written by Matt Jones; produced by Phil Collinson; directed by James Strong
You�ll know if you�re a dedicated reader of mine (you are, aren�t you?) that I�ve been charting the decline of Rose from a likeable and sophisticated character in the first series into the companion equivalent of a remora fish; much of The Impossible Planet�s failings centre around this, since this is the episode where the Doctor-Rose dynamic of the series hits its all time low. I�m not sure if they�ve ever seemed as smug as in the pre-titles, with its enforced guffawing at the idea of not exploring. This isn�t how people behave � the characters have suddenly turned into ciphers, laughing at the show they�re in. Personally, I don�t tune in to Doctor Who to see it laughed at in an implied tone of self-superiority. Anyway, I�m conscious of my need to say nice things about this episode if I�m going to claim it as series two�s success story, and the opportunity is handed to me by the appearance of the enigmatic ancient writing, providing David Tennant to stop going �aaaauuuuuuugh!� whenever he walks into a room and start acting seriously. Peculiarly it seems another excuse for Billie Piper to burst into giggles again � was she stoned when she recorded this episode � but it�s gratifying to see the mystery started before the titles have even kicked in. The Ood make for a nice jump-moment at the end of the sequence (more on them later), and overall the episode goes into the titles leaving me with mixed feelings.
The episode is visually excellent, although that�s one episode of the series that I can rarely fault in any of its episodes. Here the subdued lighting and utilitarian design � corridor ceilings only just high enough for people, for example � add to the sense of claustrophobia and absence of any genuine outlet for stresses. It makes the classical music provided seem like a token gesture from a faceless company that doesn�t care about its people in any real sense. The guest actors are a mixed bunch � Will Thorp does decently in a rather limited role as Toby (his �possessed� acting sees his dialogue dubbed by someone else); MyAnna Buring gets by on looks and Danny Webb gets by with a likeable performance. There�s only really one weak link, Ronny Jhutti as Danny, who delivers his lines like he�s at the first rehearsal of his first role. Shaun Parkes makes an excellent captain though, but it�s Claire Rushbrook who really dominates the episode as the kindly matriarch Ida Scott, who manages to portray a variety of emotions throughout the episode without making them seem mawkish and as such, she seems believable. This is also the episode that makes best use of a multiracial cast � sorry to dig at a sticky topic � in that it wholly avoids accusations of tokenism by presenting characters strictly meritocratically, and without the calculated symmetry that makes me feel slightly unconvinced by some other episodes. Unfortunately Tennant goes back to wacky mode (one of his three performance styles, the others being SHOUTY and whispery), actually spontaneously shouting �hooray� at one point, the kind of thing I�d been using to satirise the tenth doctor in the weeks leading up to this episode.
The idea of a planet able to orbit a black hole through some ancient, mysterious power source buried beneath an ancient civilisation is a fascinating one, absolutely vintage Doctor Who, and it provides the episode with a core idea strong enough to fend off the character problems and occasionally trite dialogue. The majestic black hole is a triumph of CGI, effectively providing a disconcerting counterpoint to the planet itself.
The idea of a disembodied voice haunting a crewmember is well-worn, but there�s the advantage of hiring Pyramids Of Mars�s Gabriel Woolf, owner of the most terrifying voice in the world (possibly next to Joe Pasquale). The only thing that makes the scenes of the Beast�s presence tailing Toby around the base is the incongruous presence of very distinctive sound effects from the Doom games � they�re great effects, I�ve always said so�but why impede the verisimilitude of the episode by presenting over-recognisable stock effects when they can so easily create their own?
The main exposition scene is ruined by Rose, who lolls around the control room like a tangled puppet, face set to a permanent slack-jawed grin, making smarmy wisecracks. Suddenly she becomes all self-righteous at hearing the Ood are a slave-race; she cares about them despite being utterly indifferent to anything at all half a minute previously. I do like those monsters though, even if their design is sub-sub-Lovecraft. It�s a nice twist on the perennial colonialism theme to present a race to whom subservience is in their nature, and their voice-spheres suddenly spitting out malevolent threats manages to be genuinely funny and genuinely creepy at the same time.
Then there�s the hug scene though, a difficult one for me to reconcile with an ostensibly five-star story. It�s its utter lack of earnestness I think that undermines it: it�s hard not to compare it with the fourth Doctor�s thematically similar speech in The Ark In Space. I won�t deny that was a bit cheesy itself, but whereas Tom Baker managed to sound like he cared and was bowled over by what he saw, the Tennant may as well introduce his moment by saying �excuse me, I�d like to be eccentric for a moment if that�s alright with you.� By being so inappropriately whimsical in such a dark episode he manages to trivialise his lines, especially by delivering them in a strange slurred voice that makes him sound like he might have been puffing on the wacky baccy himself. Things get a bit more serious once the TARDIS is lost, even though Rose�s request �start worrying about me� can be taken to sum up her character for the entire second series.
