My first memories of Doctor Who - round at my gran's, eating blocks of raspberry ripple ice cream - are of "the one with the maggots" (The Green Death, 1973) and the "one with the spiders and the blue crystals" (Planet of The Spiders, 1974).Given that I was only seven or eight at the time, it's no wonder that - beyond certain memorable images - the plots are lost to me now, but the sight of over-sized insects and arachnids have been indelibly burned into my brain.
The Green Death sees John Pertwee in full-on James Bond action man mode as The Doctor, armed with a variety of disguises, a neat line in martial arts, some vehicle stunts and a bit of sonic screwdriver action.
At the behest of UNIT, he and Jo (surely the dimmest and most accident-prone of all assistants?) investigate mysterious deaths at a Welsh mine and come across not only the giant maggots, but also a global conspiracy involving brain washing and a super-computer.
This is all seeded with a larger "evil, multi-national, petrochemical corporations versus good, eco-friendly hippies" conflict, that allows Jo to find love with young Professor Jones, seemingly the inventor of maggot-repelling Quorn.
Perhaps, the couple are still in Wales now, working with Torchwood? Although a light-hearted mockumentary extra on the DVD (hosted by Mark Gatiss of all people) interviews the professor 30 years on and he says they drifted apart!
A six-episode story, The Green Death does go on a bit, and dreadful (and often seemingly unnecessary) Colour Separation Overlay jars with a modern audience, used to the fine CGI work of modern Who.
However, the maggots themselves have aged well, still projecting a genuine repulsion, although I could have done without the feeble giant fly that one turns into (although I'm surprised that my seven-year-old brain didn't also latch onto it's method of attack - urinating green acid on the windscreen of the Doctor's car).
A fine, old, Earth-bound '70s Doctor Who story - I can see why elements have stuck with me all these years. I wonder if, in 30 years time, the children of today will be fondly recalling monsters such as the Ood or Judoon from the new Who?
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