"The Impossible Planet"/ "The Satan Pit"

After the triumphant return of 2005, there were some who were a bit disappointed that the Doctor never journeyed beyond Earth orbit and yearned to see the Doctor walking on the surface of an alien planet. This happened in "New Earth", but it was this story that fulfilled that wish in a truly spectacular manner. The script by Matt Jones is excellent; the fact that, from the start, it is clear that we are beyond the Doctor’s and even the Time Lords’ knowledge takes some of the cosiness away immediately and the removal of the TARDIS soon afterwards makes the Doctor and Rose in a situation every bit as grave as the humans that they have encountered- a situation that is reminiscent of early Hartnell stories. And what a situation it is- an expedition that has ended up on a planet that is tidally locked inside the event horizon of a black hole (see below)- a planet that shouldn’t exist. ‘Welcome to Hell’ a graffito sanguinely states- and the feeling that they are in a region that operates beyond the laws of physics, where the only remaining explanation might be the most terrible legend of all. The themes are not original and have parallels with stories from throughout the programme’s history, most notably The Curse of Fenric- an evil from (before) the dawn of time, the Doctor’s faith in a companion etc. The presentation of the Beast’s character is probably influenced by C.S. Lewis’s Perelandra, but obviously written from a far less devout viewpoint. Such is the skill of the storytelling that you don’t notice these influences until afterwards. Even the usual clichés in this type of story are overturned, such as a new take on an escape up a ventilation shaft.

Newcomer James Strong puts in a phenomenal job behind the camera. It’s not just that he constructs memorable scenes, his direction is vital to the storytelling process itself. The possession of Toby is visualised by red contact lenses, marker pen and basic editing, yet the results are phenomenal. This is as a journey into the unknown for the Doctor as well, so Strong takes the simple, yet ingenious step of making his descend into the pit look like him abseiling into infinite darkness. He is aided by one of Murray Gold’s best scores- especially the terrifying scene where Scooti meets her end. The look of the story is wonderful, with the sets and costuming being perfect. The special effects range from beautiful to exciting to terrifying, but all are excellent- the visualisation of the black hole, the wonderful shot of Scooti floating in space and the subterranean city. The Ood are wonderfully realised and are both terrifying and sympathetic. Then there is the Beast. Demon or alien, it is a hugely impressive monster. The overall effect is a story that contains some of the most terrifying scenes the programme has ever had, scenes that will stay with younger viewers for a long time.

The script is not merely action and shocks- it is very talky, particularly "The Satan Pit", but such is the atmosphere that is created by Strong, that it all manages to hang together as a whole- I was actually reminded of Tarantino’s Kill Bill in the way that this was done. He is helped by a very strong cast. Shaun Parkes (who memorably starred with Tennant in Casanova) is excellent as Captain Zack and, with Rose and the Doctor separated for most of "The Satan Pit", Claire Rushbrook fills the companion slot with aplomb. As the voice of the beast, we have the very welcome return of Gabriel Woolf. Age has made his voice even more terrifying, a sonorous whisper that speaks of infinite evil- I have an mp3 of ‘Don’t turn around’ that I BlueTooth to people to frighten them.

The Doctor’s characterisation is very skilful- in a story about faith, his faith is unique- a faith in the fact that there are things he has not seen- but that faith finally bumps into his own prejudices. It is a reading of the Doctor that David Tennant puts his best work yet into. This does not mean that Rose is sidelined- with the Doctor facing the Beast, it is she who marshals the opposition to the Ood and it is she who finally defeats the Beast, justifying the Doctor’s faith in her.

There are a few niggles I have, mainly with the science. It is perfectly possible for a planet to orbit a black hole, for example. However, the story is so good that I can cut it a lot of slack- just imagine the words ‘inside the event horizon of...’ in front of ‘a black hole’ and the story works again. This is a wondrous story that does what it does with beauty, horror, intelligence and a dash of humour. Priceless.

NEXT: "Love & Monsters"