Original Air Date: October 31, 1964
Starring: William Hartnell, Jacqueline Hill, William Russell
Directed by: Mervyn Pinfield
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains spoilers for this episode!
Synopsis: A malfunction with the Tardis deposits the Doctor (William Hartnell) and the others to an unrecognizable Earth. As it turns out they have been shrunken down to the size of insects.
Kitty Cameo: The Tardis has landed in the garden of a home where a murder is unfolding over the approval of a dangerous new insecticide. It’s the home of the man who won’t approve the chemical, and as he sits down he motions for a cat nearby. The cat is a beautiful tortoiseshell.
In another shot the cat is seen scurrying away.
The cat is also seen in a very brief closeup.
Later when the Doctor and his team are close to the house and putting together the pieces of what is happening, they turn to go back to the Tardis, only to find themselves face to face with the gigantic cat! This is the cliffhanger for this episode.
Spoiler alert! Since the cat’s involvement in the following episode is so minimal we will just say here and the Doctor and the others all stand perfectly still and the cat loses interest and walks away.
Final Mewsings: Cats lose interest easily, even in classic Doctor Who.
Relevant Links:
To discuss this film and other cats in movies and on television, join us on
Facebook and Twitter.