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Series 1 Boxset:
Series 2 Part 4:
Series 2 Boxset:

Director:

James Strong

Screenplay:

Matt Jones

Cast:

The Doctor: David Tennant
Rose Tyler: Billie Piper
Mr Jefferson: Danny Webb
Zachary Cross Flane: Shaun Parkes
Toby Zed: Will Thorp
Ida Scott: Claire Rushbrook
Danny Bartock: Ronny Jhutti
Scooti Manista: Myanna Buring
The Ood: Paul Kasey
Voice of The Beast: Gabriel Woolf
Voice of the Ood: Silas Carson

Synopsis: The TARDIS arrives on a remote alien planet somehow locked in orbit around a Black Hole, where a crew of humans are drilling to the planet's centre...

This is more like it. The Impossible Planet is definite highlight of the new series so far, with new writer Matt Jones fashioning an engaging and genuinely frightening episode that gradually builds to a spine-tingling conclusion.

In many ways this is Event Horizon for kids, with a similar tale of a crew apparently getting more than they bargained for when they disturb a demonic entity beneath them. Jones' script is full of pace and cohesion, toning down the occassionally frivolous nature of the show and targeting the adults for once. The story isn't totally original and clearly has many influences, but it's just so refreshing to see a scary story treated with respect, and not undermined by poor performances, bad production or the decision to tone down scares for the children.

David Tennant actually returns to an embarassing level of fake enthusiasm that I'd hoped we'd seen the last of (possibly a result of a new writer failing to grasp the nuances of the character, and just going for general eccentric behaviour). However, by the end Tennant's Doctor once again becomes more of an action hero with his descent into the planet's core.

Billie Piper continues along much the same lines as always, although there are a few early moments when Roses' chirpy demeanour sucks all sense of foreboding away from the show. I get a little frustrated with how Rose seems to greet everything with wide-eyed optimism and pat one-liners when it's clearly uncalled for.

The supporting cast are very good, although their characters are a little underserviced. However, everyone makes an impression and it's good to see a believable crew of people for once without a falseness to everything they say.

The real star of the show here is perhaps the wonderful production design. I've been a critic of Doctor Who's generic "futuristic" sets, but for The Impossible Planet they get everything right. The dirty, claustrophobic station, with strong parallels to engineering spaces such as oil rigs, are just excellent. For once you can believe in the surroundings and truly enter into another world, which only heightens the sense of excitement throughout the shoe.

Special-effects are used to good effect, particularly exterior shots of the drilling complex on the planet with the huge Black Hole in the background. Towards the end there are also some absolutely superb underground sequences that are an undoubted highlight for the series. The make-up for the Ood (a race of telepathic aliens that enjoy serving the human crew) is also very good, with full-head prosthetics that prove very effective. In fact, together with the cat-creatures in New Earth, the make-up people have really stepped up their game this year.

Even the music seems to be better this time, with a total absence of manipulative pap and irritating ditties that typically plague the show. The music this time lent weight to events and pushed the right emotional cues at the exact right times. I sincerely hope this level of success continues into future episodes.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode a great deal and can't wait for part two. There was an old-fashioned vibe to the show that reminded me of classic Jon Pertwee episodes, but with much better production levels and script. Fans will be pleased to see a Doctor Who episode actually achieve success and dare to go into darker territory, particularly after the family-friendly excesses of previous weeks. A major highlight and significant episode of the show. Let's just hope part two doesn't unravel all the good work achieved here!

NEXT WEEK: The Doctor and Rose continue their adventure now the "Satan Pit" has been opened...

OVERALL

Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2006.

The following is a list of all the Doctor Who content reviewed to date :

2008			Series 30, Episode 13 - "Journey's End", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 12 - "The Stolen Earth", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 11 - "Turn Left", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 10 - "Midnight", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 8 - "Silence in the Library" (part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 7 - "The Unicorn and The Wasp", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 6 - "The Doctor's Daughter", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 5 - "The Poison Sky" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 4 - "The Sontaran Stratagem" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 3 - "Planet of the Ood", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 2 - "The Fires of Pompeii", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 1 - "Partners In Crime", by Dan Owen

2006			Series 28, Episode 1 - "New Earth", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 2 - "Tooth & Claw", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 3 - "School Reunion", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 4 - "The Girl in the Fireplace", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 5 - "Rise of the Cyberman", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 6 - "The Age of Steel", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 7 - "The Idiot's Lantern", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 8 - "The Impossible Planet", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 9 - "The Satan Pit", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 10 - "Love and Monsters", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 11 - "Fear Her", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 12 - "Army of Ghosts" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 13 - "Doomsday" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen

2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 2 - "The End of the World", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 3 - "The Unquiet Dead", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 4 - "Aliens of London", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 5 - "World War Three", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 6 - "Dalek", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 7 - "The Long Game", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 8 - "Father's Day", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 9 - "The Empty Child", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 10 - "The Doctor Dances", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 11 - "Boom Town", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 12 - "Bad Wolf", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 13 - "The Parting of The Ways", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Dom Robinson
2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Paul Manners

And the Audio CDs :

2000			04: The Land of the Dead
2000			06: The Marian Conspiracy
2000			10: Winter for the Adept
2000			12: The Fires of Vulcan
2000			14: The Holy Terror
2000			15: The Mutant Phase
2001			16: Storm Warning
2001			18: The Stones of Venice
2002			28: The Chimes of Midnight
2002			30: Seasons of Fear
2002			31: Embrace the Darkness
2002			35: ...Ish
2002			39: ...Bang-Bang-A-Boom!

2003			Doctor Who Audio CDs: An introduction

DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.

PC games reviewed by the editor are on: