The Impossible Planet

Being a Doctor Who fan can sometimes be likened to being in a long term relationship. The first introduction to the world of fandom is that rush of intoxication,

an infatuation where everything is fresh and new, over time this peters out into a sense of cosy familiarity, then one day comes a sense of stagnation which causes one to question the very foundation on which that love was built. At this point one can either jump ship and abandon that love for pastures new, or stay and hope the spark which caused that first rush, can one day be rekindled.

Well for me The Impossible Planet was just that spark, a sharp reminder that every so often Doctor Who can reproduce those very feelings which gave it such allure in the first place. Only two weeks earlier Age of Steel had caused me to hang my head in despair and wonder whether I had finally outgrown Doctor who once and for all.

In a nutshell The Impossible Planet was a combination of everything Doctor Who used to do so well, but for all its technical wizardry and characterisation, the new series has often been lacking. Doctor Who for me has always been about a journey into danger and the unknown, and for once Matt Jones script left us in no doubt that this time the Doctor and Rose really were up shit creek. From the opening teaser the episode flowed almost flawlessly: balancing drama, intrigue and exposition perfectly, never rushing into plot developments or drifting off at tangents as some writers are want to do. I must admit to not having experienced any of Matt Jones writing before, but possibly of all the new series writers, he seems the most in tune with the dramatic structure of the show, able to effortlessly create that sense of creeping tension, without it ever feeling forced or hackneyed.

This was of course Doctor Who’s much lauded first journey onto an alien planet and in lesser hands could have been a hamfisted hopelessly studiobound effort, but James Strong’s taut and cinematic direction left us in no doubt that we were really in the farthest flung reaches of the universe. It has to be said that after years of the likes of Star trek portraying a rather homogenous universe where all planets are remarkably hospitable and earth like and and space travel seems the intergalactic equivalent of a smooth bus ride, it is good to see the status quo being shook up. The success of the new Battlestar Galactica owes much to this nuts and bolts approach to sci fi, and it is good to see that Doctor Who is portraying man’s first steps to the stars as a dirty and rather hazardous enterprise.

The new series continues to amaze me with its technical leaps and bounds, and this story moved up a notch further, the fact that on a weekly basis the production team are turning out these episodes which visually are on a level with a lot of modern cinema is frankly astounding. It can be said without doubt that the first new alien planet is a bone fide success, and was not as one may have feared; a CGI nightmare with a funny coloured sky.

This second series has proved much stronger on its monsters and aliens than the first and the Ood once again made a memorable creation, it wasn’t too surprising to find that they weren’t as benign as we may have initially assumed. With a touch of the service droids in the Robots of Death in the voice treatment, it will be interesting to see how they fare as out and out nasties in the second episode.

We are now in the position of being half way through David Tennant’s first series and perhaps now more than ever is time to reflect on how his Doctor has scored. Tennant certainly makes it easy to forget that there ever was such a person as Christopher Eccleston in the lead, he has made it so much his own and continues to have a sense of enthusiasm which seemed to vanish altogether from Eccleston mid run. But to be honest, for me at least Tennant is a good Doctor, but by no means the best, he lacks the sheer physical presence some of his predecessors had, and a bit like Sylvester McCoy used to do, his displays of anger don’t always come across terribly well. One also sometimes gets the impression of the doctor being a bit up himself and a bit of a clever git. Nevertheless the fact that Tennant will be continuing into series 3, will hopefully allow some of the less appealing aspects of his characterisation to be ironed out. Billie Piper’s Rose has also been somewhat less impressive of late and again has suffered from some similarly unappealing traits, it hasn’t helped that in some episodes the charcter has been desperately underwritten, thankfully however this episode marked a return to form. Certainly the scene where both characters believed they had lost the Tardis and may have to settle down to a normal mundane existence reintroduced some strong character dynamics which have often took a back seat this series. The supporting cast provided some strong solid support with thoroughly believable performances.

For once this story was a case where the good far outweighed the bad and any complaints are only minor niggles. Firstly why does Russell T Davies seem to think 21st century earth will be the template for humanity’s future, here once again as in last years future earth stories we have people adorned in modern fashions. I know Russell T Davies shies away from flowing cloaks and jumpsuits, but given some of the liberties he has taken with realism so far, I don’t think it would be too much of a crime to have a stab at futuristic fashions. Also am I the only viewer who is becoming increasingly annoyed with the Doctor’s over familiarity with modern day popular culture. Last week we had him referencing Kylie, this week we are faced with the rather uncomfortable notion that the Doctor sits down for a thrice weekly dose of Eastenders.

Overall though The Impossible Planet gave the new Doctor Who a much needed shot in the arm, introducing a sense of danger and peril which was much needed. This new season has been a lot better than last years, but has at times felt a little comfortable and safe. This was of course only part 1 and for all we know they could screw it up next week, but for me this was the sort of thing the new series should be doing a lot more. As the tension was ramped up till almost breaking point and the new series delivered its finest cliffhanger yet, for possibly the first time since it returned last year 7 days seems much to long to wait.