The Impossible Planet

The Doctor and Rose step from the TARDIS, apparently drunk and giggly, for the new seriesВ’ first proper deep space adventure.

ItВ’s a big budget blockbustery cross betweenВ… well, everything really. The Alien series, Robots Of Death, Event Horizon, The Sphere, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Serenity... But why not? After last weekВ’s rather forgettable little snack, The Idiot Box, itВ’s nice to have a bit of blood-and-thunder portentous high jinx, and great to see some serious black hole action.

The effects are marvellous В– this really does feel like a mid-range Hollywood movie. Can it be the same series that brought us The Web Planet, The Arc In Space, Underworld or Delta And The Bannermen? Some might say that the Hollywood feel has no place in this quaint, parochial British TV show (like giving The Beatles state of the art synthesisers), and they might have a point. It doesnВ’t really feel like Doctor Who. But itВ’s bold, brash, and lovely to see Satan evoked on BBC1 on a Saturday teatime.

The supporting cast donВ’t have much room to breathe amongst the chaos В– and feel less clearly defined than their Robots Of Death or Alien counterparts В– but the Ood are rather sweet, and IВ’m sure will work well as marauding Satanists next week. The first twenty minutes seemed maybe a little aimless, with nothing much for anyone to do but wait for bad stuff to happen, but IВ’m looking forward to next weekВ’s handily spoilt (by the trailer) installment.