Rate & Discuss 4.3: Planet of the Ood

[Si Hunt]

Her stint in "Torchwood" was pathetic. She was hardly in two of the three episodes!

Si.

[Zbigniev Hamson]

Never seen anything of note in Tim Mcinnery before, and this performance did nothing to change that for me.

I thought he was pretty good, but I can't help but think he was chosen because he already had a head shaped a little bit like an Ood.

I have to ask though... what actually was the Ood plan in chaning Percy into an Ood too? From what the Doctor was saying I got the impression, briefly, that it had actually been Percy's subconscious responsible for posessing the Ood, but whatever he actually said was rattled through so quickly it kind of washed over me. If the other Ood has enough nous to replace his hair tonic with something else then it wouldn't have seemed like they needed his help in that way, and ultimately it seemed as though the whole change-him-into-an-Ood-too plan was designed, with remarkable foresight, just to stop him shooting the Doctor and Donna.

[Mike Saville]

Mostly good. The slavery thing was pretty well handled. Someone inferred earlier that the use of the black character as a 'baddie' was maybe inappropriate. I don't agree. Not only does it help underline the point that humans don't learn from their ancestors, it's also a clear point that slavery isn't about black and white. Even when black slavery was at its height, there were black people involved on BOTH SIDES of the equation.

Anyway. Still not fully warming to Tate. She has her moments which are pure magic, but she keeps slipping into one or two of her charicatures and losing me.

On the whole a good episode. The only thing that was naff x 10 was Tim McInnery suddenly changing species because he'd been drinking some concoction for a while. It just didn't work and was so clumsy. Visually, ok. just narratively it jarred and marred an otherwise great episode.

[Wayne]

Anyway. Still not fully warming to Tate. She has her moments which are pure magic, but she keeps slipping into one or two of her charicatures and losing me.

I've read similar comments elsewhere on these point, where people find it hard to disassociate her from her comedy work.
It's not a problem for me because i've never seen her comedy show, bar the odd tiny clip, so i'm really relating to her just as an actress. And a pretty good one, IMO. Maybe i'm fortunate that i've never really seen the Catherine Tate show? Just curious; Is it an issue for anyone else here?

[Perry Vale]

Maybe i'm fortunate that i've never really seen the Catherine Tate show?

Yes, you're lucky!

Just curious; Is it an issue for anyone else here?

As I mentioned above, it is for me too. I mean, Dick Emery was a good actor, but you wouldn't have wanted him pairing up with Jon Pertwee's Doc, would you?

[Logo Polish]

I've seen her show, and it's not bothering me. But then, I've only watched a few episodes, and it's something I find easy enough to put out of mind. I can see how people could find some of her more strident moments resembling some of her more overstated grotesques in her own series, but I'm able to keep them separate.

[Wayne]

As I mentioned above, it is for me too. I mean, Dick Emery was a good actor, but you wouldn't have wanted him pairing up with Jon Pertwee's Doc, would you?

Well i only remember his comedy show, i never saw him do any serious acting. Unless you count the time he appeared in 'The Three Doctors' made up as Patrick Troughton.

[Andrew Curnow]

I didn't realise I was in the minority, but I really, really liked Martha. I didn't miss Rose at all last year, and although I'm also enjoying Donna I'm looking forward to seeing Miss Jones again (hopefully she'll actually have something to do, as opposed to the oddly-irrelevant Torchwood guest-spot).

[Wayne]

I liked Martha/Freema, but she just seems a bit shall we say, lacking in personality/leaning towards dull, compared to Donna/Catherine who's put a bit of oomph back into things.

[SiHart]

I agree with what Andrew said.

Si xx

[WhiteCrow]

Mostly good. The slavery thing was pretty well handled. Someone inferred earlier that the use of the black character as a 'baddie' was maybe inappropriate. I don't agree. Not only does it help underline the point that humans don't learn from their ancestors, it's also a clear point that slavery isn't about black and white. Even when black slavery was at its height, there were black people involved on BOTH SIDES of the equation.

A very well made point. It's true, if people did learn from their mistakes, then Israel, a country who came into existence after the awful Holocaust of the Second World War would be an oasis of tolerance ...

