The Impossible Planet has just about everything going for
it. Just about everything, that is, except the opening few minutes.
The Doctor and Rose emerge from the TARDIS which the Doctor diagnosis
as queasy; the TARDIS, the Doctor reasons, is trying to tell them something
about the place they have landed and it’s not good. Rose ‘jokes’ that they can always
leave; a joke which nobody finds funny; nobody except the Doctor and
Rose who find it hilarious.
The good bits of the script start bleeding through as the
two begin to explore the base in which they have landed; a base that at long
last is not anywhere near or resembling the Earth; although it is manned by
humans. “Welcome to Hell” Rose reads from the wall and the Doctor is
immediately intrigued by the ancient writing beneath; writing so ancient that even
the TARDIS cannot translate.
Then the Ood appear; a fantastic new entry in the Doctor Who
encyclopedia of aliens. However it is a rather inauspicious introduction. They
look marvelous. But why exactly are eight or so Ood required to feed just two
hungry travelers? Oh yeah, it’s to provide the false sense of tension as they
converge on the Doctor and Rose all simultaneously declaring “We must feed”
because their communication device is jammed and they can’t complete their
thought (“. . . you if you are hungry”). Rose picks up a chair and the Doctor whips
out his sonic screwdriver. Now I know that the sonic is something of a magic
wand with 2,001 uses, but does it really have an Ood setting? I’m not sure if
this is supposed to play out as drama or comedy.
Opening credits roll; Jefferson and his red shirts appear;
and the story thankfully takes over. It is a gripping story with spectacular
effects, quality production values, and superb guest stars; easily one of the highlights
of the season (and not simply in comparison to the episode that preceded it).
The crew sells the impossibility of it all: the planet, the
black hole, even the appearance of the Doctor and Rose. “Don’t be stupid. That’s
impossible,” Zach says when Jefferson gives him the improbable news of
strangers in their midst. But it is all matter of fact for them. The impossible
as a matter of fact. They live with the impossible. The impossible just is.
And that is what makes this story work. I don’t know what a
black hole looks like or how it is supposed to behave. The black hole in The
Impossible Planet is beautiful and impressive but it is only an effect. The
sincerity of the crew as they explain to the incredulous Doctor and clueless
Rose sells it. “You’re not going to believe this;” “You’re not joking; you
really don’t know;” “The sight of it sends some people mad.” All of these are
verbal clues that ominous things are afoot. The delivery, however, is what
makes it real. I suspend my disbelief without even noticing.
Rose does her best to dispel the suspense, but happily her
snide commentary falls with a resounding thunk as the crew carries on.
I do have one little quibble when Ida Scott claims that the
planet has no name. (“Now don’t be stupid. It hasn’t got a name. How can it
have a name?”) But then she goes on to relate that the scriptures of the
Falltino name it Kroptor, which translates as the bitter pill. Why not just
call it Kroptor then? Don’t be stupid; how can it have a name indeed.
The Doctor’s “because it was there” effusion and awkward hug
of the Acting Captain is slightly condescending and embarrassing but well
intentioned and passes quickly. There are several moments in this and the
ensuing second part where the Doctor expresses his love affair with the human
race; unfortunately they only serve to remind me of the far more effective and
eloquent speech offered by the Fourth Doctor in The Ark In Space. But again
they are easily overlooked. Just as easily forgiven are the rather odd
reluctance on the part of the Doctor to explain the TARDIS and on the part of
Rose to explain her cell phone. (“Communicator thing?” Really Rose?) I’m sure
these remarkable humans on an impossible planet can handle the technological
truth.
One final nit-picking. The TARDIS is lost, seemingly
forever, sucked down into the heart of the planet. The Doctor and Rose find
themselves stranded on this impossible planet poised on the brink of a black
hole. Assigned to the duty roster and facing the prospect of ordinary, everyday
life, the Doctor and Rose contemplate their future. Now the Doctor has recently
done just this in The Girl in the Fireplace, only at that time the thought was
more appealing and of his own doing. Now he contemplates his static existence
as though it were a black hole. “That’s it; I’m dying. It is all over,” he
states. Then Rose chirps in about getting a mortgage together. I guess she is
trying to look on the bright side, but all I can think is that her schoolgirl
romance that she has been concocting in her mind is suddenly becoming a reality,
no matter the tragic circumstances. She gives little thought to her mother or
to the Doctor’s agony; and never mind that the idea of going back to business
as usual, getting a job etc, once so horrified her that she risked everything
to reunite with the Doctor and the excitement he offered (The Parting of the Ways). Turns out it is the crush that inspires her and not the rewarding travel
and expansion of the mind; certainly not the “better way of living your life.”
