WOW.

That would do, actually, but the Reviews section stipulates more than one word, so IВ’ll waffle on for a while! This is one for a multitude of superlatives, a terrific example of Doctor Who В– old and new В– at its best. IВ’d even go as far as to say it was an example of TV sci-fi at its best.

IВ’m convinced that the two-part format is preferable (personally, I would run with five two-parters and just three single-parters in a season) as 45 minutes is just too short to build up a story properly, particularly in a show which likes (to its great credit) to add plenty of meat to the bones of its supporting cast. Sometimes, you just canВ’t fit it all in.

The Impossible Planet (and what a great title that is) did fit it all in. The story was great В– as great as it sounded in the prГ©cis. Having been separated from the TARDIS, Rose and The Doctor are trapped with a group of pioneers (people after The DoctorВ’s hearts, as underlined by his man hug with Captain Zack) with mysterious monster slaves, the Ood (another great name). TheyВ’re on a planet on the edge of a black hole. ThereВ’s a malevolent force in another hole deep below the surface, which has killed one member of the crew and possessed another. Oh, and the aforementioned force is The Devil В– and he ainВ’t in disguise . . .

I donВ’t often comment on direction but, visually, this was like a film (and a good one) on a TV budget. OK, it was a lot like Alien but, if youВ’re going to В“borrowВ” ideas, borrow good ones В– and, whatever director James StrongВ’s influences, he created a wonderfully-atmospheric setting for this tale aided, of course, by the design and effects team, who really surpassed themselves.

Just when you think the special effects canВ’t get any better . . . there were some wonderfully-iconic images, and genuinely scary, too. The old writing covering TobyВ’s skin as part of his possession was one of those edge-of-the-seat (or, if you must) behind-the-sofa moments. And the dead crew member seen floating in space was superbly done В– weВ’ve come a long way since Four To Doomsday! Plus the planet itself was stunning В– right up there with the work on The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. And then there was the Ood. Yet another model-making triumph В– and (unlike the Cybermen) totally-audible voices! Great idea using the lightened ball as a vocal device.

Another good idea was to get rid of the TARDIS early in the episode, thus establishing that Rose and The Doctor didnВ’t have the option of just nipping back into it and being away В– they really are stuck, and in danger. As a subtext to the main plot, I did detect more of a closeness between the two lead characters, and David Tennant and Billie Piper were, in the main, in good form. Lovely scene when they talked awkwardly about В“getting a house togetherВ” В– much more reminiscent of some of the stuff weВ’d have seen in Series One, but which has never really materialised since regeneration. It was always likely that their relationship would deepen once Mickey had left, and there is strong evidence that this is the case.

I did think this story would meet with diehard Doctor Who fansВ’ approval, but wondered if taking the show away from Earth (in past, present and future) might put off the mainstream audience. However, it wasnВ’t hard sci-fi, it was a good adventure in such an eye-taking setting that I really canВ’t imagine there will be much naysaying which canВ’t be swatted away.

Another Doctor Who debutant, Matt Jones (with, no doubt, some significant input from Russell T Davies) could hardly have had made a better start to his Who writing career. Great score from Murray Gold, too. The whole thing just fused together so well.

If there was a minor criticism, it would be the fact that the seemingly-obligatory В“comedyВ” one-liners threatened to distract from the excellent drama the episode was building when Rose and The Doctor first encountered Captain Zack and his band. The guest cast played the whole episode totally straight, and were terrific В– Tennant and Piper were given the feeble one-liners, and those added nothing to proceedings. Yes, itВ’s a tradition of Doctor Who, itВ’s the В“would you like a jelly baby?В” factor. But there is a fine line to tread with the flippancy, and I would hate such a strong episode to be devalued by just one daft line too many. I can appreciate the need to offer a little light to contrast the (wonderfully) dark feel of the episode, but giving lines such as В“wot, like a rollercoasterВ” to Rose adds nothing to a scene, and rather trivialises the character.

I wouldnВ’t mark the episode down for that, though. I didnВ’t think this seasonВ’s previous two-parter (Rise Of The Cybermen/The Age Of Steel) improved in the second half but, if The Satan Pit even matches The Impossible Planet, we have a serious contender for Story Of The Season here, and we may even be moving into all-time classic territory.

