View source for The Impossible Planet

{{distinguish|text="Impossible Planet", an episode of ''[[Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams#ep2|Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams]]''}}
{{For|the Philip K. Dick short story|The Impossible Planet (short story)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox Doctor Who episode
| number             = 174a
| serial_name        = The Impossible Planet
| show               = DW
| type               = episode
| image              =
| caption            =
| doctor             = [[David Tennant]] – [[Tenth Doctor]]
| companion          = [[Billie Piper]] – [[Rose Tyler]]
| guests             =
* [[Danny Webb (actor)|Danny Webb]] – Mr. Jefferson
* [[Shaun Parkes]] – Zachary Cross Flane
* [[Claire Rushbrook]] – Ida Scott
* [[Will Thorp]] – Toby Zed
* [[Ronny Jhutti]] – Danny Bartock
* [[MyAnna Buring]] – Scooti Manista
* [[Paul Kasey]] – The [[Ood]]
* [[Gabriel Woolf]] – Voice of the [[List of Doctor Who villains#Beast|Beast]]
* [[Silas Carson]] – Voice of the Ood
| director           = [[James Strong (director)|James Strong]]
| writer             = [[Matt Jones (writer)|Matt Jones]]
| producer           = [[Phil Collinson]]
| executive_producer = [[Russell T Davies]]<br>[[Julie Gardner]]
| composer           = [[Murray Gold]]
| production_code    = 2.8
| series             = [[Doctor Who (series 2)|Series 2]]
| length             = 1st of 2-part story, 45 minutes
| date               = {{Start date|2006|6|3|df=y}}
| preceding          = "[[The Idiot's Lantern]]"
| following          = "[[The Satan Pit]]"
}}
"'''The Impossible Planet'''" is the eighth episode of the [[Doctor Who (series 2)|second series]] of the British [[science fiction television]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]'', which was first broadcast on [[BBC One]] on 3 June 2006. It is the first part of a two-part story. The second part, "[[The Satan Pit]]", was broadcast on 10 June.

The episode is set on Krop Tor, a planet orbiting a [[black hole]]. In the episode, a human expedition group drilling on the planet is terrorised by a creature calling itself the Beast (voiced by [[Gabriel Woolf]]), which possesses the [[Ood]] slaves in the humans' base.

==Plot==
The [[TARDIS]] arrives aboard a sanctuary base used for deep-space expeditions. The [[Tenth Doctor]] and [[Rose Tyler|Rose]] explore the area, discovering strange alien writing that the TARDIS is unable to translate, meaning that it is "impossibly old". They are confronted by the [[Ood]], a docile race of empathic slaves who work on the station. After a misunderstanding with the Ood, the Doctor and Rose meet the crew of the base: commanding officer Zach, scientist Ida, security officer Jefferson, "ethics committee" Danny, engineer Scooti and archaeologist Toby. The crew are on an expedition on the mysterious planet Krop Tor, impossibly in orbit around a black hole. Captain Zach explains that a gravity funnel exists around the planet, allowing them to safely enter or leave the vicinity of the black hole. The source of the funnel is an immense energy force ten miles within the planet, which they are drilling towards to understand its power. As the Doctor and Rose are acquainting themselves with the crew, the base is struck by a quake that causes the section of the base containing the TARDIS to fall into the planet. Rose and the Doctor resign themselves to being trapped and begin helping out the crew.

As the drill nears its target, a malevolent presence begins to make itself known. The Ood's translation spheres reveal messages about the [[List of Doctor Who villains#Beast|Beast]] awakening, while Toby is unknowingly possessed by the Beast after examining pottery. The possessed Toby kills Scooti when she discovers him surviving outside the base without any protective gear. When the drilling is complete, the Doctor offers to go with Ida into the bowels of the planet. After travelling down the drill shaft, the Doctor and Ida find a large circular pit inscribed with more undecipherable markings on the rims. The Doctor believes it to be a door, and they watch as it opens. Suddenly, the Beast repossesses Toby before transferring into all the Ood as they refer to themselves as the [[Legion (demon)|Legion]] of the Beast. With Rose and the remaining crew alerted that the planet is now falling towards the black hole, the Ood begin to close in on them whilst the voice of the Beast declares that it is free.

==Production==
Writer [[Matt Jones (writer)|Matt Jones]] also wrote, as Matthew Jones, the [[Virgin New Adventures]] novel ''[[Bad Therapy]]'', featuring the [[Seventh Doctor]] and [[Chris Cwej]]. He was script editor on [[Russell T Davies]]' [[Channel 4]] series ''[[Queer as Folk (UK)|Queer as Folk]]''.

