I am – Hercules!!

“Doctor Who” 30.1 (or 4.1, depending how one counts) arrives on America’s SciFi Channel Friday, but the Brits have already seen 30.3, “Planet of the Ood.”

“Doctor Dan” says:

DOCTOR WHO 4.3 – "Planet Of The Ood"

Writer: Keith Temple
Director: Graeme Harper

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

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

A sequel of sorts to season 2's The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit two-parter, Planet Of The Ood finds The Doctor (David Tennant) trying to right a wrong, by now actively trying to free the subservient Ood from slavery. It's unfortunately another episode where a despicable businessman is behind the evildoing, 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, lobotomizing 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 around here, still believing the majority of The Doctor's adventures will be 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 very 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 Runaway Bride) still cause me to squirm. David Tennant is kind of going through the motions here -- yelping "oh, 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 some emotional punches towards the end as The Doctor begins to unravel Mr Halpen's schemes by reconstituting the Ood's natural telepathy. A moment between The Doctor, Donna and some caged ("unprocessed") Ood, where they sing a "song of captivity" into their minds, was particularly strong.

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. The interiors on Doctor Who always have a vague whiff of falseness about them (particularly when trying to make far-future technology look plausible), but the frontier-like industrial element to the Ood-Sphere worked well. The CGI for a grappling hook, swinging around a warehouse to try and crush The Doctor also looked great, and I love the make-up for the Ood – particularly the blinking eyes, which really help sell them.

As always, there were some moments that fell flat, such as an Ood being programmed to say "D'Oh!" and the unconvincing reason for a character's physical transformation into an Ood – which was at least quite scary, as he ripped off his scalp and vomited up tentacles! A henchman revealing his allegiance for a "Friends Of The Ood" anti-slavery team, before being quickly killed, also struck me as a wasted opportunity. And it was never 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 just an agreeable, well-paced, yet predictable adventure story -- with a few dramatic moments and morally-responsible subtext. It was very solid, bread-and-butter stuff -- but far short of inspiring.

The Good

The Ood are one of new Who's more intriguing aliens, and this episode did a good job of expanding them as characters, in an appropriate slave-themed storyline.

The production design (particularly the Oodsphere exteriors, warehouses and the frigid alien landscapes) was excellent, and it's generally a relief to see Doctor Who actually stepping foot on more alien planets.

Tim McInnerny did very well with a clichéd character, particularly in the scene where he gets his comeuppance.

A genuinely creepy human-to-Ood transformation -- that might have caused a few little kids to turn away!

The Bad

A few small ideas were fudged or just weren't uninteresting, like conflicted assistant Solana and the undercover henchman.

Maybe it wasn't the best story for it, but the humour wasn't up to scratch this week. I liked Donna's comment about an overhead rocket ("That's what I call a spaceship! You've got a box, he's got a Ferrari!"), but there wasn't much else to chuckle over. While the comedy-crime of an Ood quoting Homer Simpson is best forgotten about.

There are too many evil companies and evil bosses on Doctor Who, giving this episode the vague sense of "been there, done that" throughout.

I didn't really believe in the Ood trick of poisoning Halpen's hair-loss medication, particularly as there was no indication that enslaved Ood could act against their master's wishes or best interests.

The Geeky

The Ood were first introduced in the season 2 two-part episode The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit.

An Andy Warhol-inspired Ood painting!

The Doctor once again uses his unspecified mental talents to awaken Donna's mind to the Ood's telepathic song.

The Ood-Sphere is in the same solar system as the Sense-Sphere from the 1964 serial The Sensorites, which features aliens very similar to the Ood.

An Ood tells departing Doctor "I think your song must end soon. Every song must end." Is this an allusion that the Tenth Doctor's demise is coming soon? Will David Tennant be leaving us in the finale, or during one of next year's three special episodes?

Rating: 3 / 5

NEXT WEEK: The "other" Dr Jones is back! And potato-headed villains The Sontarons return for a modern revamp!

“Spud McSpud” says:

Hey Herc,

Just saw episode 3 of the fourth season of WHO here in the UK - PLANET OF THE OOD. Yep, the Ood are back!