Frankly, though, even if The Satan Pit proves to be a clunker, I could quite happily recommend The Impossible Planet on its own as a fabulous slice of entertainment.

As I said at the outset, wow.

Last night I sat down to watch an episode of Doctor Who I knew very little about. Not much pre-publicity by the Beeb (oddly), but I did know that there were no returning monsters or companions and it was going to be our first proper visit to an alien planet (don't count New Earth as we didn't see any of it). And it was superb.

I watched it again this morning and 45 minutes just flew by. Danger, excitement, scares - this episode had them in abundance. In fact, I only have one niggle and its so tiny I'm not sure I want to mention it. Oh, alright then: the hug between the Doctor and Acting-Captain Zach seemed forced and unecessary. Apart from that I think it was pretty much flawless. Even if the second episode lets it down, for me this was the best episode of the new Who since The Empty Child.

The guest cast were superb. Danny Webb (Jefferson), Claire Rushbrook (Ida) and Shaun Parkes (Acting-Captain Zach) gave superb performances, perfectly pitched and not OTT. I've loved Claire Rushbrook since her appearance in Spaced (rather than the Godawful Carrie and Barry) and Shaun Parkes has been a favourite since Human Traffic (and his scene stealing role in The Mummy Returns). But the surprise performance for me was Will Thorp as Toby. I know he's been in Casualty (or Holby City - its all the same old nonsense to me), so I had already marked him down as dodgy casting, but I'll eat my hat right now as he was superb. Flitting from slightly twitchy, nervous academic Toby, to scary-tattooed-demon-nutjob, he was fabulous.

The Ood were an interesting idea. Pre-title sequence they're a threat, post-title sequence they're not, half way through and they are a threat again. Nicely judged so we're not quite sure where we stand. Although the whole 'happy slaves, human race dependent on them, turned evil by sinister voice' idea is very Robots of Death.

Scooti suffered the fate of Lynda-with-a-Y, sucked into space through a shattered window, but it was probably the scariest scene in the episode. The computer's "He bathes in the black sun", followed by Toby standing outside with no suit was edge of the seat stuff.

And while I'm at it, the music was top notch this week as well. Murray Gold always falls between brilliant and average for me but the obvious inclusion of an orchestra just moved things up a level. Which could equally be said of the direction. Newcomer James Strong seems to have this sort of thing pitched perfectly in his mind. Lots of ground level and overhead shots, tons of smoke and plenty of atmosphere.

This is where I come to the script. Matt Jones has provided this year's best (so far). The dialogue was realistic, the relationship between the Doctor and Rose stayed just the right side of irritating and the pacing was perfect. Is it Satan? I doubt it (just as I don't expect it to be Sutekh - even with Gabriel Woolf doing the Voice of the Beast). Whatever it is, I'm looking forward to its confrontation with the Doctor.

The Mill excelled themselves with the effects, particularly the cave scenes and the transparent roof looking at the black hole. It all felt very 'real' for CG, which is a testament to how hard they must work on this show. The set design must also get a mention, the Sanctuary base looking very tough and grim (very Alien - but that's no bad thing).

So is the TARDIS dying? RTD has said there's a couple of big shocks in store before the end of the season and the TARDIS playing up hints towards something there. Rumours of a =n exploding time-machine have been bandied around, although frankly I think that would be a bit crap. The Doctor has to have the TARDIS or there's no show. Its also an integral part of what the series is. Knowing he'd have to get it back eventually would kill any suspense. On top of that, its already died once this season, so it would be no great shock.

The blurb for The Satan Pit says that the Doctor has to face up to everything he believes in being questioned. Does this mean the Beast will tell him he isn't the last of the Time-Lords. Will it tell him that Rose is a manipulative little cow, attempting to use the new UK divorce laws to get half of the TARDIS?