[[File:Ood (2658983567).jpg|thumb|left|The Ood as they appeared in the Doctor Who Experience.]]
Executive producer and chief writer [[Russell T Davies]] said that an early draft of the script called for the role of the Ood to be filled by Raxacoricofallapatorians, the same species as the [[Slitheen]]. Their race would have been enslaved and they wished to awaken the Beast, whom they believed to be a god that could free them.<ref name="fact file">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/episodes/S2_08|title=The Impossible Planet: Fact File|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=24 March 2012}}</ref> Davies chose the name of the Ood rather than Jones; he intended it to be a play on the word "odd".<ref name="fact file" /> In the accompanying ''[[Doctor Who Confidential]]'' episode, Davies said that he likes to think that the Ood come from a planet near to that of the Sensorites from the [[First Doctor]] serial ''[[The Sensorites]]'' (1964), as he suggests the races are similar in some respects.<ref>{{cite episode|title=You've Got the Look|series=[[Doctor Who Confidential]]|airdate=3 June 2006|network=[[BBC]]|station=[[BBC Three]]|series-no=2|number=8}}</ref> In "[[Planet of the Ood]]", this is confirmed. During an interview with the production crew, it was noted that the sanctuary base was based on the spaceship ''Nostromo'' from the movie ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]''.{{citation needed|date=March 2012}}

Scenes of bodies floating in space were filmed on the underwater stage at [[Pinewood Studios]], the first time the series has used this facility, not counting the charity special ''[[Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death]]''.{{citation needed|date=March 2012}} This is the first episode of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'' to use a [[quarry]] as an alien planet&nbsp;— quarries were frequently used in this manner in the original series.<ref name="fact file" /> Davies was not a fan of this production decision.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5359552.stm|title=Cost 'keeps Doctor Who on earth'|date=19 September 2006|access-date=24 March 2012}}</ref> The Ood masks had their eyes in non-human positions, so the actors who played them had to see out of pin prick sized holes in the masks.

===Cast notes===
The voice of the Beast is provided by [[Gabriel Woolf]], who also played [[List of Doctor Who villains#Sutekh|Sutekh the Destroyer]] in the [[Fourth Doctor]] serial ''[[Pyramids of Mars]]'' (1975), and later in the [[Fifteenth Doctor]] episodes ''[[The Legend of Ruby Sunday]] '' and ''[[Empire of Death (Doctor Who episode)|Empire of Death]]'' (2024).<ref name="fact file"/> One of the names that the possessed Ood have for the Beast is [[Satan]]. The Fourth Doctor also stated that Sutekh has been known by many aliases, including the Typhonian beast and Satan. However, Woolf was cast only after the episode had been written and filmed.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[Doctor Who Magazine]]|title =none|publisher=[[Panini Comics]]|location=[[Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent]]|issue=371|date=19 July 2006}}</ref> Originally, the producers sought out Piper's then husband [[Chris Evans (presenter)|Chris Evans]] for the role.<ref>{{cite web|first=Daniel|last=Kilkelly|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds23443.html|title=Chris Evans gets 'Doctor Who' role?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051215161252/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds23443.html|archive-date=15 December 2005|publisher=[[Digital Spy]]|date=23 August 2005|access-date=24 March 2012}}</ref>

[[Danny Webb (actor)|Danny Webb]] also appeared in the audio plays ''[[The Girl Who Never Was]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bigfinish.com/103-Doctor-Who-The-Girl-Who-Never-Was|title=103. Doctor Who&nbsp;– The Girl Who Never Was|publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]]|access-date=24 March 2012}}</ref> and ''[[The Dark Husband]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bigfinish.com/106-Doctor-Who-The-Dark-Husband|title=106. Doctor Who – The Dark Husband|publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]]|access-date=24 March 2012}}</ref> Shaun Parkes previously starred with David Tennant in the BBC's 2005 ''[[Casanova (2005 TV serial)|Casanova]]'' serial written by Russell T Davies.<ref name="fact file" /> [[Silas Carson]] previously played various alien voices in "[[The End of the World (Doctor Who)|The End of the World]]", while [[Paul Kasey]] is a veteran at playing various monsters for ''Doctor Who'' and ''[[Torchwood]]''.

