After convincing many of my friends that the new Doctor Who is well worth viewing (both Ecclestone and Tennant) the one criticism that I keep hearing is "They never seem to go anywhere other than Earth". Well personally I have no problem with the Earthbound episodes as long as the story is a good one, which by and large they have been in my opinion, but now with The Impossible Planet maybe there is something to satisfy those who want to see more space and alien planets in Doctor Who.

This one grabbed me right from the outset, a very wheezy and "sick" sounding TARDIS slowly materialising with the Police Box sign lights flickering on and off, gets the attention straight away. Rose and the Doctor emerge into what is described as "a cupboard" and begin to explore. On a wall is sprayed the friendly greeting "Welcome to hell" (a clue of what's to come?) under which is some mysterious alien writing that the Doctor states is "impossibly old" as even he and the TARDIS are unable to translate it. It's not long before they come face to face with the Ood, the new alien creatures for this story, humanoid...ish but with squid like faces and a multitude of red tentacles where their mouths should be. The prosthetics department have really gone to town here and made these creatures look real and believable, a far cry from the bubble wrap monster. And so with the Doctor and Rose surrounded by the Ood all proclaiming "We must feed, we must feed" we go to the opening credits in true Doctor Who cliff-hanger style. So far so good.

Okay so we have some pieces already in place, all is obviously not well with the TARDIS, a strange alien script, the reference to Hell and some new "monsters". I'm not going to go through the story minute by minute as most people reading this will have already watched the episode or be planning to and this is a review not a synopsis. I'll just pick out certain important aspects.

The main thought that springs to mind is the whole darkness of this episode and how close to the wind the Doctor Who production team seem to be sailing these days especially when you consider that this is shown at 7pm on a Saturday evening and is aimed at both adults and children alike. This is a story about evil, we're not talking nasty evil Daleks from Skaro or humans turned into emotionless Cybermen here, we're talking real evil. The references used provide little doubt to adult viewers as to what is lurking deep beneath the planets surface. The Doctor works out how much power is needed to keep the planet in it's orbit above an all consuming black hole and Rose mentions that his answer is "all the sixes". An Ood serving Rose her dinner announces that "The beast will rise from the pit and do battle with God". The archaeologist member of the base crew asks who it is talking to him and the reply is "I have many names". So there can be little doubt that this is the ultimate evil that the Doctor must deal with, the Devil himself. At one point the possessed Ood even mention Satan by name.

Now I watch Doctor Who with my son aged 6 and my two daughters aged 7 and 12, we all love it and despite what I have written in the previous paragraph I really did not have any problem or reservations about them watching this, after all many of the references they probably didn't get anyway, as far as they're concerned it's probably typical Doctor Who, something nasty is lurking somewhere, someone will meet a sticky end and the Doctor will (probably) save the day. But the religious aspect is most definitely there, this along with the whole darkness of the story may give some parents cause for concern.

I gauge the scariness of an episode by my youngest daughters reaction, this tends to be a pointer as to whether the Doctor Who "behind the sofa" thing has actually worked. During the episode "Dalek" she was actually in tears at one point and was torn between running upstairs to avoid it altogether or carrying on watching to see what happened, in the end curling up on Daddy under a quilt and peeking out every so often won the day.I'm not cruel, she didn't have to watch it honest, but I must confess that I was somewhat impressed that the Daleks still had the same effect on her that they had on me many, many moons ago. That was her first real taste of what Doctor Who can really be about. Other obvious episodes that come to mind that had a similar reaction from her were "The Empty Child" and "Tooth and Claw".

So how did my little Leah fair with "The Impossible Planet", well she did turn round and say "ooo, I don't like them much" when she first saw the Ood, but she was still quite happy to sit away from me on her own. The voice behind Toby whispering "I can see you, don't turn around" had her hurrying over to sit with me. "If you turn round you will die" had her hugging me rather tightly, the clincher was "I'm reaching out, I can touch you", that was the quilt over the head and "I don't think I want to watch this anymore" moment and I have to admit that there's something about disembodied, threatening voices that still works even for me. The imagination works overtime and it's not what you can see but what you can't see that can be truly scary. Even my other two children were sitting a lot closer together and staring wide eyed at the screen at this point and usually nothing in Doctor Who phases them at all.

