The Satan Pit

The second half of this story can't quite match The Impossible Planet. It's a shame but only a slight one, and it shouldn't be too surprising that the resolution isn't able to meet the expectations raised by part one. As I hinted last time, the sharp end of fear is not knowing - once we get a proper look at what the scary thing is, we can start to rationalise it.

Much of this episode hinges around the sight of tiny David Tennant gurning away beside a giant CGI demon-thing. It's fine, but it's not the strongest thing about The Satan Pit. Unfortunately we had to be shown what we were dealing with, but how much scarier was it when it was just a voice in the dark?

When I found out that this episode would see the Doctor facing up against the Devil himself, I was sceptical to say the least. Wisely, we are told very little about the creature but there's still an attempt to claim that it might be the "reality behind the myth", which feels a little presumptuous. On the other hand, while there's just enough wriggle room for it all to work, perhaps some more context would have helped? If other similar ancient and powerful beings (Fenric?) could have got a mention then it might have felt less like we were being asked to accept a Biblical fancy as literal truth.

Still, lots to like. Best of all, for a part two there is almost no padding whatsoever. Everything feels important, whether it's Rose forcing the crew through the ventilation shafts or the Doctor mulling over his belief system in the darkness. He gets two big moments here, the first when his voice bolsters the humans and counters the doubts raised by the Lord of Lies. And then, at the end, he rationalises his way out of the trap - a very Doctorish thing to do. It's edited a little too energetically perhaps, and it's a shame that there's rather too much faith and not quite enough reason in his final decision but at least he is the agent of his own destiny. The sudden appearance of the TARDIS is disappointingly convenient, and why does the Beast chuckle at him if its consciousness has fled? But why would anyone nitpick any of that when we are caught up in the excitement of the climax? Rose continues to be in fabulous form. The way she takes charge, marshalling and motivating the crew is really impressive without it feeling like she is treading on the Doctor's toes. These are her best qualities, rolling up her sleeves, refusing to give up and challenging those around her to raise their own game. She even gets a bona fide action movie killer quip with which to dispatch Toby into space, and the show ends with a wonderful little moment in the TARDIS - the Doctor and Rose: the stuff of legend. Even though it's not a season finale, this two-parter operates on a grander scale: it's our first genuinely epic adventure of the new run.

William was mollified by events. "10! Total despair turns to victory! I liked that the Doctor was clever. But the Beast was freaky. And I'd like to know how the TARDIS got there." Well, quite.

Chris gave it an 8. "Really good. I really liked this story. This was very scary, but not quite as much as the last episode. I really enjoyed how the Doctor fought the Beast because he used his best talent: talking!"


NEXT TIME...