==Broadcast and reception==
Overnight viewing figures for the episode were 5.94 million, peaking at 6.78 million. However, the episode still obtained a 39.8% share of the audience<ref>{{cite web|first=Shaun|last=Lyon|url=http://www.gallifreyone.com/news-archives.php?id=6-2006#newsitemEEuAulyllAVvdcqWiA|title=Impossible Planet overnights|date=2007-06-04|access-date=2007-04-07|publisher=[[Outpost Gallifrey]] |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070323034233/http://www2.gallifreyone.com/news-archives.php?id=6-2006#newsitemEEuAulyllAVvdcqWiA <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-03-23}}</ref> and was the second highest rated programme of the evening, behind ''[[Casualty (TV series)|Casualty]]''. The final ratings for the episode were 6.32 million viewers.<ref>{{cite web|first=Shaun|last=Lyon|url=http://www.gallifreyone.com/news-archives.php?id=6-2006#newsitemEEVpFVEpAksAFVMXna|title=The Impossible Planet final ratings|date=2007-06-14|access-date=2007-04-07|publisher=[[Outpost Gallifrey]] |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070323034233/http://www2.gallifreyone.com/news-archives.php?id=6-2006#newsitemEEVpFVEpAksAFVMXna <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-03-23}}</ref>

This episode and "[[The Satan Pit]]" were released in the UK, together with "[[Love & Monsters (Doctor Who)|Love & Monsters]]", as a basic [[DVD]] with no special features on 7 August 2006.

[[IGN]]'s Ahsan Haque gave the episode a score of 9.3 out of 10, describing it as "an extremely well written and directed episode with awesome visuals and excellent sound design". Though he noted that "much of this episode felt a bit like watching a moderately entertaining B-movie like ''[[Event Horizon (film)|Event Horizon]]''", he thought it was "presented with ample flair and charm".<ref>{{cite web|first=Ahsan|last=Haque|url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/746/746778p1.html|title=Doctor Who: "The Impossible Planet" Review|publisher=[[IGN]]|date=21 November 2006|access-date=12 May 2012}}</ref> Dek Hogan of [[Digital Spy]] stated the episode got the series "back on form", though he noted that losing the TARDIS was becoming tiresome.<ref>{{cite web|first=Dek|last=Hogan|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/dekstvdiary/a33792/boos-loos-and-poos.html|title=Boos, Loos and Poos|publisher=[[Digital Spy]]|date=4 June 2006|access-date=12 May 2012}}</ref> Dave Golder, writing for ''[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]'', felt that the two-parter abandoned ''Doctor Who''{{'s}} "manic energy, a level of wit and an idiosyncratic visual approach" for more traditional science fiction, which made it look at times like "''[[Stargate]]'' lite". While he thought the spaceship looked "silly", he praised the support cast and especially Tennant and Piper. Of "The Impossible Planet" he stated, "The build-up of the mystery was superbly paced and intriguing. The characters were fleshed out with masterful economy. The tension was tangible. The villain felt dangerous. And in the idea of an evil entity taking control of a telepathically linked race we had the kind of good, solid SF idea&nbsp;– simple and technobabble-free enough for the non-SF literate audience to grasp&nbsp;– in which the new series should be trading. It helps that the Ood were such a great piece of design work, as well."<ref>{{cite web|first=Dave|last=Golder|url=http://www.sfx.co.uk/tv_reviews/doctor_who_2.8_and_2.9_the_impossible_planetthe_satan_pit|archive-date=3 July 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060703130207/http://www.sfx.co.uk/tv_reviews/doctor_who_2.8_and_2.9_the_impossible_planetthe_satan_pit|title=Doctor Who 2.8 and 2.9 The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit|work=SFX|date=12 June 2006|access-date=12 May 2012}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
In a September 2013 ''National Geographic Daily News'' article, the author mentioned this episode while discussing planets that surround black holes.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[National Geographic Society]]|last=Than|first=Ker|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/09/130909-nasa-kepler-black-hole-planets-exoplanets-science/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910013236/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/09/130909-nasa-kepler-black-hole-planets-exoplanets-science/|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 September 2013|date=2013-09-09|access-date=2013-09-09|title=New Role for Disabled Kepler? Finding Exotic Alien Worlds|website=National Geographic Daily News|quote=In the TV series Dr. Who, the main character once found himself on a dark planet orbiting a black hole, an improbable situation that was reflected in the episode's title: "The Impossible Planet."}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{wikiquote|Tenth Doctor}}
* {{DoctorWhoTV}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060613080922/http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/impossible-commentary.mp3 Episode commentary by MyAnna Buring, James Strong, and Mike Valentine] (MP3)
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/episodes/2006/flash/homepages/index-impossible.shtml "The Impossible Planet" episode homepage]
*{{BBCDWnew | year=2006 | id=impossibleplanet | title= The Impossible Planet}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060614080359/http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/wk23/feature_doctorwho.shtml BBC Press Office release]
*{{IMDb episode|0772457}}

{{Doctor Who episodes|N2}}
{{Tenth Doctor stories|selected=Television}}
{{Ood stories}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Impossible Planet, The}}
[[Category:Tenth Doctor episodes]]
[[Category:2006 British television episodes]]
[[Category:Fiction about black holes]]
[[Category:Television episodes about spirit possession]]
[[Category:Fiction set in the 5th millennium]]