*** MILD SPOILAGE AHOY ***

After a fantastic opening sequence, which sets the stall out for the episode - unscrupulous human corporation trading the Ood like cattle, ad campaigns selling the Ood as a must-have lifestyle accessory, and an Ood amok! Cue iconic title sequence.

The Doctor and Donna have engaged the "mystery" destination button, and have no clue where they are. Upon arrival, the Doctor's usual "isn't this wonderful" speech is ignored by Donna, who heads back into the TARDIS for a heavy coat - they're on an ice planet. They get more of an idea of where they are when they discover a dying Ood. Whilst trying to save him, the duo are surprised when the Ood gives them a message - "The circle must be broken" - and then goes red-eye on them. Must be Worcestershire sauce in his fluid.

The plot thickens when the Doctor and Donna discover a colony building on the ice planet (Ood-sphere - homeworld of the Ood), which is about to admit a group of human Ood buyers in for a corporate welcome. The Doctor and Donna tag along, and pretty soon are sneaking around discovering Ood slave pens, the particularly nasty way of enslaving an Ood, and the Ood "rabies" that is sweeping the Ood population. Tim McInnerney is slimy enough as Mr Halpen, the corporate boss in charge of enslaving the Ood, and has a wonderful freak-out scene near the end. There are heavy-handed references to the slave trade (all the human slave trainers are ethnic - black or indian), but nothing detracting from the compelling story, which seems to reinforce the idea that no matter how far in the future humanity goes, money will always be made exploiting other races and other peoples. Best lines:

Donna: "But I don't have any slaves!"
Doctor: "Who do you think made your clothes?"

Makes you think. And of course the classic Donna reaction, upon seeing a sleek red rocket overhead, coming in to land:

Donna: "Now that's what I call a spaceship! You've got a box, he's got a Ferrari!"

It's nice to see some darkness in this week's story too - especially following the surprisingly dark episode last week - and back to doing what Who does best: moral dilemmas. It's also nice to see the Ood back - though pens full of rabid Ood are funny rather than scary - and it has an affecting, emotional finale. Tate is okay as ever, though all the raving about how great an actress she is seems to be down to the fact that she can cry on cue. The old, bellowing fishwife Donna occasionally rears its ugly head, but on the whole, Tate is okay this time out. Tennant is, of course, the consummate Doctor, all righteous indignation and eye-bulging, whether escaping the colony's private security force, a giant amusement arcade grabbing machine, or the schizo Ood, who finally get to have something good happen to them at the end. The explanation as to why the Ood carry translator balls is also surprisingly good - and tied in well to the story.

And then there's the haunting refrain to Rose's theme near the end, as the Ood give the Doctor a last little prophetic line (spoilage ahead):

Ood Sigma: "Your song must end soon, Doctor."

It must indeed. But for now, Tennant is the best thing since the immortal Tom Baker, and Tate isn't anywhere near the pain in the arse we all anticipated she would be. More of the same, please, and bring on the Sontarans vs UNIT next week - and the return of Martha's arse! (Sorry, Martha.)

Solid 7-and-a-half out of ten, I say.

If you use this, I am SPUD MCSPUD, from merry old England!

Cheers, Herc!

“Kelvington” says:

Tonight the Doctor and Donna travel to the planet of the Ood, where they get caught up in all sorts of mischief, including a giant claw and some Star Trek worthy room bouncing as they get thrown around inside the TARDIS. Plus we get to see the appearance of Thunderbird 3 in this episode, or at least a very close approximation of it. Personally I would have been more impressed if they called the episode, "The Ood, The Bad, and The Ugly", but what are you going to do.

You get to see a surprising amount of compassion out of Donna tonight, to a race of creatures she just met. One of the better sequences of the show, although again the musical score nearly over powers it, is the inter-cutting of an Ood escape with a sales pitch about how we treat the Ood as a valued friend. The cutting on this was spot on, and very dramatic, and it's great to know that even in the 42nd Century, "The Simpsons" will still be on the air.

One of the scenes from the previews for the last several weeks involves the giant claw chasing the Doctor down, and it's very well done. Although, it does seem very much like a giant claw machine you would find at the amusement park or arcade, and I suspect several around the UK will be remade in "Doctor Who" image.

