So, um, "The Satan Pit," then.

Well, it wasn't exactly the ultimate battle of Good v. Evil that one would think would come from "The Lonely God" facing off against "The Darkness." Matter of fact, when you get down to it, most of The Beast's dialogue seemed to be a lot of bluster. I mean, come on, he had to disembody his mind in order to make any sort of impact, as his physical form was very securely chained up in a very deep pit, set against a very large trap that, when sprung, would have thrown the entire planet into the black hole. Which kinda begs the question why that civilization didn't just do that in the first place but, you know, whatever works.

And Rose. Ah, poor, possibly doomed Rose. Yeah, it figures that just as I was getting ready to write this, about the Beast's portent that Rose would "die in battle," I see the news item on BBC and Outpost Gallifrey that Billie Piper is, in fact, leaving at the end of the season. So, er, yeah, in some form or fashion the Beast will be right. Whether or not she dies is now the question, as to her leaving is now, seemingly, answered. And wasn't it nice of BBC to keep that under wraps for most of the season? I mean, they couldn't help but scream to the world that Christopher Eccleston was leaving after "Rose" aired, and thereby blowing the shock surprise of THAT season finale, but HEY, we gotta keep BILLIE'S DEPARTURE under wraps as long as possible! Oh, whoops, guess we've kinda blown that finale too! Thanks, Auntie Beeb. No, really.

The Doctor, meanwhile, doesn't discuss his faith and beliefs. Much. Yes, we KNOW his faith is with his companion(s), we've known that since reciting their names repelled a legion of haemovores when a crucifix with no faith behind its bearer wouldn't, back in "Curse of Fenric." Honestly, the idea that I've seen from some fans that suddenly "Rose is a goddess figure" is... bah. Not even worth getting into. He's always believed in his companions. And as for his stuttering last message...well. Back to "School Reunion," then, where he couldn't admit anything to Sarah Jane either. Just can't quite seem to get the words out, can he?

But you know, other than yet another gratuitous Torchwood riff, this episode was pretty damn enjoyable. The scenes in the ducts with demonomaniacal Ood chasing Rose and the crew had a very nice claustrophobic feel that added to the DOOM(ed) atmosphere of the story. I mean, we "knew" that the Doctor and Rose would come out OK, but there were certain moments where you had to wonder, even briefly... Overall, Matt Jones has, well, improved quite a bit since his New Adventures about a decade ago, and I think this season especially has benefitted from it. There's hope for this thing to be turned around yet.

And hey, look at that! Not a Sutekh to be found!

В“Doctor, tell me thereВ’s no such thing.В”

This has to be one of my favourite episodes of Doctor Who ever. In forty-five minutes it showcases everything that is good about Doctor Who today, everything that was good about classic Doctor Who, and gives us a fleeting glimpse of what Doctor Who may be like in the future. It is fast В– so very fast В– as the Ood rampage throughout the Sanctuary Base on their crazed killing spree. It is scary В– proper scary В– how on Earth the kids on the BBC website voted this episode a mere В‘Fear Factor 5В’ after last weekВ’s episode broke the В‘Fear FactorВ’ barrier I donВ’t know. Perhaps itВ’s that old chestnut about what you donВ’t see being scarier than what you do see. I do think there is some truth in that, but when we finally get to see the Beast, then wellВ…

В“The Satan PitВ” picks up where В“The Impossible PlanetВ” left off. The pit is open, and apparently Satan is free, but there is no sign of him. The Ood chase Rose and the surviving members of the Sanctuary BaseВ’s crew through the jeffries tubes in a scene that could have been cut and pasted straight out of one of the studio bound classic series stories В– it is simply thrilling. In classic Doctor Who style, Danny uses some techno babble method to knock out the Ood, but it is too late. There is a fleeting moment that is performed, shot and edited absolutely sublimely where Toby just turns to the Ood and says В“ShhВ” В– the Devil is still in him. Will Thorp gives an absolutely superb performance as the poor soul infested with the consciousness of the Beast. Thorp manages to portray Toby as a likeable but soft character, a bit of a doormat, and then suddenly the eyes go red, the tattoos appear out of nowhere and heВ’s the Devil. The force and the power that comes out of him is just shocking.

The rest of the crew are almost as impressive. Shaun Parkes as Zack, the makeshift captain, also gives an impressive performance. His character comes across as very down to Earth and very likeable, just a normal bloke thrown into a mad situation. Danny WebbВ’s Mr. Jefferson very nearly steals the show at times; his death scene is particularly moving. Ida (Claire Rushbrook), who spends much of this episode trapped in the Pit, and Danny (Ronny Jhutti) also come across as very real people with their own hopes and fears, making the BeastВ’s little prГ©cis of them all the more disturbing. Last week, much of the fear came from the hype surrounding this Beast. This week it is loose, and again the fear is mainly psychological as it plays on their В“basic fearsВ”, revealing their darkest secrets, and hinting at their possible futures. Whether this is the Devil or not В– the original, if you like В– is anybodyВ’s guess, but for one thing it certainly can see through our heroes here. В“The little boy who liedВ… the virginВ…В” and most disturbingly, В“the valiant child who will die in battle so very soon.В”

В“For once in my lifeВ… IВ’m going to say retreat.В”

When even the Doctor approaches the Pit with trepidation, the viewer knows something is up. “The Satan Pit” is something of a rarity in that it focuses on our lead man; it’s not a story where he shows up and saves the world, or teaches his young companion some lesson about the universe… it is a story about him directly, and his having to come to turns with the fact that there are things out there that even he doesn’t understand. The Beast claims to come from “…before time and light and space and matter… before this universe was created” which the Doctor just cannot accept. It contradicts all his core beliefs -“Science, not sorcery Miss Hawthorne” – as his faith is science. So what does he do? He jumps into the Pit. Bring it on! There is twenty foot of rock (filmed in a good old fashioned quarry, I might add) and then nothing. Literally. As he abseils down into the nothingness he puts a smile on a lot of fans faces with a few well-chosen words about Draconians, Dæmons, Kaleds… all these ‘classic series’ races have a Devil. The Devil is just an idea, surely? One way to find out, he reckons. He unfastens his harness.

В“Just tell herВ… tell herВ… oh, she knows,В” and with that the tenth Doctor falls silently, gracefully into the Pit.

When he wakes up his space helmet is smashed but guess what - heВ’s still breathing! Impossible! The Satan consciousness may have fled to Toby, but the Doctor finds himself looking up at the gigantic figure of the Devil. Whoever designed and animated the Beast needs some sort of award В– to come up with a piece of C.G.I. that good on a television budget is absolutely phenomenal. Without exaggeration, you wouldnВ’t see a better realisation of the Devil even in a megabucks Hollywood picture. In fact, of anything IВ’ve ever seen in cinema, I think the Beast looks most like the Balrog from The Fellowship of the RingВ… only better. Much better. ItВ’s amazing.

The ending is an absolute thriller; Rose is trapped with Zack, Danny and Toby/Satan on board a very small rocket trying to escape the pull of the black holeВ… talk about tense. At the same time, the Doctor has to face the old В“I could save the world but lose youВ” moment of truth again, only this time there is no Harriet Jones to bail him out. ItВ’s gripping stuff; absolutely mind-blowingly brilliant В– without doubt, В“the stuff of legend.В”

The only question that remains, now that we know Billie Piper will be leaving the show at the end of the series, is how will В“the valiant childВ” depart? Surely they wouldnВ’t do an AdricВ…

This second and concluding episode had a lot to live up to. Perhaps it ended up not being quite as good as last weeks В“The Impossible PlanetВ” but В‘PitВ’ did not disappoint. If I have two criticisms they would be that the Tardis appears somewhat miraculously when it needs to, this could perhaps have been handled more imaginatively. And the line where the Doctor claims that the Time Lords invented black holes should have been removed, if for no other reason than it seems implausible that the Doctor would find initial situation so impossible if his people invented and understood black holes.

Otherwise, we had an atypical situation with the Doctor and Ida discussing belief systems, which lead to the Doctor having trouble recognising the existence of a devil. That was different and well written. В“Tell RoseВ…..ah she knowsВ”, was touching and said what needed to be said without bashing the viewer over the head. Altogether an intelligent script for a sophisticated television show.

I very much have the feeling that if there were to be a Doctor Who film, something like the Planet/Pit two parter would be a great starting point, as the two episodes together are very cinematic. The scale is vast, even though the setting is quite small in scale.

As usual for 2006, supporting cast are excellent. Direction was good, suspense built dramatically until the final few minutes and everybody had a chance to be heroic. This is what Doctor Who should be.

9/10

As I'm sure my review of 'The Impossible Planet' demonstrated, I loved last week's episode. I was slightly concerned, however, that this week's resolution would not live up to the potential of part one's setup.

I needn't have worried, since 'The Satan Pit' was possibly even better than its predecessor.

With the Doctor and Rose separated for the episode, the danger of repeating events from part one was bypassed and the danger of last week's cliffhanger was averted in a nice, action-packed opening ten minutes where the Ood were overcome by the crew of Sanctuary Base 6 and Miss Tyler. What then followed was, if anything, even darker than what had come before.

The biggest surprise this episode threw up was that the baddie was, indeed, the devil. Maybe an alien creature responsible for the origin of the story, but certainly not anything posing as the Beast (my biggest worry about the possible resolution of the story). The Doctor was forced to accept the fact that such a being could, in fact, exist. The explanation for the black hole and Satan's prison were clever, and wonderfully tied-in to a re-establishing of the relationship between the Doctor and Rose. To send the Beast into the black hole, the Doctor has to be prepared to let Rose die. In a lovely twist, however, we see that the Doctor has learned since The Parting of the Ways that Rose is nobody's victim, trusting in her to look after herself.

There was just so much to love about this episode.

The Beast CGI was excellent and I was easily able to forgive the slight shakiness of superimposing David Tennant over a matte background for the sense of scale the image gave us.

Once again, the depth of the supporting characters in the two-parter was shown in the nice nod to Danny's claustrophobia, Ida's family background, Zach's pained sense of responsibility and Jefferson's touching death.

What really makes this episode so special, though, is that it is all payoff - not only for part one, but for everything which has happened so far since the show relaunched. My biggest complaint about the episodes after 'The Girl in the Fireplace' was that they felt a little static in terms of character development. Here, though, we see how the Doctor is not as all-wise and infallible as he can appear, and how the honeymoon is over for Rose's travels, with the danger surrounding her growing massively. Will she 'die in battle'? Well, I thought Mickey would and got that wrong, but leaving us unsure whether she is alive or dead would certainly fit the suggestion that this season ends on a cliffhanger ...

With season 3 looming, the moment when the Doctor questions all he believes and falls into the pit bodes well for a tenth Doctor who could be set to lose some of his chipperness and have some real darkness to deal with for the first time since he took off that leather jacket.

This is the season 2 I wanted - bigger, more epic but keeping the underlying sense of something sinister which served season 1 so well.

Next week? Well, I'm a little unconvinced, but if we get a character piece in the mould of last year's pleasantly surprising 'Boom Town', I'll be happy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode 'en masse'. The crew and Rose being trapped on the space-station being hunted down by 'Legion' and the fantastic Ood changing from gentile, essentially stupid creatures into these possessed, almost 'demons'. The sight of one on all fours charging through the ventilation shaft was quite disturbing. Indeed, just before they escape the shaft the scene with Toby/Satan telling the Ood to be quiet; the knowing grin coupled with the fact that if he was actually the devil why would he need to tell his minions to hush made it very dark.

As the action was going on above we had a nice contrast with the Doctor and Ida trapped in the cave near the Pit, the Doctor discussing beliefs with her and having to look at his own ideas about the situation and, despite having less than an hour (although by this point, perhaps far less than that) to live he still insists on playing the hero and ventures into the Pit. It's here that we discover one of the failings of a few of the classic episodes in which somehow, everything makes sense. I found this quite hard to grasp as the Doctor couldn't read the writings nor did we see any suggestion of the mechanism in which upon release of the 'Beast' the planet falls into the black hole.

Another failing of this episode, in my opinion, was the Doctor's refusal to believe in the Devil. This is a man who has travelled time and space which has presented him with many adventures where he has seen and overcome many different things. He has fought with Fenrir and Sutekh, both of which are the devils in different pantheons and yet he completely denies the existence of this devil and then, upon seeing he seems to believe in its existence. Did he suffer complete memory loss when he woke up after the fall? Did he completely forget not everything is as it seems in his world and of course, did he forget about his past exploits with demons and 'evil' gods?

This episode was, on the whole, very good and very well done but I felt it was more a chance to show what Rose can do and all the emphasis on character scripting went on her; the Doctor secondary. Perhaps I may be proved wrong in the future. Perhaps we may see Rose doing something on her own which will prove to be her finest hour and this was just a taste but last I checked the programme was called "Doctor Who" and not Rose Tyler.

To avoid redundancy I won't do a precis of the story as other reviewers have already done it. What I want to say is that about 30 years too late the BBC have finally put into Doctor Who the money it deserves. The "Satan Pit" has set the bar for the visual look of any Doctor Who story so far with a definite cinematic feel to rival or beat American TV Sci-Fi. For anyone but the casual viewer the influences of Robots of Death/Quatermass/Alien/Event Horizon etc may have been a little too obvious though. Thankfully the corridors are also getting better.

I don't know if this was the first Doctor Who story to bring in the (supposed?) devil. Even if it wasn't, this was done excellently with a surprising intensity for 7pm on a saturday night. The story and its execution shows that if the BBC wanted to they could probably make a really good adult Sci-Fi show, at least if they discard the silly jokes and only use humour that fits. Saying that, there's something about the writing on BBC dramas that often has a kind of "clever" world weary knowingness about it that I personally find off-putting in the context of something like DW. Same with the references to things like EastEnders - it may be "clever" but it's not necessary.

The two-parter "The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit" is surely the highlight of this series which has had other strong contenders. It's comparable to, or better than, last year's "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances" in terms of visuals and execution, if not imagination. Sadly the thing that spoils it for me is the irritating relationship between the Doctor and Rose. At times it's like watching a Sci-Fi/Fantasy equivalent of a pair of twenty-somethings who haven't outgrown their teenage years going travelling around the world in a camper van and patronising the foreigners they meet. Plus, the "Humans are so fantastic" thing was done to death in the old Doctor Who - there's no need to resurrect it here in such a cack-handed manner.

Rating: 8/10. Great, albeit derivative, story. Fantastic special effects and creatures. Good supporting cast.