gained 17% of the viewing audience. The Appreciation Index increased slightly over the three episodes, from 57 to 59. The BBC Film and Videotape Library did not select the serial for preservation, and the original tapes were wiped in the late 1960s. In 1977, 16mm film prints of the serial were discovered at BBC Enterprises. Critical response At the BBC Programme Review Board after the broadcast of the first episode in November 1964, the director-general Hugh Greene was unimpressed by the story's concept; following the second episode's broadcast, he noted his disappointment at the serial and eagerness for the Daleks' return. An Audience Research Report on the first episode noted that the response had been positive, with praise directed at the props and special effects. Retrospective reviews of the serial were mixed. In The Discontinuity Guide (1995), Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping described the serial as "a strange mix of ecological [science fiction] and 'cops and gangsters, finding it "good fun, if a little unrepresentative of the series". In The Television Companion (1998), David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker found difficulty in understanding why the serial was considered so important by the production team, and found the plot to be "one of the weakest" in the series so far; they praised Hill's performance, and enjoyed Hartnell and Russell, though noted that Ford was "rather less impressive". In 2008, Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times wrote that the story had ambition and impressive set design, but felt that "the drama itself is less than enthralling"; Mulkern noted that Barbara "[came] across as uncharacteristically wet" and described Simpson's score as "annoyingly childish". In 2012, DVD Talks John Sinnott felt that the serial was a "solid installment", but considered it strange that the main characters do not interact with the criminals. Dave Golder of SFX described the serial as "undeniably slow, talky and lacking in excitement", particularly criticising Barbara's characterisation. Christopher Bahn of The A.V. Club appreciated the ambition of the serial but felt that it "never quite gels together" and the condensed final episodes hindered the overall story. Commercial releases A novelisation of Planet of Giants, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in January 1990. It was the final First Doctor serial to be novelised. Dicks used the original rehearsal script for the first episode and a camera script for the scrapped final episode to restore the