Season 2. 03 May 06. BBC 1, 7:00 p.m.
WRITER: Matt Jones DIRECTOR: James Strong
CAST: 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)
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...