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THE IMPOSSIBLE PLANET

2 episodes: The Impossible Planet, The Satan Pit. Approx. 92 minutes.
Written by: Matt Jones. Directed by: James Strong. Produced by: Phil
Collinson.


THE PLOT

The Doctor and Rose find themselves on a mining station on a planet in
deep space. Nothing terribly unusual, until they discover some writing
that the TARDIS' telepathic circuits cannot translate. "It's old," the
Doctor observes. "Impossibly old."

The writing isn't the only thing that's impossible. When they meet the
crew, they are shown the planet's orbit - around a black hole. This
world is protected from the black hole by a gravity funnel, something
which cannot be occurring naturally. Some device must be powering the
funnel, something underground which could be used to further the Human
Empire.

But they are intruding on forces vastly older and more powerful, than
any of them are prepared to deal with. The alien Ood, a slave race
with a hive mind, show signs of increased telepathic power even as
they begin making bizarre statements about "The Beast." As the drill
finds its destination, uncovering a lost civilization with an enormous
pit in the center of it, the intelligence behind these occurrences
becomes clear:

"He is awake... Some may call him Abaddon. Some may call him Krop Tor.
Some may call him Satan, or Lucifer. But do not despair... I have been
imprisoned for eternity, but no more. The pit is open, and I am free!"


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Since his introduction, the Tenth Doctor has worn his
flippancy like armor. This story strips that armor away, along with
everything he uses to protect himself. First he loses the TARDIS,
seemingly forever. Then, when he goes undergorund with science officer
Ida Scott (Claire Rushbrook) to investigate the pit, he is separated
from Rose. Episode Two isolates him even more as he descends this
impossible pit in this impossible planet, with only Ida's voice on the
communicator to provide any connection with another soul. Needless to
say, that voice is ultimately cut off, leaving the Doctor to brave the
abyss and enter the underworld alone. David Tennant's performance is
his best of the season and possibly of the series, with the moment in
the pit in which he reflects on his own beliefs one of the most
thoughtful scenes the series has offered.

Rose: Perhaps because the TARDIS seems irretrievably lost, Rose is
emboldened enough to make clear her feelings for the Doctor. They've
been interpreted as a couple in past episodes... but in this story, we
see that Rose now considers them in that light as well. Nor does the
Doctor protest, telling Ida just before he takes his leap of faith in
the pit to "tell Rose... Tell her... Oh, she knows."

Cut off from the Doctor, Rose acts as he would have. When she tried to
do as he would in The Christmas Invasion, it was a horrible failure,
her life only saved by the Doctor's well-timed awakening. She does
much better here, though, taking a cue from the Doctor's words about
how the humans have everything they need to survive if they just act
together. She pushes each member of the team until they arrive at some
useful piece of knowledge they have, and then builds a plan based on
that.


THOUGHTS

"For how should Man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes
of his father, and the temples of his Gods."
-Mr. Jefferson (Danny Webb), Head of Security, observing a comrade's
horrible and beautiful death.

The Impossible Planet offers a change of tone for the new Doctor Who
series. There are still plenty of humorous moments and exchanges. But
these are moments of lightness in the midst of a fundamentally dark
story. This is a Lovecraftian horror story, with dead civilizations
and devils who see into the hearts of their victims. It is, in effect,
the movie that Event Horizon wanted to be: tense, bleak, and moody.
For a series generally defined by its flippant tone, it feels like an
enormous departure.

It's also excellent, a triumph of good writing, fine acting, and
outstanding atmosphere.

Episode One provides a slow build. We are introduced to this world and
its bizarre set of rules. We are introduced to the characters and to
the Ood - first presented as an apparent threat before being revealed
as benign. Not very much actually happens in this episode, the major
set pieces being held back for Part Two. Instead, time is given to
make the base feel lived-in, to make the characters feel real, and to
let the atmosphere of dread build gradually in the background.

Director James Strong does a sterling job of holding our attention
with atmosphere. We see the crew of the base performing their normal
operations, with the sense of a crew going about an almost automatic
routine, while Ravel's Bolero plays over the proceedings. The light of
what once a star system, swallowed by the black hole, is reflected on
the Doctor's face as he watches, while Ida reveals the substantial
history of what is now just a dying red cloud overhead.

"That rused to be the Scarlet System, home to the Peluchi. A mighty
civilisation spanning a billion years, disappearing forever. Their
planets and suns consumed. Ladies and gentlemen, we have witnessed its
passing."


The black hole is horrific in what it does, but it is also beautiful
as presented on screen. That juxtaposition, of horrible things
occurring in such a beautiful manner, is mined throughout the two-
parter. There's the silky voice of Gabriel Woolf, making the Beast's
words persuasive and tempting even as he promises death for all the
humans. His teasing of Toby ("Don't turn around, or you will die")
creating a moment of genuine dread, tempting Toby to his downfall even
as his words superficially warn against it... In effect, using the
truth as a weapon against his victim.

The first episode's most memorable moment is also its most horrific
and it's most beautiful. The first character death occurs at almost
thirty minutes in, as a hull breach sucks one crew member out onto the
surface, where there's no atmosphere. That crew member is discovered
suspended in space just above the station. The others are left to
watch helplessly as their friend floats upward, toward the black hole,
like falling backward into water (which was how the scene was filmed)
- until finally Ida calls for the shutters to be closed.

>From here, the pace quickens, and Part Two is marked by multiple set
pieces. There's a tense and exciting chase through (effectively) a
system of ventilation ducts, in which the characters must wait at each
junction for oxygen to build up in the next section, even as the
pursuing Ood close in on them.

But the most memorable moments remain the quietest ones. The Doctor,
suspended in the pit, reflecting on his beliefs and asking Ida about
her own. When she says she doesn't believe in the devil, just in "the
things that men do," the Doctor muses that it amounts to the same
thing, before talking about his own inability to believe in the claims
of The Beast.

"If that thing had said it came from beyond the universe, I'd believe
it. But before the universe? Impossible. Doesn't fit my rules. Still,
that's why I keep travelling. To be proved wrong."

...Then making his leap of faith, allowing himself to fall alone into
the darkness.


A fine two-parter, one that I find actually improves with repeated
viewings. Beautiful, haunting, thoughtful and scary. I might nit-pick
a few things, but to what purpose? This is a superb experience, one
that would not have shamed itself had it been a theatrically released
movie.


Overall Rating: 10/10.

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