I do have to give Rose credit, however. She is the only one
who shows any consideration for the Ood. The Ood are explained away as a slave
race willingly offering their selves up for service. They don’t even have names
of their own. “We have no title,” one
tells her. “We are as one.” Rose doesn’t take the information at face value,
either. She questions the Ood on her own and tries to engage them in
conversation. The action takes off and the narration of the Ood gets lost in
the commotion. It is the tantalizing tidbits, though, that make the Ood worth
revisiting in upcoming serials.
The action doesn’t just take off; it builds. The tension
that has been mounting with the revelation of the black hole, the repeated
quakes, and the loss of the TARDIS continues to snowball as the Ood start
imparting mysterious warnings and ominous whispers begin to haunt Toby. (What
inspiration to cast Gabriel Woolf who also voiced that memorable Doctor Who devil-like
creature Sutekh in Pyramids of Mars.) The scene with Toby as the voice
taunts him is chilling enough but then ratchets up even higher as the ancient
writing transfers to his face and hands. That is only the beginning, though.
The chorus of “He is awake” and the congregational reply “And you will worship
him” adds further to the spine tingling mix. Still there is more.
Scooti first tries to reason with and then argues with the
computer. “But you’re not making any sense,” she tells it as it continues to
repeat the impossible on this impossible planet. “There is no fault,” it
informs Scooti as she increases her demands for logical answers. And then it
joins the sinister refrain, “He is awake,” and adds this embellishment, “He
bathes in the black sun.” Scooti stares transfixed at the symbol covered and
possessed Toby who is beckoning her out to her doom on the planet’s surface. “No!
Stop it! You can’t be!” Scooti tries to deny the impossibility she is
witnessing, and then she frantically pleads for her life with the nonresponsive
computer as Toby reaches out his hand to break the glass and Scooti is sucked
out to her death. It is a breathtakingly eerie scene and could have easily been
the cliffhanger ending to this first part, but there is much more in store for
us.
With the breach to the base there is a mad dash to safety
for the remaining crew. After the bloodcurdling events, it is jarring to see
Toby assemble with the rest. The writing is gone from his skin and he seems to
be back to normal, but he obviously is shaken and not quite himself so vestiges
of danger linger in the air as everyone collects in Habitation Three where Zach
tells them Scooti’s biochip is registering. No Scooti is to be found, until
that is the Doctor looks up to the lonely sight of Scooti’s body floating high
above them, slowly drifting towards the black hole. We barely get to know
Scooti, yet the little screen time she has makes this ghostly send off very
moving indeed.
The end to Scooti also marks the end to the drilling. Point
Zero has been reached and all of the warnings about the beast in the pit hang
heavy about them as the Doctor and Ida prepare to descend. The focus shifts to
the beauty of the underground caverns that these two begin to explore. It is
short-lived, however. The beast in the pit is awake and all of the disturbing
elements are starting to come together in what promises to be true terror.
“They’re staring at me,” Danny complains of the Ood. It
would be funny if it didn’t tap into some basic childhood nightmare. Silently
the Ood stand and stare, their telepathic field registering Basic 100, which
means they should by all rights be dead. Meanwhile the Doctor and Ida discover
an immense trap door in the pit covered with those same mysterious and ancient
symbols that defy translation. Toby once again is possessed, red eyed and
covered in writings.
It all builds to a
crescendo. The infection transfers from Toby into the Ood. Desperately Zach
calls for someone to report and the Doctor demands to know what is occurring
above. The Ood press forward upon the crew in the drilling area and in Ood
habitation, intoning the words of the beast. “He has woven himself in the
fabric of your life since the dawn of time.” The crew retreats, the planet
begins to move, and still the Ood march. “I am the sin and the temptation and
the desire.”
“The gravity field—it’s going! We’re losing orbit! We’re
going to fall into the black hole!” Zach screams from the control room.
The Ood remain relentless. “I have been imprisoned for
eternity. But no more.”
And then that wonderfully satanic voice: “The pit is open
and I am free.”
This is one cliffhanger worthy of the name. I am definitely
on the edge of my seat, Gary . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment