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!!
I fucking LOVE this two-parter, absolute favorite EVER. I'm glad you enjoyed 🙂
best episode of the series y/y?
I'd give it second place, putting Girl in the Fireplace above this two-parter. That being said, I'm not sure if that's due to the strength of The Impossible Planet or the weakness of series 2 in general.
Yes!
Doctor Who tackles religion in a sci-fi horror setting? Best concept ever! The Ood? Most creepy monsters of Season 2! A planet orbiting a black hole? SO FREAKING AWESOME!
The Impossible Planet is one of my fave episodes, along with The Satan Pit, of course! I haven't been watching along with you so far b/c I have seen these episodes so many times, but when I knew you were up to this episode, I started keeping pace.
This episode is really super creepy … that part where the alien/monster/evil of the week creeps up on Toby while telling him not to turn around is nightmare fuel for sure! And then when poor Scooti gets sucked out into space … watching her float up into the black hole was actually kind of beautiful, while being utterly tragic. She was filmed underwater for that and it's just perfect, IMO.
Also, in the commentary, one of the guys says something along the lines of "If I'd lost the TARDIS, I would have spent the entire episode crying" and I was like THIS, lol!! I swear I got claustrophobic just imagining being stuck somewhere without the TARDIS!!
RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT
Also I'm pretty sure I would lose the TARDIS by like the third episode.
I'm pretty sure I would be the worst Time Lord of all time, because I'd be afraid to let it OUT OF MY SIGHT!
*CLINGS*
I wouldn't lose the TARDIS. I'd just lose the key. Locked out of my own time/space ship forever.
Oh god, this would be me.
"Hey, hun, fancy popping to ancient greece?"
"Sure, sounds cool!"
"Oh, fuck. I left the key on Mars."
"Well, that's a really cool paperweight we have here, then."
Hahaha! Best dialogue ever, I can just picture a Mr and Mrs Timelord having that conversation!
lol, if it's anything like my car, I would leave the key inside of it all the time :/
Oh god I'd be a wreck if I lost the TARDIS.
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This episode and the next one are some of my favorite episodes of the entirety of Doctor Who. Seriously. Even after 5 series, this two parter is way up there. (My top 3 shift around, but this one definitely spends time at #1.)The relationship and character growth and exploration is fantastic. I love the writing. The Big Bad of the week is scary and ambiguous. The possessed!Ood are genuinely creepy. The secondary characters are brilliantly written. Even though they’re only in these two episodes, I feel like I’ve gotten to know them.
There’s something disconcerting about language so old that the Tardis can’t translate it. It’s not a major plot point, but it starts the episode out with that vague feeling of something being not quite right. It also adds to whole pseudo-mythology feel. The Beast is a great villain. I love the way the Beast possessed the computer. There is just something so supremely creepy about the calm computer voice sayings things like “He is awake.” And you’ve got to love that “Don’t turn around. Don’t look” moment with Toby. The hive minded Ood are also really great as vessels of the Beast. I could go on for hours about how I love the ambiguity of the Beast. All those sixes that calculate how the planet stays in orbit. Is it Satan? Is it the original evil that all mythology comes from? Probably not. Come on. This is Doctor Who. And then the background of it all we have this black hole, this monstrous thing devouring everything. In general, I love the atmosphere of these episodes. The music is fantastic. That bit of music when Scooti sees Toby standing outside without a spacesuit is just gives the scene that extra bit of drama. The ruins of the decayed civilization also have that sort of haunting beauty to them.
The Ood: [possessed by the Beast] Some may call him Abaddon. Some may call him Krop Tor. Some may call him Satan. Or Lucifer. Or the King of Despair. The Deathless Prince. The Bringer of Night. And these are the words that shall set him free.
Rose is so very Rose in this episode and I love her for it. Of course she recognizes that there’s something not right about the Ood and wants to help them (but the Doctor is much too busy to help an enslaved race) and treats them like the people they are instead of just servants.
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Oh and here’s more of Rose being not clingy. (Seriously, where does fandom get the “Series 2 Rose is clingy” meme?) The Doctor wants to go explore what is down in the center of the planet. What does Rose do? Does she protest? Does she insist on coming along? Nope, she gives him a kiss on the helmet and sends him on his way, with instructions to come back to her.
That moment where the Doctor and Rose realize that they’ve been stranded is great. It demonstrates a lot of what I love about them.
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The Doctor: I’ve trapped you here.
Rose: No, don’t worry about me.
[the space station shakes]
Rose:.. Ok we’re on a planet that shouldn’t exist, beneath a black hole with no way out. Yeah, I changed my mind. Start worrying about me. [she smiles a little]
[the Doctor pulls Rose into a hug]
The Doctor’s primary concern isn’t that he’s stuck without the Tarids and the Tardis is pretty much his whole existence. Who is he without it? But no, his concern is for Rose, that he trapped her there. And Rose’s first instinct is to make the Doctor feel better, even though she’s clearly a bit freaked out. I love how much they care about each other and understand the other person’s feelings. The conversation between the Doctor and Rose in habitation three is another key moment for them.
It’s this brilliant awkward conversation. They’re both a little bit freaked out about the fact that they’re stuck, so they joke around a bit to relieve the tension. And then there’s a bit of awkwardness because both of them are always reluctant to put their relationship (whatever it may be) into actual terms. The Doctor doesn’t really do domestic. He doesn’t settle down and stay in one place. That’s scary for him. And the Doctor genuinely feels bad about the fact that Rose is stuck with him. He’s taken her away from her family, but Rose doesn’t want him to feel bad. “Everyone leaves home in the end”. Besides, being stuck in the future with the Doctor is better than anything that could have happened to her back in London with Jackie. She’ll deal. The look of hope on his face when Rose says that being stuck with him isn’t so bad just warms my heart. It makes you believe that even if the Doctor and Rose never get the Tardis back, they’ll be ok. They have each other and that’s a lot (don’t mind me… I’m just quoting some Bon Jovi lyrics. I have excellent taste in music. Haha).
BSC Tinhatter moment: Danny says “Mysterious couple. How are you then? Settling in?”. And the Doctor and Rose don’t bother to correct him… just saying…
"(Seriously, where does fandom get the “Series 2 Rose is clingy” meme?)"
From a **JOKE** Moffat made at ComicCon 2008 when he was kidding around with Julie Gardner on stage. He jokingly referred to Rose as "clingy" to get a rise out of Gardner — which it did!! I'm no Moffat apologist, but he clearly was kidding around, not ragging on Rose. Some fans though, took it and ran with it.
"BSC Tinhatter moment: Danny says “Mysterious couple. How are you then? Settling in?”. And the Doctor and Rose don’t bother to correct him… just saying… "
That's not tinhatting — that's being perceptive =D
Hahah, yes, I agree, very perceptive, I caught that too. I love that they're just creeping around the edges of what their relationship is might be might have to be. They're super cute and I love them and this episode (I'm a first time watcher, and I was away, and I've finally caught up to Mark)
Ahhh cool! I was a first-time watcher about 6 months ago =D This might sound a little pathetic lol, but in the interim I've seen most episodes at minimum … 3 or 4 times? So I went from super-casual fan to "OMGZ!11! I LOVE THIS SHOW!!" in record time =D It is an incredibly rich fandom and such a well-crafted show =D — glad you are enjoying it!
"(My top 3 shift around, but this one definitely spends time at #1.)"
… what are your other top 2? Only one of mine has been watched here yet – Dalek.
Is it a spoiler to say what my other top 2 favorites are since neither of them have been watched by Mark yet? I'll be coy about it just in case. lol. One of the other top stories for me is a two-parter from series 3 and the other other one is one of the specials between series 4 and 5. haha. If that's not enough for you to figure it out, ask me on lj.
Something tells me that we have the same favourite two-parters; but we'll make sure when we actually get there.
One of the other top stories for me is a two-parter from series 3
For a while I could only think of one 2-parter in S3, and was like, no. No way that's someone's favorite.
And then I remembered there's more than one. And was totally relieved once I figured out my mistake.
LOL, I had the same thought!
My favorite Tenth Doctor two-parter is from Series 3, and I had to go look it up to see which other one you were talking about. I'm always forgetting about that one.
