Whoopee!

A tour de force. This episode was at least as good as the first part of the story. The CGI was fantastic, the script was excellent, the acting was superb.

In more detail there were plenty of references to previous episodes. Particularly the Daemons and also of course the movie Alien and a Red Dwarf episode where the crew were trapped in the ventialtion shafts. Torchwood got a shout again and there was a fairly big hint that Rose is going to snuff it before the end of the series.

What about the script? Fantastic, David Tennant had some great lines and so did Billie. He put the universe on the line by trusting Rose to do the right thing and all of Rose's heroics were done to save the doc. This was easily her strongest episode this series, she really went for it. This was definetely the TARDIS twosomes strongest episode their relationship was absolutely pivotal to the plot and the resolution of the crisis at the end.

What a shame that none of the Doctor Zoidberg lookalikes survived, Why not get an ood as the next companion, every TARDIS should have one. Apart from a tendency to demonic possession they seem to be pretty fun. OK the horned god isn't universally viewed as evil it was only classed at that when Christianity clamped down on its' rivals but for the purposes of the show I can live with it.l

These two episodes are what Doctor Who should be. They give you the same thrill that a story like Planet of Evil or The Brain of Morbius gave you when you saw them for the first time. This series has been a wee bit up and down so far but these stories and 'The Girl in the Fireplace' really raise the bar. It won't be long before it's over now and we'll be watching old episodes to fill the void. You really have to ask yourself how may of them would be as good as this. Not many is the answer.

After this dollop of hard sci fi we're going to get another odd episode next week but variety is the spice of life so roll on Peter Kay.

Most people reviewing "The Impossible Planet" said that it was written so well (surprisingly so considering Matt Jones' books were not some of the best) that even if "The Satan Pit" tanked, it would still be a great two-part episode.

Well no point in worrying because this part was as good if not better than the first, and that's saying something for Sci-Fi! I can't begin to write down all the Science Fiction two parters that just simply fell apart or just weren't all that interesting somewhere during part two.

In case I didn't mention it before, this two parter is not only awesome because they FINALLY leave the planet Earth, it's also incredible acting by every single member of the cast. If I was English, I might recognize some of these people (I believe someone said that 'Toby' was from a UK version of "Dancing With the Stars" or something). Still, every single cast member had a personality, passion and strength rarely seen in side characters. When they sacrifice themselves or are simply killed, you actually feel for them. David Tennant is brilliant as well. he really loves the humans again, something I had missed in the ninth's incarnation. His "sacrifice" of dropping to the bottom of the pit is a tiny bit lame only because A) You know he's not going to die and B) If he did he would just regenerate (although we are getting up there in "allowed" regenerations aren't we?). I'm also not sure if this crew, no matter how much they like and trus t The Doctor and Rose, would allow themselves to be ordered around by a young blond girl in overalls but hey, it's not called suspension of disbelief for nothin'!

Of course all the effects were absolutely top-notch. I don't know what they have planned for the finale but it sure seems like they spent a year's budget on a single episode. I love the rocket they escape in, the up close shots of the Black Hole, the Tardis hauling the rocket out of the Black Hole and hmmm....am I forgetting something? Oh yeah... "Satan" was AWESOME!!!! I can't help but think back to The Daemons. What a comparison. This guy looked, in a word, fantastic!!!!!! What an awesome looking demon.

The score in this entire two-parter was very similar to Firefly. I hope they keep it up. The slight violins and such work very well to the atmosphere of this episode. As with every episode there's a few holes like why would Toby/Satan need to tell an Ood he's controlling to shush about his presence and let him escape. Still, didn't affect my love for this two parter even one small bit. As I said in last week's review:

If you're a fan of Science Fiction, you deserve a show like this. Go find this two-parter and watch it ASAP!!!!

My expectations were high for The Satan Pit after the cliff-hanger ending to last week's excellent episode. Would Rose and the crew of the Sanctuary Base be zapped by the possessed Ood? Would the planet be sucked into the black hole? And just what was rising out of the pit to confront the Doctor and Ida?

These tricky situations were all, more or less, resolved with startling speed. The planet's orbit settled back down and locking the doors (temporarily) dealt with Ood. And as for what was emerging from the pit... well, it turned out that nothing was emerging from the pit. It was just a naughty point-of-view camera trick. Unfortunately, this did slightly deflate the episode for a moment. I felt it needed a more explosive beginning. Things righted themselves to an extent with the Beast speaking through the Ood on the video screen before giving them a brief glimpse of his demonic visage. The panicked crew talking over one another, only to be silenced, and then calmed, by the Doctor's interruption was a great scene, though the Beast's sepulchral tones were less impressive when mixed with the voices of the Ood.

With the lift cable broken, the story went in two directions: the Doctor and Ida contemplating the pit while the others crawled through access ducts to defeat the pursuing Ood. These latter scenes were as tense and claustrophobic as they needed to be, but reminiscent of similar scenes at the end of the film Aliens. The final door rising up to reveal waiting Ood provided a nice jolt, but choosing this moment to also reveal that Toby was still possessed by the Beast was a mistake. How much more of a shock would it have been if the audience discovered the Beast's escape plan along with the Doctor and Rose? As it was, we were waiting for them to play catch-up.

