In the eighth episode of the second series of Doctor Who, the Doctor and Rose land on a mysterious base on a planet that literally should not exist. As they slowly begin to discover just how strange and creepy this all is, an unbelievable entity begins to threaten their lives. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who.

Best episode ever or best episode ever? No, seriously, even if the second half of this story doesn’t live up to the first, I have to proclaim that “The Impossible Planet” has the best plot of any Doctor Who episode so far. The fact that the story is spread over two episodes adds to the fact that it doesn’t feel like television; much of this gives the sensation of watching a complete movie instead, especially when you factor in the slow-building story, the amazing costumes, and the special effects.

I love ensemble casts, as I’ve said before, and that might be another reason why this episode was so terribly exciting. The cold open of the episode is so gosh darn creepy, before we realize the Ood are not a malicious race of aliens, and leads to the introduction of a group of human characters who are all working on this barren base. Because the cast of humans (and creatures!) is so diverse and large, writer Matt Jones manages to weave multiple complex and subtle story lines throughout “The Impossible Planet,” which is quite a feat when you consider how over-the-top and absurd the concept behind this episode is.

While the science might be questionable, I was in awe of how mysterious and unsettling the idea of a planet magically orbiting a black hole made me feel. I was reminded of movies like Alien or Danny Boyle’s Sunshine when watching “The Impossible Planet,” and I suppose the trope is pretty familiar in science fiction: human crew gets stranded on base/ship and something weird/creepy happens while they are stuck. A trope can succeed in being used if the details and the context are changed and Matt Jones deserves unlimited high-fives for what he pulls off here.

First of all, he strands Rose and the Doctor at the very beginning of the episode. Obviously, since we’re in mid-series, they’re going to eventually find a way out, but it succeeds in adding a heavy sense of dread to hang over everything. While the Doctor and Rose try to figure out what’s going on, they have to additionally cope with the possibility of being stuck thousands of years into the future. (I actually might have that date wrong, as they don’t explain the date formatting at all inside the episode.)

Of all the Doctor Who episodes I’ve seen, this is certainly the one with the slowest pace. I got the sensation that this would be a two-parter pretty early on, as nothing seemed to be getting a resolution for quite some time. In fact, even by the end of the episode, we don’t even really have any true answers. If anything, Jones has just piled on one question after another.

Those questions concern the mysterious energy force located ten miles into the crust of the planet Krop Tor that is managing to allow the human forces to enter and leave the event horizon of the black hole, something that should be physically impossible. Even weirder, as the crew watches the universe get sucked into nothingness, Krop Tor manages to orbit the black hole due to the energy force it’s shooting out into space.

For the Doctor, this entire scenario is a manifestation of his fascination with the human race. The running commentary he provides about the sense of wonder and the excitement of discovery that motivates humans to do such things as…well, fly to a planet orbiting a black hole, is an example of his personal philosophy acted out. These beings are living, taking chances and seeking out what they do not know. Surely, they are also acting in their own self-interest, as Scooti mentions that humans are looking for a new energy source, but it’s still discovery at work here: they don’t know what’s at the center of Krop Tor. It could be anything and it could certainly be something they could never use at all.

There’s also a subtext running underneath all of this that slowly rises to the surface: perhaps some things are best left undiscovered. As the drill that’s working it’s way to the target inside Krop Tor, the Ood suddenly transform from a docile slave race to an unbearably creepy group of messengers. Danny Bartock, who works with the Ood, begins to notice their brainwave activity jumping higher than it should, while the Ood begin to make small slips in their communication, referring to the “Beast” that has been awoken. We get confirmation that something is awry when the crew’s archaeologist, Toby Zed, is possessed by this frightening entity.

Oh, and he WALKS RIGHT OUT OF THE STATION WITHOUT A SUIT ON. Seriously, it is the most terrifying thing ever when Scooti finds him outside, breathing without any sort of apparatus to help him, and he begins to shatter the window as she screams for the door to open.

It doesn’t, and she’s dragged out into space and dies. Just like that.

This episode suddenly begins to feel very overwhelming (that’s a compliment) as the horrors mount on top of one another. Toby’s actions force the remaining crew to evacuate to another part of the base and it’s there they realize that Scooti is missing. I think the most disturbing image in the entire episode is when the Doctor realizes what happened to Scooti, as they all turn upwards and see her floating outside the base, dead. “She was only twenty years old,” Ida says, as they watch her float slowly towards the black hole to be annihilated.

Fucked up. It’s so fucked up.

At this moment, things get EVEN MORE INTERESTING, as the drill reaches its target ten miles into the surface of Krop Tor. I wasn’t surprised when the Doctor volunteered himself to descend down the the mine shaft with Ida, and I wasn’t surprised when Zach reluctantly agreed that the Doctor probably was the best person to accompany Ida. What I didn’t expect was what was actually down there.

Impossibly, the Doctor and Ida find the remnants of an ancient society and an ominous circular sheet of metal embedded into the ground. At this point, a billion questions seemed to be running through my head: How could living beings have existed so far down into a planet? What happened to them? How could they create a source of energy powerful enough to keep the planet from collapsing into a black hole?

Most importantly, though, I wondered the same thing as Ida and the Doctor: What the hell was beneath the seal?

Back on the base, we’re sort of given an answer. All the creepy and disturbing lines about the “Beast” are suddenly brought to fruition as the entity begins to completely control the Ood. It’s strange how the Ood started off as horrifying creatures, then benevolent beings, and then, possessed by the Beast, back to being completely frightening. It was also interesting to see the Beast start off in Toby and then transfer to the Ood. Is it a single entity? How can it control more than one Ood at a time? How does it know that Mr. Jefferson’s wife didn’t forgive him???

And fuck, is it really Satan????? OH GOD.

It doesn’t help that we switch back to Ida and the Doctor and the seal slides open, revealing a pit that doesn’t seem to end. A voice screams out from below: “The pit is open, and I am free!”

Oh christ, WHAT DID THEY SET FREE????

~*to be continued*~

THOUGHTS

• The conversation the Doctor and Rose have at the base about being unable to travel in time and being forced to get mortgages is both adorable and heartbreaking. They’ve been toying back and forth about their relationship all season and it just makes me anxious to know how the Doctor feels.
• “Oh, if you think there’s gonna be trouble, we could always go back inside, and go somewhere else….” LOL’N ALL OVER.
• “Never met a trapdoor I liked.” “Do you think it’ll open?” “That’s what trapdoors tend to do.”
• Ok, so the TARDIS was grown, not built? WHAT.
• I want a hug from the Doctor. 🙁
• “The Beast and his armies will rise from the pit to make war against God.” I’M SORRY WHAT.
• “Did you have to say that??? ‘There’s no turning back?’ That’s almost as bad as ‘Nothing could possibly go wrong’ or ‘This’ll be the best Christmas Walford’s ever had.’ ” I LOVE YOU FOREVER, DOCTOR.
• Seriously, I cannot wait for part two. Such an INCREDIBLE episode!!