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The Doctor: David Tennant
Rose Tyler: Billie Piper
Mr Jefferson: Danny Webb
Zachary Cross Flane: Shaun Parkes
Toby Zed: Will Thorp
Ida Scott: Claire Rushbrook
Danny Bartock: Ronny Jhutti
Scooti Manista: Myanna Buring
The Ood: Paul Kasey
Voice of The Beast: Gabriel Woolf
Voice of the Ood: Silas Carson
Synopsis:
The TARDIS arrives on a remote alien planet somehow locked in orbit around a
Black Hole, where a crew of humans are drilling to the planet's centre...
This is more like it. The Impossible Planet is definite highlight of the new
series so far, with new writer Matt Jones fashioning an engaging and
genuinely frightening episode that gradually builds to a spine-tingling
conclusion.
In many ways this is
Event Horizon
for kids, with a similar tale of a crew
apparently getting more than they bargained for when they disturb a demonic
entity beneath them. Jones' script is full of pace and cohesion, toning down
the occassionally frivolous nature of the show and targeting the adults for
once. The story isn't totally original and clearly has many influences, but
it's just so refreshing to see a scary story treated with respect, and not
undermined by poor performances, bad production or the decision to tone down
scares for the children.
David Tennant actually returns to an embarassing level of fake enthusiasm
that I'd hoped we'd seen the last of (possibly a result of a new writer
failing to grasp the nuances of the character, and just going for general
eccentric behaviour). However, by the end Tennant's Doctor once again
becomes more of an action hero with his descent into the planet's core.
Billie Piper continues along much the same lines as always, although there
are a few early moments when Roses' chirpy demeanour sucks all sense of
foreboding away from the show. I get a little frustrated with how Rose seems
to greet everything with wide-eyed optimism and pat one-liners when it's
clearly uncalled for.
The supporting cast are very good, although their characters are a little
underserviced. However, everyone makes an impression and it's good to see a
believable crew of people for once without a falseness to everything they
say.
The real star of the show here is perhaps the wonderful production design.
I've been a critic of Doctor Who's generic "futuristic" sets, but for The
Impossible Planet they get everything right. The dirty, claustrophobic
station, with strong parallels to engineering spaces such as oil rigs, are
just excellent. For once you can believe in the surroundings and truly enter
into another world, which only heightens the sense of excitement throughout
the shoe.
Special-effects are used to good effect, particularly exterior shots of the
drilling complex on the planet with the huge Black Hole in the background.
Towards the end there are also some absolutely superb underground sequences
that are an undoubted highlight for the series. The make-up for the Ood (a
race of telepathic aliens that enjoy serving the human crew) is also very
good, with full-head prosthetics that prove very effective. In fact,
together with the cat-creatures in New Earth, the make-up people have really
stepped up their game this year.
Even the music seems to be better this time, with a total absence of
manipulative pap and irritating ditties that typically plague the show. The
music this time lent weight to events and pushed the right emotional cues at
the exact right times. I sincerely hope this level of success continues into
future episodes.
Overall, I enjoyed this episode a great deal and can't wait for part two.
There was an old-fashioned vibe to the show that reminded me of classic Jon
Pertwee episodes, but with much better production levels and script. Fans
will be pleased to see a Doctor Who episode actually achieve success and
dare to go into darker territory, particularly after the family-friendly
excesses of previous weeks. A major highlight and significant episode of the
show. Let's just hope part two doesn't unravel all the good work achieved
here!
NEXT WEEK: The Doctor and Rose continue their adventure now the "Satan Pit" has been opened...
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Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Series 1 Boxset:
Synopsis:
The TARDIS arrives on a remote alien planet somehow locked in orbit around a
Black Hole, where a crew of humans are drilling to the planet's centre...
The real star of the show here is perhaps the wonderful production design.
I've been a critic of Doctor Who's generic "futuristic" sets, but for The
Impossible Planet they get everything right. The dirty, claustrophobic
station, with strong parallels to engineering spaces such as oil rigs, are
just excellent. For once you can believe in the surroundings and truly enter
into another world, which only heightens the sense of excitement throughout
the shoe.