I wish I could forget about that one.
Don't we all?
HIGH FIVE FOR OUR SPECTACULAR TASTE.
That one is definitely pretty cool. It's up there in my favorite episodes, although I don't know that I have any specific episodes besides That One Episode in Season 3 and That Other Episode in Season 4.
The specials were sort of hit and miss for me… I think I enjoyed the first one the most? The others were good and then the last one, well… that one got highly edited for my head canon. Mark seems to enjoy just about everything though, which is part of the joy in reading these reviews. Makes me look at things in a different way or go back and re-watch episodes. Some of them I still dislike after viewing (like Father's Day…) but some hold up better than I thought.
The Ood are definitely some of my favorite creations in all of Who-dom, and this set of episodes is right up there in my top ten. The special effects work is really nice, I have to say. Beyond that, it's sort of fun trying to pick out the redshirts!
I KNEW YOU'D LOVE IT I KNEW IT.
It goes without saying, but you are NOT prepared. Not even CLOSE.
I love the Ood, the perfectly calm and reasonable voice is so creepy at the best of times, and when they start with the 'beast' stuff it gets to me, quickly. And the characters in this, even the short-scene, created to die ones are so- real, that losing them actually hurts a little. So often in this sort of thing you don't care about the 'redshirt' type characters as they're just there to die. Dr Who can make you care for them.
The tragic death of Scooti Manista. Even more sad and moving than the demise of Lynda with a Y.
Oh, Lynda with a Y, how we miss you.
I love the Ood so much.
Can't say anything else because of the two-part deal, but yeah. Just wanted to show my support for the Ood.
TOTAL AGREEMENT. The Ood are probably my favorite aliens in the entire show. There is just something oddly lovable, yet creepy-as-all-get out about them. <3
I want a hug from the Doctor too, Mark 🙁
Our lives are tragedy. 🙁
ME TOO
Doctor hug for you. (Just pretend you're Sarah Jane.)
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Good to know my gifs are put to good use.
Add me to the waiting list for a hug like that!
Oh mannnn, this episode. I remember not liking it much the first time, but I think that's just because I was consumed with thoughts of NO REALLY WHAT IS GOING ON. On second watching I like it a lot more. And oh man, the Ood. I love the Ood.
This was my absolute favorite episode of Series 2. Maybe the favorite one ever, but that might be because I like my horror possible demon/satan tainted. 😀
The interesting thing? RTD actually rewrote most of this episode himself. He does polishes on most scripts, and he says in The Writer's Tale that this script ended up being mostly his own work.
Also: DEVIL OMG.
This episode scared the crap out of me. I had a nightmare about it, and so refused to watch the second part. Maybe it's because I'm a Christian and take these things to seriously, or maybe the writing and tension build-up were some of the best ever. Regardless, I didn't feel like risking a second night of nightmares. But I'm glad you enjoyed it (and Who too, I love it myself), and you have excellent analysis skills and are funny to read, though I don't really like all the times you use the f-word. Aren't there any better ways to express shock or dislike other than the f-word and using Jesus' name as profanity? Just a thought.
I think this episode and the next could make anyone who grew up with a Christian background, even if they no longer believe, uneasy when they're watching. It kind of preys on the stuff you heard about as a child and sort of "know".
Weirdly enough, I really ddn't like this episode as much because I'm an atheist…I found the whole Satan thing a little too hard to swallow somehow.
Which is ridiculous of course, because it's no more unlikely than most of the stuff on Doctor Who.
I guess maybe that was the reason – to me it's just another scary-ass Whovian monster of the week, but the fact that some people genuinely believe that this thing is real in some way makes me very uncomfortable.
It's a shame because this was a great episode otherwise, and easily the creepiest so far. 😀
Another atheist here. Was having a conversation on the second page about the Satan thing, and how I rolled my eyes at that bit.
I think for me (maybe us?), Satan is not really different from any other villain/monster presented in scifi/fantasy. So I think having the beast called "Satan" is a bit of a cop out, and maybe gives the writers a lazy way to ignite fear in the presumably large section of the audience who grew up with such stories. But since I didn't, the writers have to work harder to impress me with fear than perhaps Christian viewers require.
So the possession stuff was well and scary, but the Satan aspect doesn't really work for me much. And maybe ruins the previous scariness somewhat.
I'm an atheist, albeit one with a Christian upbringing, and it still found it a very powerful image. Can't say too much about this until tomorrow, but it's that thought of, `I KNOW there's no such thing as the devil or evil incarnate…but what if?…`
I was raised in a secular household, so my childhood was mostly absent of Christian imagery. That might be a big deciding difference between us regarding the Satan aspect.
I don't mind "first evil"/"evil incarnate" type of stories really, I just don't personally feel much power in the Satan image, so that moment in the episode was a moment of, wow this was not written for me. And hence my consideration that's it's somewhat lazy writing given I think it sort of relies on people's upbringing with this imagery to get the impact others get from this episode/that moment.
TL;DR: no Christian upbringing, no impact from the Satan aspect
So I think having the beast called "Satan" is a bit of a cop out, and maybe gives the writers a lazy way to ignite fear in the presumably large section of the audience who grew up with such stories.
THIS. I think even if they did keep the implications in, but made them more subtle and dropped the more obvious names, I would be fine with it, but the whole Satan/Lucifer thing gets my eyes rolling too. I mean, I had a good catholic upbringing and align myself now with the dreaded agnosticism- so by every right it SHOULD strike a small chord with me still, but it really falls flat. The name drop just ties it so much in my mind to a few earthly religions- ignoring those that don't have a similar figure even here on current day earth, let alone the variations among the stars, that it puts it over the top.
I think even if they did keep the implications in, but made them more subtle and dropped the more obvious names, I would be fine with it
Yeah, it was mostly the name-dropping.
I almost never realize religious imagery myself – it nearly always needs to be pointed out to me. Unless they drop names.
So sacrifice arcs? Not really a religious thing to me. Resurrection? Mythology/fantasy trope. So it's only when people start comparing things like that to Jesus that I'm like, oh yeah…Bible.
In other words, the writers have to be really unsubtle before I'll get annoyed by stuff like this.
Hm, I'm a Christian, and maybe that's *why* Satan images don't scare me, since I don't believe that I'm supposed to live in fear. ::shrugs::
I do wish that they hadn't been so obvious with the name, but I think they wanted shock value for the kids, since they know most kids will have at least heard about Satan.
I would find Santa *way* scarier, that damn elf stole my cookies!
But it's not as if they said This Is Satan. They just said that the concept and image of entities *such as* Satan (and a whole list of other names are used also) exist in so many cultures, you might start to wonder if they all have an original source, which seems to be what this creature at least claimed to be.
I'm not sure why using the name Satan is so problematic but none of the other names bother anyone. Why single out that one? It certainly isn't singled out in the episode.
I wondered the same – Satan is just a name, and it's not just used within Christianity.
Certainly the best two-parter so far, and that's comparing against the Empty Child & the Doctor Dances. Outstanding stuff.
And the Ood are creepy, even when they're just standing there.
All else has to wait for resolution with part 2.
I am SO GLAD you like this episode! I have a feeling that it's a bit hit and miss with fans, although I could be wrong… But oh my god it is one of my favourites 😀 I was so scared you would hate it! But you don't! Can't wait for your review of tomorrows episode.
I DIDN'T SAY THIS BUT
Those Ood masks are FUCKING SPECTACULAR. Their eyes blink!!!!
I have a hard time believing there is a human being underneath that mask. Like, it just looks real.
Yes, the Ood design with its little hookah-esque attachment is definitely one of the cooler/more original ones that the show came up with.
The Ood always reminded me of the Pak'ma'ra from Babylon 5…they have the same tentacle-y faces and thay even hold very similar translation orbs. Though in their case, they apparently CAN speak other languages, thay just choose not to because they believe alien languages are beneath them.
Here, if this works, there's a picture of one with a translation orb on this wikipedia article…
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%BA&#…
What do you think? A possible influence? The costumes and makeup on Babylon 5 were renowned for being extremely good. 🙂
LOL, good point about the pak'ma'ra.
If Mark feels like doing another sci-fi series after all of Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica (and I would not blame him at all if he didn't), I would definitely recommend Babylon 5 for a Mark Watches project.
There's just one problem with a Mark Watches B5… you know the one. The Dreaded First Season Issue. Every time I try to get someone started on B5, the getting started is the hardest part. Season 1 is really better after you've gotten in to the show, unfortunately.
Fuck. It has seriously just occurred to me that the ood aren't actually aliens and there are humans in there. It just didn't pop into my head before… you know… the idea that those ood aren't real. Feeling a wee bit…stupid…right now.
This has been known to happen to people who *work on the show*, so you needn't feel too stupid.
(Seriously. It happened to Jon Pertwee at least once while he was playing the Doctor. And there's a brilliant much-more-recent example I'd link to the Youtube of, except that it involves a companion and an alien Mark doesn't know about yet.)
There are also plenty of instances where the regulars spent weeks working with actors in prosthetics, e.g. cat nuns, and consequently failed to recognise them *out* of their make-up. You can just imagine asking `Who are you?` to someone you've been working with for weeks. It's a faux pas, but it's an understandable one.
I'm trying to think who that might be…
I love the actors' reaction to stuff like this. Especially those who are total fanboys like Ten, sooooo much fun seeing him meet daleks and so on.
Now it can be told.
You NEED to watch the Doctor Who Confidentials for the Ood episodes. The Ood masks are amazing.
First episode of the revival to use a traditional quarry? Also the first one to be set on/in a convincingly alien enviroment (New Earth and a satellite orbitting Earth don't count in my mind). This episode gets alot of points for both those things in my book, also it's pretty much Doom but with the Doctor. The Ood are also pretty neat designs and probably my favourite alien introduced in the revival until Season 3.
This is one of my favourite Doctor Who episodes as well! Even if the closed up base at the edge of nothing is a much used trope, it's still done brilliantly here. This episode is silently creepy, and even if it's not as action-packed as other episodes, you really get to know the people on the base and for me that's more important than lots of running and fighting 🙂
And I just had to make this when I realized you'd be watching this episode today, it's just a great moment! "We could always go back?"
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TARDIS fan that I am I always get rather upset when we realise it was in the part of the station that's been destroyed.
As creepy as they are I kind of love the Ood. They're pretty weird to look at, with the face full of tentacles but when they're not posessed by evil and going crazy they're really very sweet.
The Doctor is so "Yay Humans!" in this episode and it's so sweet (especially after all of Nine's "stupid apes!" stuff).
There's a piece of music that was used throughout the episode (I noticed it most when Scooti sees Toby outside but it shows up in other places too) that reminded me of Bear MaCreary's work on Battlestar Galactica (which I love). I may be the only one who hears the similarity though.
TARDIS love! The Doctor really needs to take better care of her.
I love the music in this episode as well. The string part (I don't know what insturment it is) is just gorgeous and haunting. Also Bear McCreary is a god. *clings to BSG soundtracks*
He really does. The amount of episodes where he just loses track of her, that must be why he ends up in the wrong time/place so often, the TARDIS is getting her own back.
Lose me, will you? I'll lose YOU. So there.
Damn I forgot, I was linked to this last night:
http://www.empireonline.com/features/movie-poster…
The picture I've linked to is fine but a lot of the other pictures are full of spoilers for everything after this episode.
I love those mashups.
Without being spoilery, I wonder how you cope with some of the worse things that happen to the TARDIS! O.O
By getting REALLY upset/cross at whatever or whoever caused whatever happened. Then I usually get distracted by something exciting happening in the story.
LOL I have been totally burying my head in the sand re: comments after the mass wank of GITF, but I feel obligated to leave some love for these episodes. They are fabulous, among my favourites in s2 (prbably second spot? idk), so I am v glad you enjoyed this part. The mortgage conversation is so awkward and wonderful.
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"What are you, Chief Dramatist?" lol Rose
Hey, is the spot next to you open? I've been looking for a place safe from the… kerfuffle from GITF, which seemed to spread a bit, as these things do. I'm very happy that, so far, this episode isn't so divisive.
For me, when I first saw it, I liked it, but I really loved it on rewatch. When I watched it the other night, I was so much more impressed with it than I remembered being. Everything here just seems to work.
LOL omg I didn't even read the Cybermen reviews for days because I was too busy hiding, and I still haven't read the comments for any of the previous episodes. SO MUCH NEGATIVITY ABOUT THINGS I LOVE 🙁 and I have not been feeling up to fighting the good fight, lol. ~I wish I could bake a cake out of rainbows and smiles so everyone could eat it and be happy.~
That's me too, actually. I liked it, but since I streamlined through all the available episodes (s1-s4.02 at the time) I didn't think much about individual episodes. Then I started noticing people listing these as some of their favourites, so I rewatched, and was surprised by how much I liked it, the suspense and the story and the character bits all work great together.
"What are you, Chief Dramatist?"
You know, I always forget about this line until I'm actually rewatching the episode, so it makes me lol every time. Oh Rose. Why so awesome?
Rose has some funny lines in this one if I am recalling correctly, I don't remember which goes where so I won't elaborate but I remember her cracking me up a few times when I rewatched them. I especially liked this line, because I'd forgotten about it, and I don't remember what Toby says exactly but I remember snorting at how dramatic it was, so that line was like LOL YES ROSE.
Right there with you. I was kind of shocked by the massive fanwank that The Girl in the Fireplace generated. I love it when we have the kinds of posts we're having now: lots of squeeing, voicing some dislikes, and general lack of fanwankery.
Oh I knew Girl in the Fireplace would be a HUGE POOL OF WANKERY because it is a very divisive episode, and lol to be honest I didn't even read Mark's review lol. Plus, Doctor Who fandom is incapable of playing nice for very long, and School Reunion had already kick-started it. But it did make me sad because I was enjoying the reviews and comment section until that point.
Yeah, I'm not "in the fandom" enough to know which episodes are really divisive. I just love the show and have lots of equally geeky friends. I'm also pretty uncritical because I love the show so much, so the vehemence surprised me. Sadness.
I definitely didn't put much thought into GITF one way or the other until I started getting into the fandom more, so I can see how it would take you by surprise. But honestly as soon as I knew Mark was doing GITF I was just like
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Ahh I havent seen this episode in forever, I can barely remember anything about it. I have to be honest though and from what I do remember I wan't really into it that much. I mean it isn't bad, Dr Who is never bad, but I did sort of get left with the impression 'Satan? Really now?' It's an ok ep but it wouldnt get near a list of my favourites.
I do not know how to reply to this as half an episode, since I rewatched the whole thing in one go the other day, so I shall refrain from commenting – in case I give something away.
Long story short – this is fabulous two-parter. I remember the very first time I watched it, I was TERRIFIED of the Ood, even after they got their translator spheres functioning. Thankfully, they no longer scare me. Now? Now, I think they're fantastic. I think there should be an Ood party.
Also, TARDIS! How fantastic is it that it is a living entity? I was waiting for that – though I'd totally forgotten it was in this episode that they mention it! doesn't that make it that much more interesting? It brings much more to the idea of the 'heart of the Tardis' (he states that in Boom Town), doesn't it?
Some brilliant Ood dialogue.
We must feed. We Must Feed! WE MUST FEED!…You if you are hungry.
The Beast and his Armies shall rise from the Pit to make war against God….Apologies. I said, "I hope you enjoy your meal".
He is awake…and you will worship him!
I was re-watching this a few weeks ago to see if it still held up as good as my memory of it does. Yep. Absolutely love this story.
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I love the Ood – I think they're cute, and I know that's probably an unpopular opinion, but I find their cephalopod-like faces really endearing. And the blinking! Adorable. But then I'm a fan of biology and I use words like cephalopod, so YMMV.
And then they're a slave race – god, it's house elves all over again. WRITERS, STOP DOING THIS! It's creepy, and makes characters who don't object unlikeable.
I agree, they look like a race of Dr Zoidbergs minus the claws. About the slave race thing, I was suprised there was no mention in the review but in this episode Rose seems to object, then it all gets sidelined when everything goes to hell.
Yeah, I think Dr. Zoidberg is pretty adorable too, I always want to give him a big hug when I watch Futurama.
