Doctor Who Club of Australia

[Beatly]

Well. Hot damn, this was good. It lived up to the hype of the two-parter, certainly, and exceeded the promise of the first part. The beast looked simply amazing - a triumph of design. The acting - especially from the chap playing Toby, but from everyone - was brilliant. The effects were flawless. The music was fantastic. There were references to the planets Draconia and Damos! And a mention of a god of the Kaleds, too! There's a mention of the Doctor's own people again, and a sort-of nod (retcon?) to the Eye of Harmony. I don't think it's a spoiler, just a huge relief, to say that the bad guy wasn't Sutekh after all.

Ooh, need to watch again just so I can enjoy it again. A definite full marks from me.

Next week looks pretty fine.

[dave]

I could have been happier with this...I can't believe they made it so ambiguous as to what the alien actually was. Maybe I'm just too fond of the Pertwee days, when we have have gotten some sort of explanation, no matter how unlikely. Damn.

However, this just looked amazing. Very cool satan-thing, no matter how much I still wish they'd used Sutekh. Mind you, that seems to have been what the first part was designed to do: get old fans talking about past favourites, and hope.

If 'Satan' near the end had no mind, and was only the animal, then how did it know when to laugh? Its consciousness was in that archaologist, wasn't it?

I enjoyed seeing Rose take charge this time. I'm curious about the prophecy that she'll die in battle though...that's bound to come up again. Maybe Miss Piper will be moving on earleir than I'd thought.

Knew the TARDIS would be at the bottom of the pit, just at the right place after the Doctor had dealt with the beast. I was hoping they wouldn't be so predictable with that one. All in all, I thought this was good.

P.S. And no 'next week' trailer on my copy! AARRGH!

[Tegan]

I really liked this one, though I think last week had a bit more edge to it. Probably because it was a little more unexpected. All the two-part episodes will have a similar problem I think.

Some of the visual effects, (Doctor falling into the pit looked stilted) might have been done a bit better, but a lot were very good.

The Demon's body was a bit generic, but having said that, I can't think of a way you could do a demon/devil and not make it generic.

Of course, the only way to improve on what are really pretty darn fine visual effects would be to spend a whole lot of money the Beeb simply doesn't have on them.

And how did they roll 10 MILES of cable onto a convenient drum so quickly?

Problems out of the way, what I liked was Rose taking charge. After all this time with two Doctors, a bit is really rubbing off onto her. The bit in the rocket was just the right thing to do in the situation.

She and the Doctor are really showing a strong love for each other (in a purely platonic way! ). After what the Doctor said in School Reunion and what the Demon said about dying in battle, I think there is going to be a REALLY big episode in number 13. Or am I being set up to look really dumb, again?

Look for a new companion in 12.

The Doctor was really evasive about the true nature of the Beast. I think he knows a lot more than what he's leting on, in order to protect Rose. And maybe himself.

Ye Gods, do I love this show or what?

[meglos]

Awesome. I thoght the beast was fantastic and the whole episode had just the right feel to it. Rose taking charge was good to see, but I have a feeling she won't be around much longer. Next week looks better than I had expected.

[charlie]

WOW! This was GREAT! And it had to be. Just the fact that this is the first story totally away from Earth since The Greatest Show in The Galaxy made it bloody good (and inventive). But what I really liked was that the first part seemed to indicate that no matter how far science (or science fiction) comes religion is still right in the end and yet this episode brought it all together in the end and made science fiction the victor.

The uud were weird. I dont get how a species that requires orders could have evolved unless the had a queen that died or something, like bees. That Gravity tunnel doesnt make anysense either but noone really knows
what gravity is so maybe it can be manipulated.

They probably didnt roll the whole ten miles on. Maybe they cut it or flung the rest down the pit. Then again, where did they get that drum anyway?
I doubt that prophesy means anything at all. Just the Devil up to his tricks again.

Congrats to whoever takes the next time trailers off.

[Hiruma]

I think you have to allow for some time factor in there between the getting the ship ready for Launch thing and the descent. In fact I doubt the tunnel did extend for miles and miles. To me it seemed exactly as the Doctor said it 'A Test of Faith'. The gravity of the pit may have made the cable extend faster or perhaps it was an extension of the people who had constructed the Prison. I think it was purposely designed to be a misnomer.

