Crisis
Miniaturized in a giant's world, the Doctor and his companions must evade capture, expose a deadly insecticide plot, and restore themselves to normal size before Barbara succumbs to the poison's effects.
Having shrunk to minuscule size, the Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara find themselves in a perilous battle for survival within a gigantic laboratory. Their immediate challenge is evading the notice of the scientists, Forrester and Smithers, who are embroiled in producing a dangerously potent insecticide, DN6. The group takes refuge inside a briefcase and then a sink, where they narrowly avoid being drowned.
As they navigate this oversized environment, they overhear Forrester making a phone call, impersonating a scientist named Farrow, to secure authorization for DN6's widespread use. Realizing the magnitude of the threat, the Doctor and his companions resolve to sabotage the operation. They discover a gigantic notepad containing the insecticide's formula, revealing its horrifying property of being everlasting, capable of contaminating the environment indefinitely.
An attempt to communicate their plight to the outside world via an enormous telephone fails, further compounding their desperation. Barbara, weakened by hunger, unknowingly comes into contact with the insecticide and falls ill. The Doctor realizes they must return to the TARDIS to restore Barbara's size, as her miniaturized state makes her vulnerable to the poison.
While the Doctor and Ian work to create a diversion by attempting to ignite a gas leak, Susan cares for the ailing Barbara. Forrester, meanwhile, grows suspicious of Smithers' actions and confronts him about tampering with the phone. As Forrester prepares to silence Smithers, the local switchboard operator, Hilda, alerted by their earlier attempt to call for help, alerts the police to the suspicious activity.
In a climactic confrontation, the insecticide ignites, causing an explosion that blinds Forrester and allows the Doctor and his companions to escape. Smithers is apprehended by Bert, a local policeman. Seizing the opportunity, the Doctor grabs a seed sample, crucial for reversing their miniaturization. Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor uses the seed to restore their normal size, curing Barbara in the process. With the immediate crisis averted, the Doctor prepares to set course for their next adventure, unaware of the challenges that await them.
Events in This Episode
The narrative beats that drive the story
The narrative opens with the Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara, miniaturized and vulnerable, narrowly escaping a perilous situation within a giant sink, reuniting after a tense separation. Their immediate relief is short-lived as their attention shifts to the sinister activities of the scientists, Forrester and Smithers. They overhear Forrester make a crucial phone call, impersonating a colleague named Farrow, to secure authorization for the mass production of a new, highly dangerous insecticide, DN6. This revelation serves as the inciting incident, solidifying the immediate threat and establishing Forrester as the primary antagonist. The companions then discover a gigantic notepad containing the insecticide's formula, which the Doctor meticulously deciphers. He reveals DN6's horrifying property: it is everlasting, capable of contaminating the environment indefinitely and proving lethal to humans upon contact or ingestion. This discovery significantly raises the stakes, transforming their personal survival struggle into a critical mission to prevent a global ecological disaster. Driven by this new understanding, the group attempts to communicate their plight to the outside world using an enormous telephone. Despite their concerted efforts to lift the receiver and shout into the mouthpiece, they fail to make contact, leaving them isolated and their initial attempt to alert authorities thwarted. This failure underscores their desperate situation and the formidable scale of their challenge, pushing them towards more direct action.
The group discovers a massive notepad containing the formula for DN6, the insecticide Forrester has authorized. The Doctor leads an urgent analysis, revealing its catastrophic potential: the formula includes a …
The group discovers a notepad containing the formula for an 'everlasting' insecticide, which the Doctor deciphers as a catastrophic threat capable of contaminating soil, water, and even human skin. Barbara’s …
After discovering the deadly insecticide formula on a giant notepad, the Doctor and his companions analyze its components, realizing its potential to contaminate food, water, and even kill humans. Barbara’s …
The group devises a high-stakes plan to scale the massive telephone receiver using improvised cork supports, with Ian and Susan taking the lead. The Doctor, observing Barbara’s growing fatigue, subtly …
While Ian and Susan prepare to scale the giant telephone receiver using cork supports, Barbara’s physical decline becomes undeniable. When the Doctor asks her to retrieve another cork, her admission …
Following their failed attempt to contact the outside world, the personal stakes escalate dramatically when Barbara collapses, having unknowingly come into contact with the insecticide. The Doctor quickly diagnoses her condition, realizing that her miniaturized state makes her critically vulnerable to the poison, which has entered her bloodstream. This urgent medical crisis forces a significant shift in the group's priorities: the Doctor declares they must return to the TARDIS immediately to restore Barbara to her normal size, as this is the only viable way to counteract the poison effectively. However, Barbara, despite her weakening state, insists they must first find a way to stop the DN6 plot, demonstrating her unwavering commitment to the greater good over her own immediate survival. This internal conflict leads the Doctor and Ian to devise a new, more aggressive strategy: they plan to create a diversion by igniting a gas leak in the laboratory, hoping to attract attention and sabotage the insecticide's production. While they prepare this dangerous act, an external force begins to converge on the laboratory. Hilda, the local switchboard operator, grows increasingly suspicious of Forrester's earlier phone call impersonation. Her growing unease prompts her to alert the police, setting the stage for an unexpected intervention and raising the tension as multiple plotlines move towards a collision.