Which is somewhat understandable- she can fight for creature rights when they're not busy being attacked by an unknown entity.
Oh man now I want to watch a quality edit overdubbing the Ood with Zoidberg. Why has no one done this like yesterday?
I think the Ood are kind of cute as well. Aside from the parts of the episode where they're possessed. The whole slave race thing is both interesting and troubling. I'm sad they don't go into it much other than making it look like a very acceptable part of the society of the time
Nah, I think they're adorable too. But maybe you shouldn't use me as a barometer, I think some odd things are cute sometimes. XD
(And you're far from alone on being bothered by the slave race thing.)
> But maybe you shouldn't use me as a barometer
Oh I don't know. You strike me as someone who can tell when it's raining. 🙂
Haha XD
or your boobs might be able to, like a fifth sense you know.
The Ood seem to exist on that line between cute and creepy.
And how. I love he Ood, I think they're great.
I was surprised, reading these comments, to see just how many people do love the Ood. I always thought I was the only one 🙂
Yet again: TARDIS! Nooooo!
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For some reason I just love the word Ood.
I love the slow creepy build up of the Ood's translators malfunctioning, to Toby covered in the strange writing, right up to the final cliff hanger of controlled Ood and the seal opening. I mean ‘Don’t turn around.’ is just hello there childhood style fears. ‘I’m right behind you.’ Rose's comment about since when did humans need slaves did make me go 'Have you seen Earth's history of colonialism and slavery? Or even modern day.' I do want to learn more about the Ood though. They seem interesting since we've never come across a race like them before and I like learning more about the aliens the Doctor meets.
I love the effect of the black hole outside the roof screen. Even Scooti's death, while horrifying as it happened, looks almost pretty floating off into space. They achieved that effect by filming the actress in a swimming pool.
‘No turning back, that’s almost as bad as nothing can possibly go wrong, or this is going to be the best Christmas Walfords ever had.’ For those not in the know Walford is the setting of the BBC soap Eastenders, or as I like to call it, the most depressing show in existence, and their Christmas episodes are just the despair icing on top of the year long angst cake.
‘The Impossible Planet’ is another of my favourite pieces from the soundtrack. It’s just so different from everything else that’s on there and beautifully done. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYvxt1Bnov4
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Oooh that's the piece of the score that made me think of BSG (from about 0:22 on in particular).
I think their name is part of what makes the Ood so loveable, it's such a nice sounding word.
I too love saying Ood. It's the best part of the word OOOOoooh, but with a proper ending.
"For some reason I just love the word Ood."
How odd.
And I really love the Impossible Planet theme. It's really unique. It actually reminds me of Firefly a little.
Thank you for the explanation of the Walford reference, AND for your wonderful gifs, which I can only see as Simon falling in love with the Ood's performance. Beautiful. What's the first gif from, if I might ask?
Haha, now that's all I can see as well.
The Ood is from the Never Mind the Buzzcock's Doctor Who special. I can't remember when it aired so I think it's spoilery if you haven't seen up to past series 4, possibly the specials. It's all up on youtube and definitely worth a look. The Ood is from the Guess the Intro round where it sang the opening to a song.
Doesn't the TARDIS really look like something that was grown? I love Bryan Hitch's techno-organic design of the interior. I also love Ida. Oh, and the "don't turn around" scene was awesomely ooky and suspenseful. I don't love this two-parter in toto, but it did have its memorably cool elements.
This. All of this. It’s almost uncanny how closely this review reflects all my thoughts and feelings when watching the episode for the first time. I love this episode! Zack! Ida! The black hole! The Doctor contemplating a mortgage! Hugs for everyone! The faces with the tentacles! What is it down that hole! Aaaaaaargh! 😀
This! Oh, god, this. And oddly enough, it just makes me love the Ood more.
"But contrary to popular myth, a black hole is not a cosmic vacuum cleaner. If our Sun was suddenly replaced with a black hole of the same mass, Earth's orbit around the Sun would be unchanged. Of course, Earth's temperature would change, and there would be no solar wind or solar magnetic storms affecting us. To be "sucked" into a black hole, one has to cross inside the Schwarzschild radius. At this radius, the escape speed is equal to the speed of light, and once light passes through, even it cannot escape." according to NASA
Ah, thank you! I was actually pretty distracted every time they said the planet couldn't possibly orbit a black hole without falling in because I kept remembering this. And it clearly must not be past that Schwarzschild radius or the crew's ship would have been pulled into the black hole trying to get to the planet.
I think they talk about in the episode how they only made it to the planet because they flew down the beam of energy or whatever that's keeping the planet in orbit. So technically they could be past the Schwarzchild radius because of whatever signal is being sent out. In Doctor Who science, anyway.
To be fair, they do acknowledge the impossibility in the episode. It's in the title for a start! :p
Oh, yeah, I forgot about that, actually! The thing is, I don't remember them ever saying that the planet was orbiting too close to the black hole to not fall in, just that it was orbiting and black holes suck in everything around them. But with that mysterious energy allowing them onto the planet, I suppose they could be past the radius and therefore it would seem impossible. They just don't bother explaining in detail, maybe? XD
Hey, when all else fails, "a wizard did it!"
Hee! I love all this science talk. I feel all ~smart because I took astronomy for some GEs back in college and I loved it. I remember things like the Schwarzchild radius! Look, Mom and Dad! My education is useful! It is helping me to talk about science fiction!
I think that the physics point here is that the planet is orbiting INSIDE what would be the event horizon, but the cone of energy which it is giving off actually gets outside that critical limit, giving them a way in and out (theoretically, the crew have already lost members just getting there). So, it's impossible because the planet is orbiting far to far in for it to even normally be detected, let alone for the orbit to be sustainable.
Then why didn't they say so in the episode? It would make the concept slightly less ridiculous. But still, if that was the case, the black hole wouldn't look like they made it look – a literally black hole (black because no light can come back from beyond the event horizon), surrounded by an accretion disc of orbiting matter that it pulls towards it.
Well, orginally, the Mill were working on a Black Hole that looks more correct, but RTD vetoed it, saying he wanted a Disney Black Hole.
If they were past the event horizon, they would not be able to see anything else than a very luminous point diametrically outwards of the center of the black hole (assuming no rotation. If there is rotation, it would be a bit to complex to analyze). I was always really bothered by the Doctor saying the planet was impossible given the fact that they orbit around a black hole which, like stated by others, very possible.
This two-parter is definitely one of my favorite episodes. Ood! Doctor/Rose 'shippiness! …Other stuff I can't talk about yet but which I promise is awesome! I don't want to say too much because I've watched Impossible Planet/Satan Pit so many times that I can no longer remember which bits happened in which part, but I feel fairly sure that you won't be disappointed by The Satan Pit.
+1
Ood love forever!
I definitely agree that plot-wise, this is perhaps one of the most solid-episodes the show has ever done. That said, it's not really high up on my list of favorites. I have no idea why, however, it just doesn't really include the things I love about Who. I tend to prefer Who when it's fun rather than creepy, and this episode was genuinely creepy. (Which isn't a bad thing at all! It's just a personal preference.)
And I think I liked it less this re-watch than I did originally not because of the episode, but because I watched it immediately after seeing RTD's "The Second Coming" for the first time (which stars Christopher Eccleston as a re-incarnation of Jesus and basically serves as an atheist manifesto. Which isn't a bad thing, either, just…I remember Mark saying he thought the Glee episode about religion was overly stereotyped and hit you over the head and to that I have to say: until you have seen The Second Coming, you do not know the definition of "overly stereotyped and hits you over the head") and then seeing this episode right after (all the Beast/God stuff) just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Which is really more about my issues with RTD than the episode itself.
I definitely agree that plot-wise, this is perhaps one of the most solid-episodes the show has ever done. That said, it's not really high up on my list of favorites. I have no idea why, however, it just doesn't really include the things I love about Who.
I'm in this boat, too. I think objectively it's a pretty strong story, and yet I'm so ambivalent to it, and can't entirely place why.