Who knows? I'm really looking forward to next week though. This is what Doctor Who is all about! For the first time this season (and only the second since the new Who started in 2005) 5/5

Things I Loved: everything (except the hug)

Things I Didn't Love: the hug

I've now seen this twice. My first viewing was in the games room of a camp site, where the wife and I were joined by four children. Second viewing was at home for the BBC3 repeat.

Quite simply, the best episode of Doctor Who since the show came back. Yes, even better than "The Empty Child", and if "The Satan Pit" is as good...then this will be one of the all time greats adventures. As a single episode, this will rank already as one of the best.

I knew nothing of Matt Jones' previous writing so went in with an open mind...save that the synopsis I read suggested this might be one to look forward to.

My goodness, if ever there were one episode to show people and say "This is Doctor Who"....then it is this one. It has it all. OK, so the 'base under siege' theme is not new, and the visuals are reminiscent of Alien/Aliens but there is something fresh and new about this.

We have an apparently impossible situation, a planet in orbit around a black hole - kept there by some unknown energy source buried deep beneath the planet's surface. The Doctor and Rose arrive (in a cupboard, brilliant!) and things go further wrong, an earthquake destroys the section of the base where the TARDIS materialised.

On board the base we have a pretty normal bunch of people, who have elected to drill a shaft to investigate the power source. As usual this year, the supporting cast are excellent. And they are aided by the Ood, apparently a slave/heard race who communicate via low level telepathy.

Things go wrong in a sinister way when The Beast, whcih we surmise must be at the bottom of the shaft, awakens and starts sending message to the Ood...and posesses one of the people. This culminates in perhaps one of the most scary scenes ever committed to videotape. And it's so simple..."Toby, I am right behind you"....yet so chilling!

Finally the drill shaft is complete, so the Doctor and one of the workers from the base descend to investigate. They find a 30 foot diameter trap door, which opens revealing......

Cue end credits, a sigh of relief and genuine anticipation as to what comes next Saturday!

Really top notch stuff. 10/10 for all concerned.

Such a shame. Ratings slump. Smugness abounding. A distinct drop in quality compared to last season. I'm afraid the BBC might well ignore the critical claim, awards, overseas sales, DVD sales etc. and start planning a surefire hit for Saturday evenings. Never mind the audience appreciation figures, feel the ratings. Panic has probably ensued and already something like 'X Brother Strictly Big Celebrity Factor On Ice...in a Jungle' is no doubt being mooted to enliven our Saturday evening viewing. After all, reality television is popular...and cheap.

Disengage 'sarcasm-mode'. Sorry about that. Yes, it is a shame that the viewing figures are dropping as I believe this season deserves a big audience, but the BBC are not stupid and I think that they know they are making something rather special and are well aware of the circumstances. This isn't like the late-80's when those in charge didn't give a damn about the show. (Yet? Oh no! Paranoia!!)

Seriously, I guess 'Doctor Who beats ITV1 in the ratings for the 22nd time in a row shock!' isn't quite as attention-grabbing...

Right. Now that I've got that off my chest, what of 'The Impossible Planet'? Well, as we're only halfway here I will try to keep this brief.

The 'base under siege' story has, of course, been done before, but seldom has it been done better. The format was particularly prevalent during the latter half of the Sixties Troughton era, so a few 'Alien'/'Event Horizon' rip-off comments that I have heard have just made me raise my eyebrows and sigh. Actually, the fact that that the threat is 'down below' and the TARDIS has been lost forever (well, y'know...) brought to my mind 'Frontios' more than anything else...that's meant as a compliment, by the way! It's still a format that can work when well done, and....

Personally, I thought that this episode was sheer, unadulterated, gripping, well written, very well acted and expertly directed *class*. The Ood are memorable creations, and the cast as a whole were great. I would particularly pick out Will Thorpe's creepy performance as the 'possessed' Toby and Shaun Parkes' charming turn as the stressed out captain...I particularly liked the lovely scene where the Doctor feels compelled to hug Zac as representative of curious, brave, "mad" humanity. The chemistry the two actors had in 'Casanova' is completely intact here. A great moment that envoked the 4th Doctor's "homosapiens" speech from 'The Ark in Space'....although clearly Doctor Ten is more tactile!

