS lands safely. Or appears to. All the sensors indicate safety but the scanner screen explodes as if trying to show something too big for the screen. That's not how television works, but ok. It turns out that the doors opening allowed the space pressure to shrink the occupants of the TARDIS (and the outer shell of the TARDIS, but don't think about that too hard) after spotting some dead things, the crew is menaced by a cat, Ian gets captured via matchbox (which is a nice change of pace from how he normally gets captured), and a scientist gets murdered. You see, he's come to reject the application for a phenomenally powerful insecticide having realized the ecological dangers.. so the financial backer of the insecticide straight up shoots him dead in the front yard. It is a powerfully American moment. Oh and Barbara accidentally doses herself with the insecticide and doesn't tell anyone because reasons. Eventually the crew get into the house and try to get involved, messing with the phone, and ultimately blowing up a spray can to attract attention. It works, the switchboard operator (kids, ask your great-grandparents what a switchboard was) is conveniently married to a cop and sends him 'round just in time to catch the baddies. The crew returns to the TARDIS, and returns to full size, saving Barbara. Somewhere along the way the viewer monitor in the TARDIS was repaired so our last shot is a scrambled signal, where could the TARDIS be headed next?
And before anyone gets the wrong idea from my snarky synopsis, I really like this one. Short and sweet. A little silly at times if you think too hard about it but a good story that doesn't get too bogged down in unnecessary explanations and detail. It fits the tone and temp of a lot of the modern era in that way. It has two parallel stories that converge in a satisfying way. Originally meant to be four episodes and cut down to three, it still moves well, not a lot seems to be left out. The oversized props are great fun and there's some decent effects. The production is wise enough not to linger on them, letting most of the special effects exist in the audience's imagination.
Up next - an epic, this one changes everything: The Dalek Invasion of Earth