I will say, though, that I do roll my eyes at the OMG SATAN stuff – maybe it's just that I'm an atheist, and so Satan as some demon-beast is just boring and not particularly scary to me since I didn't grow up learning about Satan and Evil. I mean, I don't have those background emotions instilled in me to fear Satan characters, so I guess I require more storytelling to be affected than people raised with this stuff probably need.
My religious views are… complex but certainly not christian, and it scared me.
At this point I saw it more as maybe the bible and other religious sources got the idea of satan from some residual memory of this *thing*, whatever it was? At least, that was my working theory for the week I had to wait for this to be resolved. We shall have to see if I was right.
Yeah, I think the episode did very well in ramping up the mystery and intrigue, especially with the possession of the Ood and Toby. So it did good on the scary.
But then they called it Satan, and that kind of killed it for me. I just think during that moment in the episode it was kind of a cop-out.
I was raised Christian but am converting to Judaism–which doesn't really believe in Satan/Hell. So I can see your point there. (Not from an atheist perspective, obviously, but from a non-believer in Satan perspective, at least.) The creepy factor I get is more from Toby and the Ood rather than the Beast itself. Those scare the crap out of me, lol.
I think that's probably what scares me too. Although the concept of what they might possibly mean by 'the beast' is pretty unnerving. I have a very active imagination and couldn't stop gabbling theories for the whole week.
Agreed – the possession was very well done, I just didn't like the answer that the force controlling them was "Satan."
Yeah, I felt that was a bit of a cop-out too. But I am a MASTER at justifying things I love (seriously, if Dr Who was a physical being rather than a tv show and it was caught murdering kittens I could spin a justification), I felt that with the primary audience being from a society with a heavy christian social background, and perhaps the people on the ship being from a similar society it was the first recognisable 'being' of pure ultimate evil they could concieve of.
Watch me dance as I justify slightly-shoddy plot bits! Watch me swerve from on-coming criticism! Watch me as I manage to make this show PERFECT just because I love it!
Did the kittens have rabies? I bet they did. They totally did.
Approaching Justification Junction, with connections to Handwaving Station, Blissful Ignorance Circle, and Selective Memory Avenue.
Ooh, Handwaving Station! That's my stop!
Really? Cause I totally live near Selective Memoy Avenue.
I can certainly see what you are saying (I've not yet seen "The Second Coming", but I also heard it was heavy-handed), but this episode was not penned by RTD, so his issues with religion don't really apply here.
Someone on the first page said that in "The Writer's Tale" book, RTD says he did a lot of rewrites so that much of this episode was really his.
Not read the book myself, but given that comment, I don't think you can fully discount RTD's role in the religous aspect even though the script's not officially his.
Yeah, what the person below me said. RTD re-wrote a lot of the scripts while he was showrunner, plus, as showrunner, he pretty much has the power to tell each writer what is happening in each episode and then make them write it (if Brit tv works anything like US tv, anyway), so a lot of it still came from him.
Which isn't to say it's all his fault, of course. Just, after watching TSC and then heading right into this, knowing that RTD was involved, it was a bit off-putting. But like I said, that was more about my reaction to TSC rather than this episode. It was just unfortunate timing of when I re-watched the episode, I guess you could say.
until you have seen The Second Coming, you do not know the definition of "overly stereotyped and hits you over the head"
Oh, damm. I was planning on watching it (because of the Eccleston). Maybe I'll just rewatch Shallow Grave or something,
Agreed on everything else. It's been years since I've watched this and one of the reasons was: "Satan was one of the characters". I'm not very happy with such things unless you're writing Hellblazer.
For whatever it's worth, Eccleston acted the hell out of what he was given. So if heavy-handedness and stereotypes don't bother you that much, and you're really only in it for Eccleston, then I say go for it! He's really great in it. Also, my friend and I created a theory that his character in the film Steven Baxter aka Jesus was actually Nine. We theorized that Nine had gone insane after the Time War and landed on earth, convinced he was the son of God. And after mucking around a bit, he got straightened up and ran into Rose. Which doesn't work well with the ending–like I said, it's the atheist manifesto and REALLY HEAVY-HANDED so while I won't say how it ends and spoil people, it's…well, exactly what you'd expect from a heavy-handed atheist manifesto whose central character is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.
But again, Eccleston was amazing in it, so you might enjoy it!
I will give it a try then and lol, I will try to see him as Nine. 😀
It really does make more sense that way! Our original theory, before we'd began the show and just knew, "It's Nine. As Jesus," our theory was that Eight had landed back in Judea and had a run in with some Romans and he was actually the figure we know as Jesus, and when he died on the cross, he regenerated into Nine. Which, really, explains so much! Of course Jesus resurrected! HE WAS A TIME LORD.
A TIME LORD.
omg
OMGOMGOMG
Eight's hair was totally like Christ's hair was tradicionally represented, right?
This is true, the Doctor is Jesus, this is my new religion.
And when resurrected!Christ met the women and the disciples, they couldn't recognize him at first. OMG
In light of the Satan Pit and the implication that the Beast is the inspiration for the Devil in many religions, is it a huge stretch to imagine that Eight/Nine was the inspiration for Christ? It could've totally happened!
And it totally explains the Jesus Complex Ten is often described as having.
I am so intensely glad you love this episode, because I saw its title on the homepage and was like "OMG FAVOURITE EVER". This, for me, is the only ep / two parter *so far* in New Who that stands up to re-watching, like, a gazillion times. Whenever I'm like, hey, I want me some David Tennant Who, this is the earliest episode I'll choose. To me I get the feeling that this is when everything pulls together and completely WORKS, plotholes and all. There is a good balance of original writer and RTD touches, I don't completely hate Rose (a feat in itself), and the mortgage conversation always gets me. I love the fear of there being a language the TARDIS can't translate – this idea that it might well be something the Doctor can't even comprehend. And in a way it is. And how scary is the IDEA of the Beast? I think most people are instilled with this idea of the Devil, and for the episode to play with that, to toy with your deepest fears, is what Who does best for me. Such a great episode and I'm so very glad you like it. I love your blog Mark, have done since I discovered it, at about chapter 10 of Prisoner of Azkaban =].
I noticed this on re-watch:
When everyone sees that Scooti is dead and Rose says "Oh my god," look at Toby sitting down….
Oh that's easy, Mark – just ask half the fans on here!!! It's a COMPLETELY platonic relationship, and her feelings are totally unrequited – except for the times when he hates her because she's selfish.
Okay, seriously? Can you please stop baiting us non-shippers? We're not all hateful people simply because we have different opinions from yours on certain characters and relationships.
You know how Harmonians kind of ruined Harry/Hermione for a lot of people, so that the ship is treated with caution in fandom?
It's comments like yours that makes other people wary of Rosefen and Ten/Rose fans.
I agree. It's passive agressive without much of the passive. It's unfair to those with different views to you and makes it look like you're trying to devalue the opinion of all those who don't hold the same view as you.
Also, that wasn't really a question and I would like to arrive at that conclusion myself and not be told how to feel. Isn't that kind of spoilery?
Sorry… really wasn't being spoilery, promise. Just making a joke based on your "thoughts" off observations we have seen thus far in the season. Deleted all the same =)
It wasn't spoilery, promise. Just a joke based on your "thoughts" and based solely and 100% on what we have seen so far this season — but deleted comment all the same =)
Blah for some reason this isn't posting right …
Anyway, it's not spoilery, I promise. It was just a joke based only on information we've gotten thus far in the season. But I deleted it all the same.
Sometimes I love how obviously the writers ship Rose/Ten, because they turn in some pretty adorable moments, and sometimes I think they are trying to force Modern Television Programming onto a program that should be completely exempt.
PS- Someone has to have the GIF of the Doctor looking at Rose after she says they can share a house with a mortgage. RIGHT? God I love that look he gives her.
Man I love this two-parter. The second part is the very first episode of the new series I saw, and it hooked me right in when all I knew of the show was a very vague memory of watching Fourth Doctor eps with my uncle as a small child. All I remembered was a floppy hat, lots of curls, a VERY long scarf, and a tin dog. Actually it wasn't until I went back and caught up to School reunion that I realized it was the same show.
TL:;DR: I love this episode, can't wait for you to see the second part.
Ohh, best two-parter ever. Granted, I also said that about TED/TDD, but I love them both. Don't make me choose.