Speaking of whom...I've had nothing but praise for David Tennant and he is right up to standard here. The Doctor's chat with Rose about carpets and mortgages was well-handled with some lovely directorial touches from James Strong, who makes a very strong 'debut' here. And the Doctor's panic when he thinks he might've lost the TARDIS is utterly convincing. (Although his refering to his promise to Jackie that we would keep Rose safe reminded me of the part of the otherwise excellent 'Girl in the Fireplace' that didn't work for me; I mean, it was just her and Mickey stranded then! I can kind of rationalise this by thinking that when you're completely smitten..you ain't thinking straight!!)

So...the Doctor and Rose are laughing at danger at the beginning...but they're not laughing now. This was an exceptional piece of television, and if 'The Satan Pit' delivers, this could well be an instant classic that'll sweep the end of season polls...and boy was it great to hear Gabriel Woolf's sinister tones in a 'Doctor Who' story again.

I eagerly await the second part...

After the joys of "The Girl In the Fireplace" I didn't expect the series to throw up something else so superb so soon. Yet this episode seems to have slipped under everyone's radar.

Not promoted as a tentpole episode for the season like the Cybermen or K9 episodes I think it's fair to say no one knew what to expect from the new writer director team.

What we got was flawless Doctor Who. From this day on, Star Trek and Stargate fans are on notice - they can no longer ridicule our show as the lesser force in television sci-fi. Quite frankly, the good Doctor kicked the bum of every and all other television sci-fi. In fact, it kicked the bum of quite a few sci-fi movies as well.

The whole episode definitely had a big screen movie feel to it - from the best special effects design the series has ever seen to the gravitas contained in every performance. This ensemble cast was not playing the episode with their tongue in cheek, this was played dead straight and the effects were chilling.

The script moved continually in new and fresh directions - nothing seemed predictable (expect that something is coming out of the pit but that sort of is the point!) and the 45 minutes just seemed to keep twisting and turning with new spectacle. I couldn't look away from the screen and continually felt as if the episode was about to end because so much had been packed in, only for another set piece to begin.

If the second episode disappoints it will be a huge let down but nothing can take away the fact that this episode was amongst the finest the series has ever produced.

The series continues to surprise us. After an atmosphere drenched period piece set in the 1950В’s we are plunged into a tough, gritty, dirty SF В‘base under siegeВ’ epic. If the Cybermen two parter was popcorn cinema Who this is horror SF Ridley Scott style for the small screen.

OK. Let's get the name-dropping out of the way first. Yep, itВ’s a riot of references - of В‘AlienВ’, В‘OutlandВ’, В‘Event HorizonВ’, В‘The OmenВ’ and reminds us of В‘Robots Of DeathВ’ and В‘The ArkВ’...and...wait a minute. Pinch me but did all of that glorious work on The Impossible Planet really get made for British television? To go out on a sunny Saturday evening at 7pm?

This was one of the most visually stunning pieces of British telefantasy in years. The production design alone should be applauded. If ever there was an episode to demonstrate that the show is no longer peddling naff sets, costumes and visual effects, then this is the one. Top marks to Ed Thomas and his crew, Neil Gorton and his crew and The Mill. Thanks to Murray Gold for a swirling, malevolent score. All the departments were really raising their game on this.

And to answer that vexed question, can the new series do alien environments and planets? Yes, big time, judging by the sterling efforts here. The location work combined with The MillВ’s effects really did justice to the look of the pit with itВ’s Harryhausen/Giger-like hidden ancient civilisation. Stunning images.

Anyway. Thematically, this is the Doctor and Rose plunging into the abyss (another film reference too), not just getting to journey into the centre of a planet but also their own search in the abyss for new wisdom, for the fountain of knowledge to douse their inflated pride. By entering it, they challenge their own rigid and fixed attitudes. Witness the way the episode opens with them giggling like a pair of schoolgirls and how that is completely turned on its head by the conclusion. Like the black hole they have been refusing to swallow their pills. The Bitter Pill is not just the planet's mythological name but also the Doctor and Rose facing up to the redundancy of their charm offensive. On this world, the chirpy references to Walford go down like a lead balloon. They are awkward gate-crashers at a party in hell. Suffering the loss of the TARDIS, they both are forced to contemplate an 'ordinary' life with 'mortgages'. The look of horror on the Doctor's face says it all.

