*Episode premise spoilers.*
One of my favorite “base under siege” stories of new Who. Some excellent oneshot characters, supreme creepiness, and important emotional moments for team TARDIS. Not to mention, the first appearance of the Ood! While I’d say mileage on this story can vary in large part due to your feelings about Ten/Rose, I’m definitely a fan of it.
The TARDIS has just taken the Tenth Doctor and Rose to a place that shouldn’t exist: a planet orbiting a black hole. There, they meet the crew studying the planet’s continued survival. But something deep inside the planet has just awoken, and it wants to come out.
“Base under siege” stories often depend on two key factors: the oneshot characters and the central threat. And for my money, this story succeeds greatly on both points. The team that Rose and the Doctor meet offer up a good mix of personalities with little hints of intrigue. I like that Zach is only the acting captain, that he’s doing his best to keep the crew safe in a role that wasn’t meant to be his. I like that Mr. Jefferson the security officer quotes poetry. And I like that Ida, the chief scientist, is pulled to reckless expeditions by her need to know and discover. As we get to know these characters over the course of this two-parter, it’s easy to get invested in them. As the danger starts spiraling, it matters what happens to them.
And there’s an awful lot of danger here. Apart from, you know, the black hole, we start with the chilling realization that the Doctor and Rose have traveled so far that the TARDIS can’t even translate the writings of this planet’s earlier civilization. The “don’t turn around” scene is probably up there with some of Doctor Who’s scariest moments, and our aforementioned introduction to the Ood (still such a great design) also includes our introduction to their tendency to be psychically taken over by malevolent forces.
Much like Ida, the Doctor is driven by his need to know. His curiosity brings him to literally jump into the unknown, and as he stares down the barrel of the impossible, he’s equal parts horrified and fascinated. We get a great “putting the mystery together” scene from him, along with a nice mix of science and philosophy.
Meanwhile, Rose is separated from the Doctor for a good chunk of the story. Obviously, this is never how she wants things to go down, but it’s important when Rose gets these kinds of scenes. Because even though it’s clear how capable she is, she has a hard time seeing that when the Doctor is gone—in his absence, she can get stuck on feeling that she lacks in comparison, and it’s good for her to remind herself just what she can do.
Some major shipper moments in this story, for those who are into that sort of thing. There are sweet/shy domestic conversations (had while a black hole looms overhead, naturally,) scenes of desperation when they’re apart, and a crucial moment that hinges upon their faith in one another. Even though I like the Doctor/Rose relationship best with Nine, I still really enjoy what we see of them in this story.
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