But does it all work as a whole, I would say most certainly it does. The boundaries have been pushed just a little further and the team have come up with a real cracker here. The raised production values of the "new" Doctor Who have never been more obvious. This has had some real work and money pumped into it and it shows big time. Okay the base interior could have been taken straight from the Alien film but it has been built as a set and it looks the part, perfect. No white walls, shiny new computer consoles or sliding doors here, this is a dirty, noisy mining operation in the most inhospitable environment possible and it looks like it! The Ood are completely convincing. The CGI is terrific without overwhelming everything else, the black hole looks like you'd imagine the universes ultimate destructive force to look like, not scientifically what it SHOULD look like but how the imagination says it should look.

Doctor Who Confidential afterwards proved how much effort went into this one, a view of a poor hapless base member floating off into space being drawn in by the black hole that was on screen for all of about 10 seconds (if that) was meticulously filmed in the underwater studio at Pinewood Studios just to get the weightless effect right. I would say that to date this is the closest any Doctor Who episode has come to the cinematic experience on the small screen. And to top it all, the underground sequence was filmed in a quarry, Who finally returns to the quarries (although unlike previous quarry visits unless you were told you would never guess that it was filmed in one of these places)

My summary: Stunning production, great effects, very scary (especially for younger viewers). Completely engrossing, I only hope that the concluding episode of this particular story doesn't let it down.

“We’re on a planet that shouldn’t exist underneath a black hole. Yeah… start worrying about me.”

What an episode! “The Impossible Planet” is definitely the creepiest episode of Doctor since its rebirth last year. More than that, it’s just… well, brilliant. The pre-title sequence sums it all up beautifully – the Doctor finds some writing even the TARDIS cannot translate, for they have gone beyond the reach of the TARDIS’ knowledge. Until now, I didn’t know the TARDIS’ knowledge even had limits! This wonderful notion of ‘impossibility’ that runs throughout the episode really heightens the nightmarish scenario. Welcome to Hell.

“The Beast and his armies shall rise from the Pit to make war against God,” says the Dinner Lady-Ood very matter of factly.

In the Ood, the production team have found a race that are really shit scary. They just look absolutely monstrous; they are the pole opposite of human beings’ idea of beauty. Worse, the way they act as willing slaves to humanity; those creepily pleasant, uniform voices – they’re unsettling even before they are taken over by the ‘Beast.’ However, I found the most terrifying aspect of “The Impossible Planet” to be the psychological horror, as opposed to the physical. It is no secret that next week’s episode is called “The Satan Pit,” and with hints like 666 littered throughout the episode, combined with the Ood’s almost biblical quotations - “He is awake. He bathes in the black sun...” – the writer Matt Jones is playing on very primal, human fears. The Devil. Hell. Satan.

On top of this, there is absolutely no way out. These people are trapped inside a black hole. Not just Zack and his crew, but the Doctor and Rose. In classic Hartnell style, the TARDIS crew lose the ship in the first few minutes of the episode, and it this time it really seems like there is no getting it back. Even if they escaped the ‘Beast’, his legion of brainwashed Ood and the black hole that contains them, the Doctor and Rose would still be stranded in the far future (43k 2.1, I believe they said), forced to lead linear lives. I love that little scene between the two of them, where Rose playfully skirts around the idea of them sharing a house. I love the Doctor’s babbling about jobs, mortgages, doors and carpets. In all my reviews this season I don’t think I’ve adequately praised what a fantastic Doctor he is. He has a certain childlike quality a bit like Pat Troughton; I love the way he babbles endlessly and almost ends up stammering when he’s excited… yet he’s still essentially the same man as the ninth Doctor. In fact, I don’t think two contiguous Doctors have ever been so similar before, though I think that has more to do with Russell T. Davies’ vision of the character than the men who have worn his shoes.

“It’s funny ‘cos people back home think space travel is gonna be all whizzing about… teleports… anti-gravity, but it’s not is it? It’s tough.”

Damn right, Rose. In fact, Matt Jones bleak Sanctuary Base makes stuff like the Alien movies look like luxury. This harsh backdrop really emphasises just how grim the situation is, and by the time we first hear Gabriel Woolf’s voice creeping up on Toby, it seems that the situation couldn’t get any scarier. Woolf, of course, famously played the Osirian Sutekh in the classic Tom Baker story “Pyramids of Mars” back in 1976 and here he lends that some sense of malevolence to the ‘Beast,’ who could turn out to be another fallen deity. Having the ‘Beast’ manifest itself in Toby really pushes the fear factor through the roof. The red eyes, the tattoos of that untranslatable language… its all traditional, textbook stuff – but it works, and works brilliantly.

The look of the episode, as well as the soundtrack, is also immensely impressive. The black hole may not be technically realistic, but I doubt your average Joe knows what one looks like and I think this is one of those cases where you just have to go for what looks good… and it does. It’s absolutely beautiful. The score is another triumph for Murray Gold; it ranges from very gentle Celtic strings to very big, very epic ‘event’ music which helps build up probably the second-best cliff-hanger ever in Doctor Who. The pit opens. The Legion of the Beast begins to March, chanting all the Beast’s many names including Satan. The planet starts to fall into the black hole. The Doctor and Ida open the “Trap-Door” and stare down into the Satan Pit…

So is there anything about “The Impossible Planet” that I didn’t like? Yeah, two things. First and foremost, why did they have to kill Scooti, the fit one? And secondly, where did all the random extras come from at the end, only to be killed by the Ood? I thought it was just a skeleton crew! Ah well, you can’t have it all.

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.

After some fairly cosy fun with 'The Idiot's Lantern' last week, Doctor Who takes a decidedly dark turn in its eighth episode. And it's surprising just how dark things get. Similarities to the 'Alien' movies, 'Event Horizon' and even 'The Omen' have already been mentioned, but hang on a moment, aren't those all 18-certificate scare-fests designed to turn cinema goers into quivering wrecks? Well they're certainly not family friendly tales for seven o'clock of a Saturday evening, sandwiched between 'Strictly Dance Fever' and 'The National Lottery'...

Call me a big girl's blouse, but I can't recall Doctor Who ever being quite this scary. It's difficult to put in perspective, but I think that if I were nearer 10 than, ahem, well a fair bit older than 10, then I might still be suffering from sleepless nights. Maybe it's just me, but the psychological scares provided by Gabriel Woolf's disembodied voice and a man's skin suddenly being covered with arcane symbols are far more terrifying than any number of ranting daleks.

So, what happens then? Well, the Doctor and Rose, as jovial as ever, step out of the TARDIS into a ramshackle space station inhabited by a small group of humans and their willing slaves, the tentacle-faced Ood. They soon discover that the space station is on a small, inhospitable rock which orbits a black hole, thus breaking several laws of physics, apparently, hence the episode's title. How does it do this? It turns out there's a mysterious power source at the core of the planet, and that's why the humans are there - to drill down, discover and hopefully exploit this power source. But it seems the inhospitable rock may not be quite as dead as everyone thinks...

Which brings us onto the villain of the piece. And, well, it's the Devil, isn't it? No beating around the bush with this one, it's pretty definitely the Satanic one. A little bold for that 7pm slot, but there you go. Nice coincidence (or is it?) that 6/6/06 is the Tuesday between episodes... Anyway, the Devil's presence seeps into the space station's technology. Rose's mobile phone impossibly rings to chillingly announce that 'He is awake'. An Ood's translation device states that, 'The beast and his armies shall rise from the pit to make war against God', a moment made all the more scary by the fact that the line is delivered in the Ood's usual pleasant sing-song tones. The Devil's face briefly flickers in the station's holographic imager and, most terrifying of all, science officer Toby gets possessed, his skin covered with strange symbols.

The tension builds wonderfully, helped by strong performances and Murray Gold's best and most cinematic score to date. In fact, the whole episode has a very cinematic feel, with vast images of space and underground caverns, stunning set pieces (Scooti's death being both powerfully emotive and brilliantly realised) and a really gritty, detailed story.

Any negatives? The pre-credit teaser is a cop-out that reeks of someone forgetting to write one until the last minute. And the Doctor's hug seemed like an attempt at quirky and alien but unfortunately just comes across as a bit embarrassing. Still, these minor quibbles can't dent what's been one of my favourite episodes of the new series so far. Here's hoping that whatever was rising out of the pit (and how masterful was it not to show it just yet?) provides a suitably epic conclusion to the story next week.