[Mike Saville]

It's true, if people did learn from their mistakes, then Israel, a country who came into existence after the awful Holocaust of the Second World War would be an oasis of tolerance ...

You can't say that. Didn't you know that to criticise Isreali government policy makes you an antisemite?

[Si Hunt]

I've seen her show, and it's not bothering me.

So... you're not bovvered then?

Si.

[WhiteCrow]

You can't say that. Didn't you know that to criticise Isreali government policy makes you an antisemite?

I'm allowed to, I'm part Jewish. My mum was part-Jewish part-Catholic, what a traumatic upbringing that was ...

[Logo Polish]

So... you're not bovvered then?

Si.

Thought you didn't watch it (but you can't really get away from those catch phrases).

[Mike Saville]

I'm allowed to, I'm part Jewish. My mum was part-Jewish part-Catholic, what a traumatic upbringing that was ...

Yeah, I can imagine. Seen any Judeocatholic porn? 10 minutes nookie, 90 minutes guilt.

[WhiteCrow]

Yeah, I can imagine. Seen any Judeocatholic porn? 10 minutes nookie, 90 minutes guilt.

And no contraception!

[Kaybee Bailey]

Maybe I've been watching Great British Menu too much recently, but I felt this episode was a decent example of how modern Doctor Who does classic Who stories. At an aesthetic level it didn't much resemble an old Doctor Who story but it felt like one, a successfully modern twist on an old classic. As I'm late in on this thread I'll keep it brief though, two things...

Liked the rejected-Apprentice style marketing manager. It was just so obvious she knew she was wrong but she carried on anyway. It's a really basic thing but somehow very telling about people taking the easy route.

So... Catherine Tate. I didn't like Donna that much in The Runaway Bride, but my early reaction this series is that the character works quite nicely. I'm going to slightly reserve judgement by agreeing with previous posts in saying that Tate is at times very good, though you do occasionally see bits of her comic characters coming through, particularly when she's angry. I've not actually seen her show too much but I can still recognise them a little, which is quite telling. Anyway, the series goes on.

[Zbigniev Hamson]

Liked the rejected-Apprentice style marketing manager. It was just so obvious she knew she was wrong but she carried on anyway. It's a really basic thing but somehow very telling about people taking the easy route.

I liked that aspect of it, but I didn't like the way she was then punished by death, the way bad characters tend to, just because she was weak-willed in the face of a warzone.

[Kaybee Bailey]

I see what you mean there. There's definitely something a bit panto-like about it - do bad deed and ye shall die - well, panto-like or biblical however you see it. But had she not died we probably would have missed sympathising with her dilemma and just seen her as a bad person who gets away with it, rather than a potentially good person who was scared to act. I'm torn as to whether or not I agree, though I think her imminent death was a little too telegraphed for my taste.

[Brian]

I'm a bit late in so I'll keep it short.

McInnerny was rubbish, Ood were good.

Happily though the first good episode this series.

[cyberchris35]

I liked the episode well acted by everyone and the story was well written.
Donna is growing on me slowly and the miss givings I had at the beginning of the series are slowly going as well. The only bad coment I have is that the claw chasing the Doctor seemed as though it was what different thing can we have chasing the Doctor this episode. All in all this episode is not ood (sorry odd) but a good enjoyable romp. A well rounded 7 from me.

[Dirk Gently]

I liked that aspect of it, but I didn't like the way she was then punished by death, the way bad characters tend to, just because she was weak-willed in the face of a warzone.

I didn't see it that way. I saw it that she got killed because just before she was 'zapped' she gave the order to "Shoot to kill" & therefore deserved to die, not because she refused to help the Doctor.

[Zbigniev Hamson]

Yes but she gave the order to shoto to kill because hordes of killer monsters were coming towards her and she was sh*tting herself, which is more just being human than being bad.

Either way, you still saw her death as something she got because she deserved it, which was the real point I meant. That good people get to live and bad people must be punished. Apart from in VOTD of course when they did the opposite, but they made a big point about how they were doing the total opposite for once so it was still hammered home.

[Logo Polish]

But the FOTO activist who'd infiltrated the organisation got killed too.