After Ian and Susan successfully prop up the telephone handset with corks to stabilize their precarious position, the Doctor suggests leaving Barbara behind due to her weakened state from insecticide …
In the claustrophobic interior of the telephone handset, Ian takes charge of a desperate, improvised solution to their precarious situation. With Barbara weakened by insecticide poisoning and the Doctor’s reluctance …
The group’s desperate attempt to use a telephone handset to contact the outside world fails, leaving them trapped in their miniature state and deepening their vulnerability. Barbara, already weakened by …
Barbara collapses from insecticide exposure, revealing she had hidden her condition to avoid slowing the group. The Doctor examines her handkerchief and confirms the poison’s presence, explaining that her miniaturized …
The Doctor, Ian, and Barbara strategize a desperate diversion plan to evade capture and expose Forrester’s insecticide plot. With Barbara’s condition worsening and their miniature size making them vulnerable, they …
The Doctor and Ian finalize their sabotage plan to ignite a gas tap connected to a Bunsen burner, aiming to create a diversion that will expose Forrester's insecticide plot. Barbara …
The final act begins with the Doctor, Ian, and Susan executing their perilous plan to ignite the gas leak, working together to turn the giant tap and strike an oversized match. Simultaneously, the tension inside the laboratory reaches a boiling point as Forrester confronts Smithers about the tampered phone, growing increasingly suspicious of his accomplice's actions and motives. Just as the Doctor's team successfully ignites the gas, causing the insecticide can to explode with devastating force, the local policeman, Bert, arrives, alerted by Hilda's earlier call. The explosion blinds Forrester, creating chaos and an opportunity for the companions to escape. Amidst the confusion, Smithers attempts to flee but is apprehended by Bert, bringing the immediate threat of the insecticide plot to a swift, if chaotic, conclusion. Seizing a critical moment, the Doctor retrieves a specific seed sample, vital for reversing their miniaturization, despite Ian's concerns about the poison. The companions then make their desperate escape back to the TARDIS. Inside the ship, the Doctor uses the collected seed to activate the dematerialization process, which simultaneously restores them to their normal size and, crucially, cures Barbara of the insecticide's effects. With the immediate crisis averted and their normal size regained, the Doctor prepares for their next journey, though the scanner's interference suggests new challenges await.
In the switchboard, Forrester’s desperate attempt to impersonate Farrow over the phone unravels when Hilda, the switchboard operator, connects the call and immediately recognizes the deception. Her sharp ears and …
Bert, a local policeman, stands in the switchboard room while Hilda connects a call. Over the phone, Forrester—posing as Farrow—attempts to cover his tracks by impersonating a colleague, but his …
In the switchboard room, Hilda confronts Bert with definitive proof that Forrester impersonated Farrow to authorize the deadly DN6 insecticide. Her certainty—‘Bert, it’s the same man. No doubt about it’—triggers …
While Hilda and Bert confirm Forrester’s impersonation of Farrow (a critical plot revelation), Smithers—Forrester’s nervous accomplice—digs in the garden and uncovers a concealed object tied to the insecticide conspiracy. This …
The Doctor successfully reverses the miniaturization effect using a seed-based solution, demonstrating their return to normal size. Ian, Susan, and Barbara witness the seed shrink and vanish, then reappear at …
The Doctor confirms Barbara’s full recovery from insecticide poisoning after Susan provides her water, easing her symptoms. Barbara, still disoriented, questions the Doctor about the laboratory explosion and their escape. …
After successfully restoring Barbara to full health and confirming the group’s return to normal size, the Doctor isolates himself to investigate the TARDIS scanner, which is now displaying static interference. …