Also, DROSE-IEST EPISODES EVER. Dear God I love those too.
Seriously, can we not? Not only am I too tired of the baiting, but as Mark points out, it's also rather spoilery and not fair to him. I would much rather see him arrive at his own conclusion about them, regardless of what that conclusion is, than be told how to feel and end up feeling like he'd been spoiled in some way.
Ood ftw! I love them. <3
This was an awesome episode. As in this was my "one more episode then I'll go to bed" episode and it FAILED MISERABLY because I just had to watch the second part immediately.
I loved this episode and I love Rose in this episode and Ten in this episode and Rose/Ten in this episode and the "let's get to know the cannon fodder" guys were awesome and I really did care about them. Except Danny, Danny was annoying.
The Ood. I totally called the "we must feed you if you are hungry" misdirection, but it was awesome, and it helped sell the real threat they could pose under The Beast's mind control. The fact that they're Mind Flayers Except Not Because Wizards of the Coast Would Sue in character design helped make them creepy for me, so I believed it when they started going all Beast-servanty.
Heh. that's the first Tardisode that even remotely interesting. Also thanks for posting these!
Yes, it's quite interesting, but if watched before the episode as itended (but I didn't because I have more sense), it rather spoils the "Best shall rise" moment in the episode proper.
‘This’ll be the best Christmas Walford’s ever had.’
bahahaha loling forever.
This two parter is amazing. I remember being so terrified the first time I watched.
I hate the comment system sometimes. It frequently refuses to post my replies for half an hour or more. I can see them on my account, but they don't turn up here.
Grr.
WORD! It's irritating to receive answers and have nowhere to reply. I've thought about finding the poster in some other thread but that feels stalkerish, lol.
I have to proclaim that “The Impossible Planet” has the best plot of any Doctor Who episode so far.
I LOVE THIS EPISODE!! It's like a mini-SciFi Channel Original Movie, but GOOD.
Impossibly
The Doctor says "Impossibly" once in this episode. He says, "That's impossible," FOUR TIMES.
And fuck, is it really Satan????? OH GOD.
OH SATAN?
Poor demonically possessed Ood.
It's like a mini-SciFi Channel Original Movie, but GOOD.
I dunno, Sharktopus was pretty epically epic…
Let us not forget Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus.
Proof- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqIBCQur5E0
I don't want to spoil anything, but you are going to want to watch until the end to see what happens to the Golden Gate Bridge.
I was very excited for that movie, but it was SO BAD. I mean, how do they make a movie about a mega shark and a giant octopus so boring?
I will give you that it has some slow parts, but any movie starring Lorenzo Llamas and Debbie Gibson in which a megalodon and a giant octopus were thawed out of glaciers and attack airplanes? Genius. Of course, it is exactly my type of movie.
Oh man do I love this two-parter. I think somehow a lot of people forget about it until it comes up in conversation or something and then they're like OMG I LOVE THOSE EPISODES.
The crew is what makes it. That and Rose and Ten be adorable. The kiss on the helmet? The hugging? Be still my heart!
And now that you've mentioned Satan, I've got Stephen Lynch's Beelzebub song stuck in my head. That's not going away any time soon…
On a scale of 1-5, This episode rates a 6.
No, that's not a typo. No I am not kidding. The children gave it a six.
A SIX. Good thing there's four of the kidlets, and not just three. OH WAIT. The youngest one gave it a 3. So, it's 3-6-6-6. LOLS.
Anyway, this is also a two parter… ready?
BUMBUMBUM.
Wait, the three older kids rated it off-the-chart scary, but the youngest kid thought it was only medium scary?? The youngest kid must be a fear-proof robot or something.
To be fair, I think it was more likely a case of the youngest not really getting it and so only half watching. Hence 3 rather than 6.
I don't know. There's comments from her in the notes.
"Oooood!" Amy likes the Ood now – she thinks they're silly. "Why have they got straws in their mouth?" she adds, smiling. "
"Amy's less concerned, though "Why has he been writing on himself?" she asks, knowing that this is a naughty thing to do. "
"Rose's phone rings, and everyone jumps at the creepy "He is awake" message. Harry's on tenterhooks, but Amy's not bothered about someone being awake. "
" The Ood are "shouting". Adam is chewing his finger nails. "I don't like them anymore" decides Amy"
I don't know why, but she seems even more creepy now. She's five when she saw this. I didn't watch hardly anything not disney at five.
The Ood are some of my fav aliens created for Doctor Who, even if I kind of find their situation/purpose a bit like the House Elfs in Harry Potter.
Rose and the Doctor were awesome in this. I had lost a bit of love for Rose in the last two eps but this ep totally restored it.
If the house-elves were like, twenty times creepier, you mean XD
Dobby the House Ood?
"Master gave the Beast socks. The Beast shall be set free to war against God."
It ate my cooment 🙁 I shall try again, and see if I end up with it twice.
Now I'm imagining Dobby the House Ood.
"Master gave the Beast socks. Now the Beast shall be free to war against God".
FYI, it's possible for something to orbit a black hole- it just depends on how fast that something is moving. I remember watching this episode for the first time and being rather unimpressed with the Doctor for not knowing 😀 Great episode though, one of my favourites.
Nope, it only depends on the mass of the black hole and the distance of the object. If it's further from the black hole than the event horizon, then it orbits normally, as it would orbit a star.
"“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."
Wait what? Mark watches…. Eastenders. [dum, dum, dum dumdum,]
*Camera holds on Marks face as he doesn't move and keeps his expression exactly the same for the 5-10 seconds it takes for the full dum to happen before credits.*
I just have this image of the Doctor watching Eastenders and giving out to the TV screen, maybe even throwing things at it. I bet he watches it because it makes his life look perfectly cheery in comparison.
Oh God. I only went looking for Doctor Who/Eastenders crossover fic and found this:
"Dimensions in Time is a charity special crossover between the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and the soap opera EastEnders that ran in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993. It was filmed on the EastEnders Albert Square set, and features several of the stars of that programme at the time. Produced for the Children in Need charity, following Doctor Who's cancellation in 1989 this special was the only dramatisation broadcast in celebration of the show's 30th anniversary."
So it's been done. For reals. o.m.g.
What.
That- What?!
I KNOW.
And reading further down, I see it MESSES with Eastenders continuity. I think
ngl I scrolled down too fast and read 'See Also: List of crossovers in fiction' as List of crossover fanfiction.
Children in Need: doing crazy things for charity since 1980. Gotta love them.
I do love the fact that Doctor Who can be crossed over with almost anything.
"I bet he watches it because it makes his life look perfectly cheery in comparison. "
Isn't that why everyone watches soaps? Doctor Who and Eastender do seem to have a weird relationship. Both shows are existing shows in the other show. Yet they still made a charity crossover where characters from both shows meet.
Now I'm fitting Eastenders into Doctor Who continuity. I wonder if they even noticed the whole Sycorax thing or the Slitheen or if there was just too much drama on the square those days for them to care.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this episode.. watched it for the first time last night and have been waiting for the review to be up all day! Its like every sci-fi trope in the history of EVER is being used in this episode perfectly!!!
I was in my room, curled up in my chair, making incoherent sounds at my laptop and probably really freaking out my family because there was no other way to express my horror /delight at how awesome it all was.
It was all OMFG Creepy voice OOHH CRAP weird letters on skin SHIT OOD ATTACK BIG HOLE BYE BYE TARDIS ARRGGGHHH NO THE DEVIL WTF IS HAPPENING EEEEEEEEE!!!!
This was the first episode of Doctor Who I ever saw, and what got me hooked on the show, so it'll always be one of my special favorites. Not to mention the fact that it's so unbelievably awesome even without being responsible for dragging me into the fandom.
I watched this episode FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY. OMG. Loved it. Your thoughts were basically my thoughts.
Can someone please tell me, "the best Christmas Walford's ever had"…total Eastenders reference right?!
I cannot wait for part 2…watching it tomorrow when I get back from uni…
Ugh so excited.
Evefryone needs a hug from the Doctor!
Oh YAY you got to my favorite episode of this season (half of it, anyway). I just love this one and I can't get over it. OOOH keep watching!!
This is easily one of my favourite episodes. I t's so damn creepy. That moment when the writing transfers onto Toby's body? Chilling. And the voice. Oh God, the voice.
"Don't turn around". That is seriously psychologically disturbing. It's behind tyou, but you can't look at it. Arrgh.
Trivia note: the voice was played by Gabriel Woolf, who also provided the voice of Sutekh the Destroyer in the 4th Doctor adventure Pyramids of Mars. Also to creepy effect.
My favourite moment though, has to be when poor Scooti's body floats over their heads and Jefferson looks up and, quite unexpectedly but surprisingly aptly, starts quoting Macauley's Horatius at the Bridge.
"And how can man die better / Than facing fearful odds / For the ashes of his fathers / And the temples of his gods?"
I also love that quote. it could easily have been cheesy but the actor sold it.
I'm a bit wary of posting too many facts for part 1 of a 2 parter. However, some people might be interested that Jefferson's funeral lament, quoted above, is extracted from from Lord Thomas Babbington Macauley's 1842 poem `Lays of Ancient Rome` anout the heroism of the Roman hero Horatius Cocles.
I love that poem.. My brother and I used to randomly quote it at each other for no actual discernable reason. We'd just be quietly doing whatever we were doing and the other would suddenly announce 'Lars Porsena of Clusium…' and it would go from there. I'm not quite sure what it says about us though.
Consequently I almost spontaneously combusted with joy when it was quoted in this episode.
I thought Sutekh sounded strangely familiar. I watched this two-parter yesterday afternoon and the Pyramids of Mars last night for the first time. Weird.
It's a brilliant casting choice. I mean, firstly Gabriel Woolf's voice of doom is absolutely awesome. And secondly, there are the questions it raises, given the natures of each of them.
Okay, so many things to love about this episode. Most of them have already been mentioned (Rose and the Doctor stepping out of the TARDIS at the beginning of the episode and cracking up at the idea of going elsewhere if there might be trouble is one of my favorite Doctor-Rose moments of all time).
I find the Satan thing genuinely creepy, and I'm not a Christian. To me, it seems that "Satan" is basically saying that he's the embodiment of evil, and that is disturbing no matter what religious tradition you come from. Though the demony bits seem oddly out of place in Doctor Who. I kept expecting Buffy to charge in with a broadsword, ready to kick some demon ass.
I adore the Ood. They're like Cthulhu's politer bastard brothers. Poor possessed Ood. And I can't say what I want to say about them for fear of spoilers.
The indecipherable language is the scariest part to me. I'm not sure why. Second scariest is the loss of the TARDIS. He does seem to misplace it a lot. I'd be so paranoid about losing it I'd never let it out of my sight..
The part where Rose and the Doctor are talking about him being forced to settle down and get a mortgage is so sad to me. I would love to know what he's thinking when Rose suggests they could settle down together and he just looks at her.
Yeah, another atheist here, and I found the "Satan" thing genuinely creepy as well. I think it's because I'm also a mythology freak, and the idea of there being a, well, being out there that inspired such things in various mythologies/religions is an intriguing and creepy one to me. Gets my imagination going too – wondering what other pantheons out in the wide, wide universe such a thing has wormed into, and how they see it/him.
It's this: "Some may call him Abaddon. Some may call him Krop Tor. Some may call him Satan. Or Lucifer. Or the King of Despair. The Deathless Prince. The Bringer of Night. And these are the words that shall set him free."
Kind of reminds me of the First Evil, here the Beast is purporting to be evil itself. They just give him a name, Satan, that evokes ultimate evil in the minds of most of the Western world. As an atheist raised outside of the Christian tradition, I would have found "The Beast" equally scary, but I get why the writers went with Satan. If an entity is calling itself Satan, you don't have to spend time going into what it is, everyone is going to get it immediately.
Yeah, I love that line (reminds me of the First Evil too). I may not believe in Satan either, but I also get why they went with it.
I think both "the First Evil" and "the Beast" are better terms, being plenty scary and evoking the right kinds of images without necessarily bringing Christian tradition into it, but Buffy and Angel already used 'em :-). Too bad.
Haha, yeah. 😀
Friends of the Ood, unite! They are just the most adorable/creepy things ever to come from New Who
"We must feed… we must feed… we must feed- (shakes translator ball) you, if you are hungry."
I really enjoy the much slower pace of this two-parter. Sometimes New Who goes way to quickly, and in this sense "The Impossible Planet" is a breather episode. BUT WAIT, NO IT'S NOT. The tension builds fantastically and the characters are all incredibly believable. From the very beginning Our Heroes are screwed. The TARDIS is gone, there's a language it couldn't decipher (creepy as all hell), the Ood keep switching between friendly servants and messengers of doom, and OH GOD SNOOTI! T_T
"Don't turn around."
I'm behind you, Toby. I'm right behind you…I'm reaching out, Toby. I'm so close. Don't turn around. Oh, I can touch you…
And that doesn't have sexual undertones at all! 😉 Worse, tho, and I'm really sorry for sharing this madness, but I think it's the `Ooh` bit that kind of conjured up a wholly inappropriate Frankie Howerd version.
Is it time for my medicine already, nurse?
I'm a evil if the thing I remember most of this episode is the mortgage conversation and how devastated Ten looks when he hears that word?
All the same, all the hugs in the world for Rose, you do see how bad she had it in the council house if she thinks a mortage is a wonderful thing.
I won't comment on the rest because I didn't have time to rewatch and haven't seen it since it aired.
That's the Doctor for you. Give him killer aliens, a black hole, gas-mask-wearing zombie kids or even the physical embodiment of evil and he'll deal. It's leading a "normal" life that scares him.
I love the Ood! They are so adorable. Also, David Tennant is hilariously obsessed with their little tentacle faces.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsdJbXfd4R4
(the clip is behind the scenes/interview stuff but totally non-spoilery)
That is a wonderful video. 😀 I can't blame him at all!
My favourite ever confidential factoid is DT's obsession with the Ood 🙂
Ood! I like how silly they look.
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Yay Ood gifs! 😀 😀 😀 I especially love that first one!
"To Serve Man" was the first episode of the twilight zone to give me nightmares. AND THE OOD ARE SO MUCH LIKE THE ALIENS IN THAT EPISODE!!
It's worth noting that RTD was the one who actually wrote this episode. Apparently he did major rewrites on this two parter in particular.
Only Doctor Who could make red contact lenses, felt tip pen marks and spaghetti faces so FREAKING CREEPY!
Such a great episode!
I love the way theres an undercurrent of 'don't get comfy because shit is about to happen' running all through the episode, then BAM! Right at the end, mind melting shit happens.
I always feel quite tense watching these episodes, i guess it's because of the questions they bring up, questions that i don't really want to answer……
David in a spacesuit, so cute!
The Ood are adorable. (You know, when they're not killing people with their Persil balls!)
They were totally the idea of RTD, so i think some of Matt Jones's unlimited high fives should go to him, yes?
I've got a little plastic Ood figure, but i can't say anything about him because it's spoilers. 🙂
I loved Scooti. I would have been completely okay with her being a companion. Why did she have to die? whyyyyyyyyyyyyy??
I think i'm right in saying that the place where they filmed her in the water tank (for the space floating scene) is the same place that Daniel Radcliffe filmed in for the underwater parts of GOF. (?)
Love rose's outfit. Thank you Louise Page!
Love the mortgages scene.
Love how the space base is represented as dirty, greasy, disgusting and a little bit rubbish.
Love their Star Trek shaky chair acting 😀
I've never liked protein one, the only way i'd have it was if i put some of protein three in it.
Doctor Who you know i love you more than life its self, but if you play Bolero my mind will run away to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru6qjbRghyU
The thing that impresses me most is the effects! They're outstanding! I can't remember, did the Mill (the effects company) get any awards for these episodes? If they didn't they bloody well should have done!
I absolutely LOVE Torvill and Dean by the way! 🙂
When Bolero starts playing it always gives me goosebumps.
I love Rose channeling Hermione and SPEW in this episode.
Oh, and there needs to be a Doctor Who drinking game that involves drinking every time the Doctor says something is impossible that is actually happening.
