Planet of the Ood (2008)

Review
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Review

This episode was first broadcast on April 19, 2008. A brief and somewhat spoiler-ish summary of the plot: evil corporation evil, Ood good.

Good things about this episode:

• the story moves along at a steady pace
• more character development for Donna and another spot-on performance from Catherine Tate
• the Ood are still excellent aliens
• the Ood's revenge on the main villain is fitting and nicely creepy
• nice, otherworldly scenery and a cool rocket

The not so good news:

• in this episode we get an evil corporation that makes the evil corporation from 'Partners in crime' seem like rank amateurs. Bigotry, genocide, imprisonment, enslavement, involuntary lobotomy and other random acts of wanton cruelty - evil corporation is leaving no evil deed undone, which is pushing the boundaries of believability
• at two points in this story the Doctor starts spouting exposition about the Ood's second and third brains, and there's no real reason why he would have the information that he suddenly seems to posess about either
• the Ood communicate through song, which is supposed to be the this indescribably joyful sound - or unbearably sad, depending on the mood of the Ood. Although Murray Gold has written some nice vocals for this episode the incidental score understandably doesn't quite live up to all that

My verdict:

Not perfect, but enjoyable from beginning to end.

More about Doctor Who

An introduction:
Doctor Who reviews: introduction

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