"Doctor Who"
Planet of the Ood (2008)

Director:

Graeme Harper

Writer:

Keith Temple (written by)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (2005)

Original Air Date:

19 April 2008 (Season 4, Episode 3)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Finding themselves on the Ood-Sphere planet in the 42nd century, The Doctor and Donna discover the truth over the Ood's willingness to serve humankind. |

Plot Keywords:

Slavery | Torture | Dark Past | Man With No Name | Reincarnation

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 #1
Tony Gibbons	...	Rep #2
Silas Carson	...	The Ood (voice)

Runtime:

48 min | 45 min (50 episodes)

Certification:

UK:12 (DVD rating)

Company:

BBC Wales

Quotes:

The Doctor: [standing in a container full of Ood] Ood, tell me. Does 'the Circle' mean anything to you?
The Ood: [all the translators light up at once] The Circle must be broken.
Donna Noble: [breathy] Whoa, that is creepy.
The Doctor: But what is it? What is the Circle?
The Ood: The Circle must be broken!
The Doctor: Why?
The Ood: So that we can sing!

The Ood are back, and they're not happy

This episode is both horrifying and beautiful. And in the same way that last year's Gridlock was about faith and believing in something, this story is about choices. And what's right and what's wrong.

The two keywords I'd give to this episode are "chilling" and "entertaining". It's certainly filled with creepy moments. But mainly because of the ood you get the freaky atmosphere you did in "the impossible planet" and "satans pit". It is the most chilling so far this series. And again, the special effects are some of the best I've seen so far.

The criticism i'd give to this episode is the big action sequence with the doctor inside a big warehouse which looks really bad. The real action in the story is all emotional, as we see how the Doctor and Donna react to the events around them.

It is entertaining because of the way we see the ood,which gradually changes throughout the episode. By the end they seem a million miles from the creatures first met two years ago in The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit.

The very best episodes of Doctor Who are the ones which not only entertain you, but which also leave you thinking about them after they've finished. And this is one of them.

My Grade: B+