I know! Ten says "That's impossible!" way too often, not just in this episode. You'd think he'd know better by now than to say ANYTHING's impossible.
Doctor, you keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means!
Oh, and there needs to be a Doctor Who drinking game that involves drinking every time the Doctor says something is impossible that is actually happening.
But… but that's impossible!
"Toby… I'm right behind you…"
*cue romantic music*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlQl2qziy3Y
I've never seen any of the Tardisodes, i didn't have the internets in 2006. 🙁
Are they on YouTube?
Yes, they're all on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH-ntD-NmfA&fe…
takes you to Tardisode 1 and links for all the others are easily found there, too.
Woo-hoo! I love this two-parter. Incredibly cinematic, I loved the supporting cast too 🙂
Fun fact that I don't think anyone mentioned yet: The actor playing the Captain played a fairly large role in Casanova with Tennant! I haven't seen the confidential for this episode, does anyone know if there was any nod to that?
This two-parter doesn't do it as much for me, probably for similar reasons other people have stated with the whole "Satan" thing. That said, there is a lot about this episode that is good and super creepy, and I can't remember having been tempted yet to watch ahead before this one. Posessed!Toby is super creepy- especially when he's out on the planet's surface. I actually looked and it didn't seem like he was breathing, which I think is even creepier than breathing non-atmosphere. Either way though, that was a grin that would send shivers down anyone's spine.
It's definitely got a solid plot- like I said, I was actually tempted to start the second part of this, which is not something I've felt before in this re-watch. I do feel like there are parts that dragged and lost my attention, but the building action and horror towards the end brought me back and hooked me. I think I'm going to be away tomorrow, but I hope the rest of you enjoy part 2!
I don't think I can say anything except dear god I was in awe throughout this entire story. I think this is the only episode my boyfriend hasn't made stupid comments throughout.
I love this episode so much! Everything about it is wonderful. At first I didn't like the Ood really but they have definitely grown on me.
Mark, I'm actually kind of worried for how unprepared you are.
Love the creepiness of this episode and the suffocating feeling as they get forced into a corner by whatever is controlling Toby. Love the detail. It IS actually possible for a planet to be suspended outside a black hole, I believe, but whatever the physics, an amazing and dramatic situation. I go back and forth on the Doctor and Rose's conversation: it is necessary but on the other hand, he is never going to get a mortgage with you, Rose Tyler. And I also hate that the Doctor just acceps the Ood as servants but there you go. The Ood are amazing, really. One of the best species created by 21st century Who. 🙂
What, did they serve deviled eggs? ::drum riff::
Hey guys, check this out. http://www.teefury.com/
But it's only today… :O
BAHAHAHAHA! That is amazing!
Poor C-3P0.
I *adore* this episode, I'm so excite that you saw it today, Mark! Can we form SPEW for Oods, maybe, "Society for the Promotion of Oodish Welfare"?
Whenever I watch Doctor Who I want to yell, "Where's MY hug?!"
Ho yeah, and join SPOW!
I'll pay the two sickles to join SPOW.
Not my absolute FAVORITE, but definitely up there. I love this episode so hard. I can't be bothered to go into full review mode, but it's not as if you don't know why I love it.
In short, I CONCUR.
I love these episodes. I've always been a bit freaked by dead bodies floating in space, and Scooti's death is just so sad. I also loved the special effects.
As for the Ood, I'll just jump on the "Ood are awesome" comment train.
Also, people have made replicas of the Ood masks. Amazing. I would buy one if it wouldn't scare my daughter to bits.
My html is apparently broken, so I'll just paste the link http://hurm-sugarcubes.deviantart.com/art/Ood-Mas…
I think this might be my favorite episode so far. I especially like the Ood; I like cuttlefish and octopuses, but I never thought I'd think of something that looks like it has a de-shelled nautilus for a head as "cute." The lack of tone in their translated voices makes it hard to tell how they feel about anything, which doesn't seem to be in their best interests at all. Poor Ood.
On an unrelated note, I have to say that I was mentally screaming "Elsa, don't cross the Seal!" at the Doctor while he was walking on the giant manhole cover.
The knight warned us not to take the Grail from here!
… I can quote that movie WAY too easily. XD
One of the best fucking epsiodes EVVVVER
EVER!
David Tennant agrees
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Good God, David Tennant in a vest?! *sigh*
Almost as lovely as his red velvet suit :))))))))))))
Haha I had a feeling you were going to love this episode.
Just a thought. I was watching Firefly, the one with the dead alien cow, and they ask Kaylee if aliens exists, and she says something like "yeah, and one of them is a doctor." ihiiiiiii
Yay, I love this story! Nice blend of sci-fi, creepiness and character work. And Murray Gold's score is fantastic. You got the Walford reference? You've seen Eastenders? Very impressed.
And Ooood! Such a simple name from the series that gave us Raxacoricofallapatorious and the Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrajassic Maxarodenfoe. Such great pun material. Ood, Glorious Ood!
Of course it is possible for a planet to orbit a black hole! This detail (the planet being "impossible" because it orbits a black hole) actually made me like this episode a lot less, because otherwise it's pretty enjoyable. I know I shouldn't complain about bad science in Doctor Who of all TV shows, but they actually HAD THE NERVE TO HAVE THE MAXWELL EQUATIONS WRITTEN ON THE TABLE IN THE MAIN ROOM!!! (Seriously, go check, they're there.) So the team is smart enough to know about the Maxwell equations, but stupid enough not to know that a black hole is not a vacuum cleaner? This is not just a "sufficiently advanced technology" sci-fi, this is "messing with the basic laws of gravity" sci-fi. Gah. It's really frustrating.
Ok, so the TARDIS was grown, not built?
I think they've mentioned before that the TARDIS is… sort of alive? It's like a semi-sentient pocket universe that is also a space ship. Don't think too hard about it. Like most other facts in Doctor Who, it's pretty fluid. This is why the ship is a bit telepathic though.
Told you there'd be a 'religious figure' showing up. Personally, I do like the concept of this one, but… I think I would have been inclined to just shoot the guy once he was all possessed and evil-looking. Not that that is ever an option for the Doctor, but it might have saved them some problems.
Also, never trust any alien that looks like Cthulu.
Enjoyable episode, but the main premise (ZOMG HOW CAN IT ORBIT A BLACK HOLE?!!!) irritates me to no end. Yes, I know it's a sci-fi show. BUT there's such thing as a good sci-fi and a bad sci-fi. In good sci-fi, you can explain some things as "sufficiently advanced technology" (like lightsabers in Star Wars, or the sonic screwdriver), or you take a scientific phenomenon and stretch it a little bit to suit your story (like a certain alien in a certain future episode that's very cleverly based upon the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle).
But in a bad sci-fi, you have even the basic science laws ignored. Forget that there's time travel in Doctor Who (which could actually be explained through physics and sufficiently advanced technology). But complaining about the planet in TIP being able to orbit a black hole is like complaining about the Moon being able to orbit the Earth. Black holes aren't vacuum cleaners, dammit! If our Sun turned into a black hole suddenly, we wouldn't be sucked in. The planets would continue to orbit the black hole, except we wouldn't have any light or solar wind from the Sun.
I think they just didn't explain the concept clearly enough. The 'impossible' part comes not from the fact that the planet is orbiting a black hole, but because the planet is actually inside the event horizon and is somehow not being crushed by gravity and can be traveled to and from, even though light itself can't escape once past the event horizon. (My real question is 'how did they even find that planet? Surely the gravity would mess up their sensors!)
And who knows? Possibly that explanation was there but got cut out of the script for one reason or another. :/
Heh, if the planet was actually inside the event horizon, then the "sky" around it would look totally different – they'd be able to see the whole future of the universe incredibly sped up, because of the blue shift (Doppler effect caused by the black hole's gravity – the general theory of relativity explains this).
This is one of my favorite episodes ever! It's so amazing! I can't wait until your post about part two!
Ahhh!! this is actually one of my favourite sets of 2 parters. I think it says a lot about the Doctor and Rose and the implications of their travels together.
Also the Ood are so cool and so creepy its amazing. 🙂 I can't wait for you to see the next bit.
Thanks.
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