Ida and the Doctor's scenes in the cavern provided an interesting juxtaposition, quiet and thoughtful, and a chance to see a greater depth to the Doctor's character. The sometimes irritating banter and over-confidence vanished, to be replaced by introspection, doubt, even fear. Despite pressure from Ida, he initially decides against investigating the pit - maybe curiosity has been his downfall once too often. He dismisses the Beast's statement that it came from 'before time', but still seems shaken by the possibility. And he has a couple of magical, heart-in-the-mouth moments. Firstly, his 'No, it's not the urge to jump; it's the urge to fall', followed by his backward tumble over the edge of the pit. Secondly, when he unclips his caribenas and plummets into the void. With no idea of what's below him, it's almost as if he doesn't care what happens to him, whether he lives or dies. The simplicity of the visuals - the Doctor's flailing form against inky blackness, shrinking to nothing as he falls - makes for a stunning scene, especially as I thought, as the topside crew were about to re-establish radio contact, that he might be talked out of it.

The following scene, as Rose breaks down and then refuses to leave on the rocket with the others, ups the emotional ante. In fact, generally, the emotional moments in this episode work well - Jefferson's final scene and Ida's radio farewell to Zack being also worthy of mention.

So then the plot gets resolved. It's neatly done, if a little straightforward. The Doctor meets the visually highly impressive Beast and deduces that its intelligence has escaped on the rocket; Rose, strapped in on the rocket, comes to the same conclusion. As mentioned above, the audience is already one step ahead here, more's the pity. The Doctor, realising the trap, proclaims his faith in Rose and destroys the gravity field, apparently dooming everyone to end up in the black hole. The Beast speaks through a tattooed Toby once more - still shocking, despite it being about the third time it happens - and Rose despatches it and him, using that blatantly signposted bolt gun with one remaining bolt. The Doctor, using the rather-too-easily recovered TARDIS rescues Ida and saves the rocket from the black hole. Job done. It was the Ood I felt sorry for though, used and abused by both humans and Beast, and left cowering in the base corridors as they plummeted to certain death in the black hole.

In the end then, an enjoyable episode, but not the classic I was hoping for. I realise my expectations were perhaps unfeasibly high after The Impossible Planet last week, but it seemed that the best bits were used in that first episode, and not enough was held back for the story's conclusion. I thought I might end up with a new Doctor Who 'favourite two-parter', but I think that must remain The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances from last year. For the moment, at least.

Oh dear oh dear oh dear - after last week's cracking episode full of tension and excitement and almost reminiscent of the Sandminer crew in Robots of Death, the Satin Pit quickly sank into the most of cliche of SF plots - a chained up monster on a planet trying to escape with inhabitants of space base being chased around corridors by monsters (in this case the Oods which had shown great potential last week). For the majority of the episode the Doctor dangles on a rope, eventually crashes to the bottom and has pointless dialogue with a growling devil like creature whilst faithful Rose is left to deal with the creature's intelligence in the space rocket fleeing the black hole. Then bingo the Doctor finds the Tardis at the foot of the pit and saves the remaining humans - hoorah!!

To be fair the acting was of the same high standard as part one and the special effects were terrific. But the concept has been done in Doctor Who many times before - The Daemons, Pyramids of Mars, Battlefield to name a few. Despite the references to the Doctor and Rose questioning their beliefs about a creature that may have existed before the creation of the universe, there was nothing new here. Break a couple of flower pots and the creature remains prisoned for ever more - oh come on - pleasssssssssssssse!!!

So my first thumbs down for this season - maybe I just expected too much and episode one was really quite superb. This was a wasted opportunity to bring a really good space adventure to the season - it ultimately failed in my eyes - what a shame!!! And poor Oods - all wiped out - another race sent to oblivion!

A high-quality denouement to last weekВ’s excellent opening episode of this two-parter gives The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit top spot in my pecking order of this seasonВ’s stories thus far В– and the last four episodes are going to have to be spectacular to dethrone this one.

The Satan Pit picked up where The Impossible Planet left off (as one might expect from a second part!) in terms of excitement. I really enjoyed the contrast in pacing between Rose and В“herВ” crewВ’s high-octane battle to reach safety above the surface while, below, The Doctor was involved in much gentler-paced scenes as he deliberated on whether he should risk his life to fall to the bottom of the pit.

Rose has always been a strong character, but she has progressed so far since that eponymous first episode, she is now literally the leader of men, as she took control of the crewВ’s bid to escape from the Ood. This was quite traditional Doctor Who В– a chase down a ventilator shaft rather than a corridor, but it was good drama, and a touching death scene for Security Chief Jefferson. And Billie Piper was great В– full of vitality and life, and really responded to the action scenes, as she always does, of course.

Meanwhile, The DoctorВ’s musings as he dropped down the pit were the slowest scenes of the series В– there wouldnВ’t have been time for such scenes in a single-parter, but they worked beautifully here. David Tennant excelled here, and the sight of his drop into eternal blackness was a memorable image.