Toby�s possession though � now that�s a scene! It�s well directed by James Strong, showing us the progress of his transformation without letting us see it directly. I can�t help but feel the law of diminishing returns applies to the symbols on his skin though � the behind-the-scenes footage shows them being painstakingly stencilled on, but they just look like their were applied by marker pen (�biroglyphics� is a word I�ve heard used � whoever it was who came up with it, it�s very witty). With this and the face of the Beast appearing in the hologram tank, things are really starting to pick up.
Now, Murray Gold. I didn�t mind him at first, but his cloying, string-drenched mawkishness has been steadily encouraging me to contemplate homicide throughout the course of the series. Here though his mournful score, with its sawing, howling violin, isn�t just serviceable, it�s really fantastic, possibly because it�s there to create atmosphere rather than to manipulate the emotions of the viewer.
The mortgage scene is one I�ve heard criticised, possibly because it represents the new series�s terror that viewers will turn off in droves if the characters don�t mention beans on toast every three seconds. It�s down with the proles, innit? Personally I don�t like it because Rose still hasn�t calmed down yet (�yooooooooo�d �avta getta maaaaaawwwwwwgidge!�), but it�s rescued a bit by the Beast appearing on Rose�s phone, and her throwing it away like it�s stung her is a nice touch.
The Ood coming to life themselves is a creepy moment, but one that gets overshadowed: Scooti�s death is arguably the best scene in the series, a brilliant constructed piece with some spine-twistingly spooky lines (�he bathes in the black sun� � how much scarier does that sound coming from an impassive, affable computer?) and a wonderful shot of Toby framed against the stars, body straining, while the mournful violin sings out. The discovery of her body is let down by a bit of sentiment though, like Jefferson�s poetry recital and the Doctor�s laughably wimpy catchphrase. �I�m sorry, I�m so sorry�� � oh, that�s alright Doctor, you�re only the hero. The water tank simulating zero-gravity is nice in principal, but it does make her body wobble about a bit. Not that MyAnna Buring�s body wobbling about is necessarily a bad thing, mind.
Rose finally learns that space travel isn�t all peaches and cream: �it�s tough� is her profound insight. Yeah, it is now the TARDIS is lost; when it was merely tough for everybody else she was content to sit there and make wisecracks. It�s hard to feel sympathy for a character who has no innate sympathy themselves. The visuals of the ancient cave system are superb though, and Ida�s superior characterisation enables her to provide much more of a sense of wonder than the Doctor, who has to tick the box marked �identify with the audience� by, in a contrived moment, referencing EastEnders. The double cliffhanger � with the Beast retaking Toby on one side, and the pit opening on the other � certainly pushes the right buttons even if it isn�t anything that innovative in itself. It is annoyingly misleading though, shot to suggest something coming out of the pit; it means the resolution�s �nope, nothing to see here� feel like a real let down.
Onto The Satan Pit then, and there�s a feeling of what the series could achieve if it treated its subject material like this all the time. There�s lots of excitement at the beginning � the Ood really do look good � and it also keeps it tense down in the ruins as the Doctor and Ida ponder whether to go down into the pit. Unfortunately Rose doesn�t improve much, turning into a bossy action-girl. The Beast�s leering speech actually contains some proper subtext, leaving the extent to which it merely bluffs people ambiguous. �The little girl still running from daddy� really doesn�t tell us very much when you think about it, which is precisely the point. Tennant�s speech sees him briefly back in squeaky mode, but at least it�s over quite quickly this time.
Strong�s classy direction is demonstrated by the Ood scrambling through the tunnels, and Jefferson�s death manages to stay the right side of self-parody � having the set up on screen but the event itself unseen is a very effective touch.
Tennant�s quiet musing as he dangles over the pit is similar to Gold�s score in one way: it�s a person I don�t rate at all giving a performance that isn�t just good, it�s fantastic. Having his own beliefs challenged is mirrored in the visuals, as he descends further into emptiness. It�s only spoiled by the self-conscious and overly in-your-face �tell Rose�� line. Isn�t subtext supposed to be, well, sub? Ida�s lament though, and barely contained terror, is brilliantly played and just about the only emotional moment in the series that actually comes off. Is Rushbrook the series two�s best guest star?
The CGI Beast is very impressive indeed, although Tennant starts overacting again as the episode starts to falter a little bit, entering the realm of treacly sentiment (�I believe in Rose Tyler� � I prefer the scene in The Curse Of Fenric where he makes do with reciting his old companions� names under his breath). Rose�s one-liner on the rocket, as Toby is ejected into space, is also a dissatisfying regression to the level of Hollywood thickotainment. The Doctor finding the TARDIS is a necessary feature, I�ll admit, but there are ways of returning it to him without resorting to the massive contrivance of having him trip over and fall onto it. I�m not sure that the casual way the Ood are written off in the episode really does them justice, especially since there was an attempt earlier at portraying them sympathetically � and as for the Doctor calling himself the �stuff of legends� � if the tenth Doctor had any sense of mystery and enigma left, he doesn�t now. Modest, isn�t he?
This two-parter is in many ways very accomplished indeed, but there�s always an underlying annoyance of the characters. I think on balance its strengths are sufficient to justify its label of minor gem, even if the emphasis is on the minor. Then again, if I gave a five-star rating to The Parting Of The Ways (not sure I�d do that now), I can to this.
Overall: *****
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