'Everone leaves home in the end' is a pointer to this and perhaps an affirmation of the paths the Doctor and Rose originally took. That said, the Doctor/Rose dynamic works so much better here than in some earlier episodes and you do get much more of a sense of genuine affection between them once they realise that no one is paying attention to their mutual smugness. When Rose suggests they might live together, we also get an indication that the Doctor isnВ’t entirely sold on this idea because after all Rose is not Reinette.

The Impossible Planet is chiefly the flip side of the Doctor/Rose obsession with hubris. They seem to have been grounded here almost as deposed gods. The Doctor's descent into the pit is the age old confrontation of God with Mephistopheles - the light and dark of the masculine psyche. It is yet another striking example of the journey from above to below in search of the unconscious world and this has permeated the current series as a whole. The crossing into the unconscious is also linked with the sexual symbolism of the drill penetrating the planet. It's almost like the fertilising of an egg, the stirring of new/old life and the opening of Pandora's Box. The horror film conceits used in the episode are also very much about the stirring up of the unconscious and making it manifest in the conscious world.

Toby's possession by the Beast complete with the branding and marking of his flesh that sets him apart from the rest of the group is the literal representation of the Beast crossing the threshold between its world and the reality of the base. He is an unwilling and weak partner in a dark Faustian pact that brings together the three worlds of mind, flesh and unconscious. The Beast is a trickster figure that reinforces the boundaries between the conscious world (the base) and the unconscious world (the pit). By awakening the Beast the crew have also themselves been forced to emerge from a sleeping state, their lives now depending on much more than their hum-drum routine. This again is a lovely reference to В‘AlienВ’ with the lives of those on board Nostromo experiencing this abrupt wake up call in a similar fashion.

The Ood, beautifully designed, are transformed from their willing slave status into fiery eyed soldiers for the Beast. They are a personification of the BeastВ’s Ego, a conjuring trick that uses their herd instinct to erupt onto the surface in the form of totalitarianism, the tyranny of one mind over the masses of his army. Slaves turning against their original masters, the Ood are unable to articulate themselves in their dead-end service industry mentality. They are cut off from thought and sensation. Their Egos have truly been extinguished. An army of the dead.

The lighting and colour palette of red and yellows in the base provided a suitable contrast to the almost monochrome and baroque chiaroscuro of the planet. The skull like lighting of the EVA suit helmets, with the wearers pale deaths heads in the darkness of the pit underline this dramatic use of light and dark. There was also some nifty editing and directing. James Strong might possibly have the talent to join the ranks of Euros Lyn and Joe Ahearne. He racked up the tension nice and slowly, with a final nerve-shredding ten minutes that hopefully will pay off in the second part. There was a huge amount of exposition in the first fifteen minutes and that didnВ’t help the pacing to begin with but this did feel like the first two parts of a В‘classicВ’ Who story with considered pacing and character development.

On the acting side we were blessed with cleverly sketched performances from Will Thorp, Shaun Parkes and Danny Webb. As for our regular cast, Billie Piper is still doing superb work. Many have started to find her irritating but she still has the ability to be very subtle in the way she plays certain scenes and thatВ’s a quality much to be admired. David Tennant still hasnВ’t quite got there yet and there were some amazingly good scenes, his tenderness with Rose when they realise theyВ’re stuck on the base was particularly good, but there is still a little too much В‘forced zaninessВ’ in the performance for me. HeВ’s excellent but for me hasnВ’t quite reached some of the heights of Eccleston achieved in the last half of the first series.

The stand out performance has to be Gabriel Woolf. A chilling voice that dominated the episode and evocative in that this was a threat not seen on screen (yet) but all the more powerful because of that.

A waking nightmare of an episode, then, with cast and crew firing on all guns. A narrative that genuinely forced you to keep thinking and wondering what the resolution to this would be. Part two will, I hope, provide some suitably intriguing answers.