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Series 4 Boxset:
Series 4 Part 1:
Series 3 Boxset:

Director:

Graeme Harper (TV: Doctor Who: Rise of the Cybermen, The Age of Steel, Army of Ghosts, Doomsday, 42, Utopia, Last of the Timelords (uncredited), Planet of the Ood, The Unicorn and the Wasp, Turn Left, Episode 4.12, Journey's End, The Bill, Byker Grove, Casualty, Doctor Who Confidential, Grange Hill, Heartbeat, Robin Hood, Sarah Jane Adventures)

Screenplay:

Keith Temple (TV: Doctor Who: Planet of the Ood, Byker Grove, Casualty, Doc Martin, Dangerfield, Emmerdale)

Cast:

The Doctor: David Tennant
Donna Noble: Catherine Tate
Mr Halpen: Tim McInnerny
Solana Mercurio: Ayesha Dharker
Dr Ryder: Adrian Rawlins
Commander Kess: Roger Griffiths
Mr Bartle: Paul Clayton
Ood Sigma: Paul Kasey
Rep: Tariq Jordan
Voice Of The Ood: Silas Carson

Synopsis: The Doctor takes Donna to an icy planet in the 42nd-Century, which they discover is the processing hub for humanity's servants The Ood...

"That's what I call a spaceship! You've got a box, he's got a Ferrari!" -- Donna Noble (Catherine Tate)

A sequel of sorts to season 2's excellent The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit two-parter, Planet Of The Ood finds The Doctor (David Tennant) aiming to right a wrong, by actively trying to free the subservient Ood from slavery.

It's unfortunately another episode where a despicable businessman is behind alien exploitation, this time in the shape of Mr Halpen (Tim McInnerny) -- a sharp-suited, balding executive in charge of the "Ood-Sphere"; an industrial complex that exploits Ood by capturing them, lobotomising them, and shipping them across the galaxies as servants.

Donna (Catherine Tate) again offers a different slant on the typical Who companion, as she becomes genuinely unsettled and fearful of the situation, still believing the majority of The Doctor's adventures will be harmless sight-seeing. As a performer, Tate continues to veer from screechy comedy irritant (particularly her first scene in the TARDIS) to thoughtful, reflective, quite dramatic moments.

I'm glad the writers are using Donna in a different way to Rose and Martha, but Tate is only really palatable when she's in a contemplative mood, as her histrionics (while significantly reduced from The Runaway Bride) still cause me to squirm.

As The Doctor, David Tennant is going through the motions here -- yelping "ohhh, yes!" a few too many times -- but it's an episode that only requires his boundless enthusiasm and doesn't offer him much else to chew on.

Keith Temple's script is very well paced and, while the story is full of Who clichés (evil company man, armed bodyguards, a conflicted assistant), it sustains itself well and offers a few emotional punches towards the end as The Doctor slowly unravels Halpen's schemes by reconstituting the Ood's natural telepathy. Unchaining them, essentially.

A moment between The Doctor, Donna and some caged ("unprocessed") Ood, where they sing a "song of captivity" into their minds, was particularly emotive.

It was also great to see the production values do justice to the story, with wintry alien landscapes beautifully integrated into real surroundings, and the use of a large factory as an exterior to film around. Interesting to note that the Ood were introduced against a backdrop of rock and flame in season 2, but they're homeworld is ice and snow.

The interiors on Doctor Who always have a vague whiff of falseness about them (particularly when trying to make distant future technology look plausible), but the frontier-like industrial element to the Ood-Sphere building worked well. The CGI for a menacing grappling hook, swinging around a warehouse trying to crush The Doctor, also looked great (helped by the fact Tennant did his own stunts), and I loved the improved make-up for the Ood – particularly the animatronic blinking eyes, which really help sell them.

As always, there were a few moments that fell flat, such as an Ood being brainwashed to quote Homer Simpson ("D'oh!") and the unconvincing reason for a character's physical transformation into an Ood – but at least that was scary, as he ripped off his scalp and vomited up tentacles!

An evil henchman revealing his true identity a "Friends Of The Ood" anti-slavery recruit, before being quickly killed seconds later, also struck me as a wasted opportunity. And it still wasn't explained how the Ood's hand-held translation balls can suddenly become electrifying weapons, either!

Everything else hit the spot, though -- although the lack of much depth and subtleties means Planet Of The Ood was ultimately an agreeable, well-paced, yet predictable adventure story -- with a few dramatic moments and morally-responsible subtext. It was solid, above-average fare; not that inspiring, but far from terrible.

Join in the discussion about this episode at Dan's Media Digest

OVERALL

Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2008.

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: