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A return visit from the Ood, the tentacle-faced aliens from season two, and an icy run-around as the Doctor and Donna try to avoid becoming Ood food.

Plot Points – Our intrepid pair arrive on the Ood-Sphere in 4126, the planet of origin for the strange creatures who were originally seen in 2.8 “The Impossible Planet” and 2.9 “The Satan Pit.” Here we find Ood Operations, a family-owned company run by the officious Mr. Halpen (Tim McInnerney), who process and sell the Ood as servants to civilized worlds across three galaxies. But something’s amiss at Ood Operations: more of the Ood are experiencing “red eye,” going rabid, and killing their masters. It’s up to the Doctor and Donna to get to the bottom of things.

Doctor Who? – Pleased with Donna’s sense of wonder, the Doctor tells her, “I know what it’s like – the fear, the joy, the wonder… I get that. Why do you think I keep going?” The Doctor uses that Vulcan mind-meld thingy again (first seen in 2.4 “The Girl in the Fireplace”), expresses regret that he didn’t save the Ood in the previous adventure, and feels he owes them. And though he’s said it in past seasons, the Doc has apparently adopted “Oh yes!” (or, more correctly, “Oh yeshhhhh!”) as his official catchphrase.

Hey, Hey, Donna – Again, Donna is shown to be very compassionate toward the Ood, though ultimately she seems overwhelmed by this adventure and asks the Doctor to take her home (she later recants). She tells the Doctor “being with you, I can’t tell what’s right and what’s wrong anymore.” She can’t hear the Ood song without the Doctor’s help, until the Ood are freed.

This Year’s Arc – There’s another reference to the bees disappearing, and the Ood tell the Doctor “I think your song must end soon; all songs must end.” Heavy.

Too Cool – I love that old-school space rocket at the beginning (it almost looks like a Thunderbird, which may have been the intent), and the Warhol-inspired Ood art is a nice touch. The ice planet is vividly rendered through a combination of CG effects and practical locations slathered with pretty convincing fake snow and ice.

Weird Science – I’m certainly not an expert on genetics, but it seems highly unlikely that a race with as acute a weakness as an exposed brain could possibly evolve on an ice planet. I suppose it’s not impossible that the Ood frontal brain is highly resistant to cold (we’re never told this, however), but that would rather defeat Donna’s premise about it leading to their very trusting nature. And though I realize it’s just a matter of not being able to afford multiple full-body costumes, this episode makes it look like the Ood are born wearing gray jumpsuits and gloves.

Dumb Stuff – It’s a common problem – a very common problem – with NuWho, but the Earth people are nowhere as advanced as they should be given the stated year. More than two thousand years into the future, man still dresses exactly like the early 21st century, uses contemporary weapons that fire bullets, and keep their records in three ring binders fer cryin’ out loud? Given that we’re already well on the way to being a paperless society, it seems unthinkable we’ll still be using those big white laminated notebooks two millennia from now. (On the other hand, it’s easy to imagine The Simpsons will survive. D’oh!) Okay, okay, the claw chase is fun and all, but it really serves no story purpose at all, and seems like the Doctor Who equivalent of a car chase. Mr. Halpen asks how the Ood are able to use their translator balls as a weapon, but no one ever explains it. At the end, Halpen is determined to destroy the central Ood brain, but he places the explosive charges around the top of the catwalk, which has been shown to be thirty or forty feet above the giganti-brain; it’s conceivable that the explosions will do enough damage to bring debris crashing down on the brain, but why not go down and place the charges around the actual base of the brain-platform, where they’re sure to destroy the thing? And if that’s too dangerous, why not just drop the explosives down on top of the brain itself? Just because the brain “eats” the doctor doesn’t mean it’s going to be able to quickly disarm a dozen or so bombs. And why do the all guards decide to suddenly stop killing the Ood just because they start singing? At this point the Ood have been seen to kill dozens of humans, and yet the guards lay down their weapons just because of the pretty song? In the very last shot of the episode, the TARDIS dematerialization grind begins the instant the Doctor enters the ship, giving him no time to cross the thirty feet or so to the console and flip any switches.

Classic Who – The Doctor says that he’s been to this solar system before, “ages ago,” when he visited the Sense-Sphere. That’s a way-back reference to the 1964 William Hartnell story “The Sensorites” (1.7). The Ood bear some slight resemblence to the Sensorites.

Final Answer – Although it has a distinct “by the numbers” vibe to it, “Planet of the Ood” is a very enjoyable romp that particularly benefits from the directorial skills of Graeme Harper, who keeps the pace brisk enough that you don’t realize everybody’s pretty much just running around in circles (sometimes literally – see claw chase comments above). Big Business is virtually always the bad guy in Doctor Who, and this plot is pretty fundamentally similar to “Partners in Crime” (widely available commercial product is shown to be dangerous), but it’s all done with enough verve that it keeps your attention. Tim McInnerney lends a bit of class to a very one-note character, and the Ood themselves are suitably creepy. Don’t expect this one to get nominated for a Hugo, but as a crowd-pleaser, it’s pretty unannoying. And I hate to say it… but I think I’m becoming a full-fledged Donna fan.

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