Not THE image of the episode, of course. Even had the rest of The Satan Pit sucked like the gravitational pull from the black hole, it would have been worth it for the fabulous encounter between The Doctor and the body of The Beast at the bottom of the pit. That would have been sensational on the big screen, but what a treat to have it made for TV. For В“ourВ” Doctor Who. The Beast had to be the CGI teamВ’s finest moment, and Tennant (considering he was acting against green screen) was terrific in his confrontation with the creature.

There were shades of Doctor Who past В– notably Jon PertweeВ’s confrontation with the Daemon Azal В– but it was an interesting idea NOT to have The Beast talk, as its mind had escaped (in the body of the possessed and ultimately doomed Toby). The husk left behind simply dripped menace, and was a monster which will linger long in the memory.

One slight negative for me was that Gabriel WoolfВ’s excellent voice of The Beast sounded too similar to the voice of The Emperor Dalek, which I didnВ’t notice last week, and I wonder if many viewers would have connected the two, and expected The Emperor to turn up. Probably not, except people В– like me В– with far too much time on their hands . . .

And was it THE Devil? Well, it was A devil. And that was good enough for me. I didnВ’t mind the lack of a definitive explanation of the precise nature of the creature. Certainly didnВ’t affect the story.

RoseВ’s expulsion of the possessed Toby through the rocket window was another Alien-esque moment, in an episode which looked much more like a film than a TV programme. Visually, this was a quite-stunning piece, but was matched by the script and the performances of all of the cast, but especially the showВ’s stars.

For the first time since Tennant took over as The Doctor, I really BELIEVED in the relationship between the two main characters again. ItВ’s taken until the ninth episode, but IВ’m convinced there is depth between Rose and the tenth Doctor. All through the episode, eachВ’s primary concern was how the other was faring В– both were prepared to give their life willingly for the other. And the reunion between the two had real meaning.

TennantВ’s В“tell Rose I love herВ” moment (OK, he didnВ’t use the words, but it was there!) was another high point in an episode of peaks and no troughs. Plus we had the additional teaser of The DevilВ’s assertion that Rose was going to die in battle В– could have meant THIS battle, I suppose, but IВ’m sure the implication is that В“the battleВ” is one to come . . .

Summing-up, wonderful entertainment, best of the season so far, possibly the best since the series returned and definitely a contender for the В“classicВ” moniker. I look forward to many rewatchings of both episodes of this superb two-parter together.

The Devil rides out...on a rocket ship. Or *a* devil, anyway. A Beast of some sort, certainly.

Possessed creatures marauding. Humans fleeing. Courage, fear, sacrifice, death. Oh, the humanity. Plenty of action/adventure here..superbly done. (Come back anytime, Mr Strong.) And who didn't smile at the mention of 'ventilation shafts'?

Way down below, the Doctor dangles. ('The Doctor Dangles'? Hmmm. No, no, no...'The Satan Pit' is a good title!) His belief system is being challenged and he discusses faith with his only contact, Ida. (A lovely performance from Claire Rushbrook); then he falls...

The Beast has been playing on "basic fears" but the Doctor's words have a galvanising effect on the unnerved humans (a common theme these days) and Rose is stirred into action, in effect taking on the Doctor's role. Brave, smart, incredibly loyal Rose. Others have commented upon the characters development this season (or lack of it, thus far?) and I can see where they're coming from, but thankfully this script gives her a number of great moment and, typically, Billie Piper rises to the occasion, giving what I believe to be one of her best performances to date. Favourite moments include "..could've said, you stupid *******" (fill in the blank, although I think it began with a 'B'. It definately wasn't 'timelord' !) ; her passionate refusal to leave the base, even though it looks like the Doctor is a goner; and the moment where she justifies, again, the Doctor's belief in her. ("Go to hell!!") Whether the character dies soon in battle or not, I'm personally gonna miss Billie Piper when she moves on.

I've already mentioned Shaun Parkes and Will Thorp, and they were great again this week. Zac becomes increasingly confident as a leader over these 45 minutes, and I think Thorp's brilliantly edgy performance as Toby, whether possessed or not, must surely figure strongly in the 'end of season' polls. I hope so. His pre-death rant saw an actor really going for it big-time. Respect.

So, does the Doctor meet the Devil? Or a devil? Or just a nasty alien Beast? He doesn't seem to know, or indeed *want* to know. Whatever, the Beast was a brilliant creation, and I wonder how the kids might've reacted. I'm no youngster, but when It was first revealed, I thought, appropriately, "Bl**dy Hell!" Ah, that'll be your standard saturday evening television with a big, red, fire-breathing Beastie, then...

As for David Tennant...brilliant. Whether conversing with the Beast with insensity, intelligence and skill, or being quietly relective whilst hanging by a thread...he nails it completely. Fantastic.

Well, I got a bit sarky and defensive last week after the Media Guardian story and some comments directed my way by "non fans" who had dismissed 'The Impossible Planet" as a rip-off of (Fill in blank)...silly, really. Getting so protective about a T.V. Show...but what the hey! It's a special programme.

When 'Doctor Who' is good, it is very very good. And when it is great...it is wonderful.

This was wonderful....10/10.