The main theme of the episode seems to be about the concept of slavery and freedom, while they don't hit you over the head with it, it is brought up enough to slam the point home. This is not an effects heavy episode, although there are several large ones, the Mill has done an excellent job with most of them. While the writing is a tad off on this one, and it's all wrapped up a little too neatly for my liking, it's good to see there was a very involved back story to the Ood.

In the end, it doesn't take a huge brain to figure out this was an episode done to save money for a more spectacular one later in the series, and using the Ood as both a good guy and bad guy was a very well done. This is one of the few times there are so many characters introduced and so little time to develop them, that many felt very two-dimensional. While this is not the best episode ever, it's far from the worst, think of it as a pallet cleanser for next week. Speaking of which next week we get to see the return of Martha Jones, and I'm curious to see how Martha and Donna get along, I hope we see some fireworks on par with Rose and Sara Jane.

Just my 2¢

“DJ Bollocks” says:

Another Saturday night of thrills and spills....

Pre opening credits death sets us up nicely...

In the Tardis and, Jesus, can Catherine Tate do anything bar pantomime...?

"Blimey a real proper rocket !" Suddenly I've become 12 years old again...

Tim McInnery far from being Captain Darling is the chief of Ood Operations (who deal in selling Ood as servants) with an apparant drinking problem...

whilst exploring the planet D&D discover a dying Ood

"The Circle Must Be Broken...." it says...

But just as he pops off - Ol' Red Eyes Is Back - 'Red Eye Disease' as the humans are calling it...

The Doctor reminds us that the last time he met the Ood they had been possessed by the Devil

Upon further investigation it would appear that the Ood are really pissed off...

"This is a bit more than Red Eye sir... It's rabid...."

Meanwhile there's a sales convention going on in Ood peddling - what could possibly go wrong...

Even a Simpson's "D'oh !" gag in there - how quaint.

Confirmation that the Oodsphere is next to the Sensorsphere

Warehouse 15 ! Something nasty happened there !

Into Warehouse 15 then... - looking like an episode of Blake's 7 now - with a big bright mysterious red light...

D&D are investigating and stumble upon a big X Files warehouse fillied with Ood in containers

"The Circle Must Be Broken So That We Can Sing !" say the captive Ood

Donna gets locked in a container filled with some Ood and meanwhile the Doctor gets chased around by a CGI grappling claw. The Ood in the container naturally have red eye issues...

Everyone escapes including the Ood...

"The entire Ood batch appears to be contaminated..."

After much running about The Doctor and Donna find a remote part of the base and find unaltered Ood - complete with corny moment with Vulcan Mind Meld style "hearing of the song of the Ood"

Captain Darling tries to find the Doctor and Donna as they discover that the company are cutting off the Ood's second brains (like they're holding their testicles in their hands - only not)... as they protect them in their hands as they were born that way.

Comparisons to nazi ethnic cleansing and the gassing of cattle re foot and mouth disease.... at which point the processed Ood find their collective mojo by hearing the collective song...

Lots of shooting and brain balling chaos ensues... and the gassing doesn't quite go to plan...

More World War One analogies - as the song get the Doctor and Donna out of a tight scrape...

Back to Warehouse 15 and we get to see the telepathing centre - The Ood Brain (The circle is an electronic pylon surrounding the brain)

Darling's science expert sells him out as does his Ood servant and he becomes an Ood the hair restorer he's been drinking is some stuff to turn him into an Ood - (PG rated pre 7pm sfx here - I think they were trying for a City of Death moment here)

More concentration camp analogies - Christ all they needed to do was start playing football...

All things happily (?) ever after in the closing scene...

"I think your song must end soon - every song must end..." Ooooh foreboding !

Next week Martha and the Sontarans return... and maybe the return of Unit ?

Bit of a meh episode again - a not really interesting monster returns with unnecessary analogies to slave trading and ethnic cleansing that again seem forced and preachy... Looking forward to return of Freema as Martha next week - hopefully she'll act Tate under the table - I wouldn't say I'm dinking the Taterade - I really just don't care....

THE 3-FOR-2 BLU-RAY SALE!!