Doctor Who:
The
Impossible Planet & The Satan Pit
By Matt Jones
Reviewed by
Paul Bowler
“You know
nothing. All of you, so small. The Captain, so scared of command. The soldier,
haunted by the eyes of his wife. The scientist, still running from Daddy. The
little boy who lied. The virgin. And the lost girl, so far away from home. The
valiant child who will die in battle so very soon.”
The TARDIS
materialises aboard Sanctuary Base, on the planet Korp Tor, a world that
inexplicably orbit’s a black hole. The Doctor (David Tennant) and Rose (Billie
Piper) encounter the Ood, a subservient telepathic race who maintain the
station. After a brief misunderstanding with the Ood the Doctor and Rose meet
the human crew.
Captain Zach
(Shaun Parkes) explains how the planet is suspended inside a gravity funnel,
which allowed their spaceship to land safely on the planet, and how Zack then
had to assume command when the expeditions original commander - Captain Walker
- was lost during the trip to the planet. The energy funnel originates from a
power source deep inside the planet, they have been drilling down to uncover
the source of this power, and in the process ancient symbols have been
discovered that cannot be translated - even by the TARDIS.
When an
earthquake strikes the base the Doctor and Rose are cut off from the TARDIS
when the time machine falls into a deep chasm. Believing the TARDIS is lost
forever, the time travellers have to face the possibility they will be marooned
in this time period. As the drilling reaches completion, a terrifying demonic
entity begins to manifest inside the base. The Beast possesses Toby (Will
Thorp) when he is alone in his quarters, covering his face and body with same
symbols he has been trying to translate. He becomes an unwitting pawn of the
Beast, killing Scooti (MyAnna Burning), and enabling the Beast to possess the
Odd and turn them against the crew. Toby then seems to return to normal, but he
is actually still secretly controlled by the Beast.
Once the
drilling is complete The Doctor and Ida (Claire Rushbrook) travel down the
drill shaft and discover a vast underground structure of a long dead
civilization. They find a giant metal disk covered in the same strange
markings. Before they can investigate the disk opens and The Beast awakens. Its
essence reaches out to attack the crew, utilising the the Odd‘s voices to talk,
taunting them about their secret fears and the far reaching influences that his
evil power has obtained throughout the history of the known universe. With Rose
trapped on the surface helping the crew in their fight against the Odd, the
Doctor descends into pit to face the Beast.
While Ida
waits by the pit as the Doctor plummets into the inky darkness below, security
chief Mr Jefferson’s (Danny Webb) brave sacrifice enables Rose, Zack, Toby, and
Danny (John Maynard Jefferson) to escape in the rocket ship. Meanwhile, deep
inside the planet, the Doctor confronts the physical form of the Beast, a
gigantic demon bound by chains. The Doctor quickly deduces that the beast has
somehow transferred his mind into someone else. Sensing that he must break the
enchanted jars that hold the planets gravity tunnel in check, the Doctor
smashes the jars, even though he knows Rose will be killed. The Beast is
enraged, it struggles to get at the Doctor, fire billowing around it as the
planet begins to fall into the black hole. On the rocket, Toby transforms
again, but Rose is ready and fires the bolt gun at the window, causing Toby to
be sucked out into the black hole. When all seems lost, the Doctor suddenly
stumbles on the TARDIS in the cave, and he uses it to save Ida and tow the
rocket to safety - however he is unable to save the Odd. After returning Ida to
her crew Rose returns to the TARDIS to continues her adventures with the
Doctor. The rocket zooms into space as the Captain Zack reports the names of
his fallen crewmembers in his ships log.
The
Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit (2006) are the eighth and ninth episodes
from David Tennant’s first season as the Tenth Doctor. This two part story by
Matt Jones takes the Doctor and Rose to one of their most exciting adventures
yet, set on a distant planet, they are faced with a horror unlike any other
they have faces before, one that claims to have existed even before time
itself. David Tennant and Billie Piper are excellent in this story. When they
arrive the Doctor and Rose are positively flippant, even though the TARDIS is wheezing
and groaning even more than usual. However, that soon changes when they are cut
off from the TARDIS and have to face up to the possibility of being stranded.
They are so far out on the edge of space that Rose is unable to get a signal on
her mobile, and even the Doctor has to contemplate the prospect of getting a
house and a mortgage!
Director
James Strong keeps the action flowing over both episodes, with some great sets
and special effects, this story also features a brilliant supporting cast of
characters who each have a significant role to play as the story unfolds. Clare
Rushbrook is particularly good as Ida Scott who accompanies the Doctor for the
latter half of the adventure. Together they find the underground cavern where
the disk is housed, Ida is the anchor the Doctor needs as he descends into the
pit, and their discussion as descends into the pit is riveting.
This story
also introduces the Ood, a bizarre looking alien race with glowing red eyes and
tentacles for a mouth. The humans refer to them as a slave race, they are
completely docile, and apparently their only desire it to serve others. A
strange globe like device is used by the Ood (voiced by Silas Carson) to
communicate with the humans, they also share a telepathic link, and it is this link
that the Beast exploits to turn them into his Legion of the Beast. The once
friendly creatures translator globes are then used as deadly weapons against
the crew to electrocute them. Although none of the Ood survive this adventure,
something which the Doctor deeply regrets, the aliens would many times: we
learned more about their race in Planet of the Ood (2008), they appeared in
10th Doctor’s final story The End of Time (2009) to warn him about the Master,
and a lone Ood (Nephew) chased Amy and Rory inside the TARDIS in Neil Gaiman’s
fabulous 11th Doctor story The Doctor’s
Wife (2011).
The Beast
itself is one of the series most terrifying monsters. The disembodied entity is
voiced by Gabriel Woolf, the man who also played the voice of Sutekh the Destroyer
in the classic 4th Doctor story: Pyramids of Mars (1975). His quiet tones are
just as sinister in this story, perhaps even more so, as the Beast is so
utterly malevolent. The sole ebodiment of all evil, this being claims to be
older than time itself, and of influencing every civilization and religion in
the universe. Toby’s transformation is particularly horrible after the Beast
sneaks up on him in his quarters. Gabriel Woolf is magnificent in this scene,
Will Thorp conveys Toby’s helpless horror, as he slowly becomes the Beast’s
puppet. Later, when Scooti witnesses Toby standing outside the base, without a
space suit, the way he kills her - by shattering the window - is another moment
of pure horror. Scooti’s death is made even more poignant when the crew witness
her lifelessly body slowly drifting past the observation dome, they watch
silently as she floats past the glass, shocked by their young crewmember tragic
fate.
When the
Doctor confronts the Beast at the bottom of the pit we finally get to see the
creature that has been taunting everyone. So far it has only been glimpsed on a
holographic display, now it is revealed as a towering behemoth, chained in a
fiery pit where is rages and writhes against its bonds as it struggles to be
free.
The Impossible
Planet and The Satan Pit is one of the Second Seasons most exciting stories. In
some ways, it feels like a very traditional Doctor Who story, a base under
siege attacked by an evil force, with a diverse crew of humans that the Doctor
and his companion must join forces with to save the universe. The Impossible
Planet and The Satan Pit is a great two part story, it’s exciting and scary,
and the Doctor and Rose are at there very best.
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