I thought it was a great Episode. Matt Jones deserved much credit for such a tightly written story. The Air vents scene was good.. and the ood crawling through the darkness was awesome. It makes me think that Stephenson sacrificed himself though because of the trouble with his wife.. I was lead to assume he had cheated on her or somesuch.. so he thought it was probably his penance.

Toby was also a damn good character and well Gabriel Woolf... awesome. His voice skills are just too damn good.

This is probably my fav 2 parter now... even more so that Rise/Age. I dont make that choice lightly either. But it shows what makes doctor good.. the Horror element. Bring more!
(And look at the Ratings for Who when the Doctor was at its peak in Horror)

Matt

[Dazza]

Great finish to an excellent story. Very action packed - ventilator scenes were reminiscent of Aliens.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Mine had a next week preview. Didn't look terribly exciting - but looking forward to it nonetheless.

[Reject Companion]

i liked this one in lots of ways...some cool horror like moments...but i don't feel it's worth an excellent or even a very good rating (although i could B persuaded to that)....

did anyone besides myself have a slight problem with the "Rose shooting the Devil/Alien thing out of the spaceship" scene...? I felt that was one of those easy option quick fix situations that have been a topic of debate in the new series by some.
Very Hollywood....

i did like the character development, but i thought that there was an uneven mix sometimes between the time alloted to the action, and then the sentimental moments of supporting cast.

Having said that, i think it's good...i think i was caught unexpected and jumped from my seat during one scene (the cable snapping...?)...hasn't happened since i was a kid watching...hehe

[Tegan]

[dave]

[Tegan]

[Amano07]

i'm sure the Third Doctor in Frontier in Space had something similar to the cockpit situation in The Satan's Pit happen to him, of course there was no black hole ..but it was still not that credible either..and then there is the Fifth Doctor story Four to Doomsday with the cricket ball!...so its not a new thing that Doctor who ignores the laws of gravity etc.

[arturo]

Well I waited until I saw both parts before I posted a reflection on this one. Surprisingly enough I liked it......a lot!

I think the second part wasn't quite as good as the first, but then again the threat of the first was bound to be a little anti-climatic no matter what they did. There is no way that any program can match the intricacies of the imagination.

The Oood and the beast were awesome! I liked the genteel menace of the Oood in part one (I cant help putting extra O's in Ooooood, its fun) and thought that the beast was incredible, even though my girlfreind thought it was way too big and looked silly.

Toby was awesome and the scene in the tunnels where he Shh'd the Oood made me jump.

Overall a great episode.

Now I have to have a dig at thise who are complaining about the science of the episode. You are happy to accept the existance of a machine that can travel anywhere in time and space, happy to accpet a sonic screw driver that can do almost anything in time and space then complain because certain idas aren't "realistic" or scientifically accurate." With the utmost respect to those concerned (yes Dave Im looking at you) this does make me giggle a bit.

[charlie]

I suppose we dont know exactly how strong that bolt gun was. But if it was firing bolts through those big metal walls in the station to repair it would have to be reasonably strong.

[dave]

[charlie]

Maybe the screen was only strong enough to handle the pressure of the vacuum of space and the Boly gun just tipped it over the edge.

[Tegan]

[dave]

The TARDIS fell into the pit where the beast was which had been sealed? The sealed pit which itself was at the bottom of a 10-mile long shaft? Yes, it was lost in that earthquake, and presumably ended up somewhere in the rubble, but to have just happened to have found a 10-mile long fissure into the crust and then somehow get past that seal on the pit itself...

....nahhh.

[FredDag]

After seeing this story, I can still say that the stories this season are so much stronger and better then last season.

I was so happy to see a Doctor Who story set on an alien planet for once and I was fully expecting and hoping that the TARDIS was down there somewhere at the bottom of the pit. Though I'm still wondering how it got through the closed pit?

Did anyone else find themselves yelling out, "look out Doctor!" during this episode? Well I was.

Rose shooting the gun through the window was totally unexpected and fantastic, that really suprised me.

This was another great story and it just goes to show that Doctor Who as a show is getting better and better. I saw the preview for next week and it looks good to me.

Hugs

[Tegan]