The Impossible Planet (TV story)

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The Beast and his armies shall rise from the pit to make war against God.An Ood, possessed

Synopsis

The TARDIS lands in a base on the planet Krop Tor which orbits the black hole K37 Gem 5 without falling into it, a circumstance so inexplicable that even the Doctor cannot understand it. The base crew are drilling to the centre of the planet, to discover the power source which keeps it in a stable orbit around the black hole. But an ancient evil is there too. And he is awake.

Plot

The TARDIS materialises inside a "Sanctuary Base" meant for deep-space expeditions. The Doctor and Rose discover an inscription scribbled on the station wall which the TARDIS is unable to translate.

After a slight misunderstanding when first meeting the Ood, a docile race of empathic servants who work on the station, the travelers meet the crew of the base, led by acting Captain Zachary Cross Flane. The crew, which includes Science Officer Ida Scott, Head of Security Mr Jefferson, and archeologist Toby Zed, are on an expedition on an anomalous planet in orbit around a black hole. The Doctor realises that it is impossible for the planet, which is called Krop Tor, to be in geostationary orbit around the black hole, as it should be pulled in like the star systems around it are. He calculates that it would take a phenomenal amount of power to generate the huge gravity funnel stabilising its orbit. The funnel is not a natural phenomenon, and the crew is drilling ten miles underground to the core of the planet in hopes of finding the power source and using it. The origin of the power source is an ancient civilisation that had been on Krop Tor, and the inscription on the wall is a transcription of a stone tablet found on the planet.

The Doctor soon discovers that storage sections 5 to 8 had collapsed as a result of the earthquake-like tremor they had experienced moments after their arrival, dropping the TARDIS, which had been in Storage 6, into a crevasse. With no resources to divert the drilling, Rose and the Doctor are stranded.

It isn't long before a malevolent presence begins to make itself known. Strange messages about the Beast awaking to make war against God emanate from the Ood's translation spheres and the base computer's speakers. Toby begins to hear voices just before he is possessed by the Beast.

The team finally manage to drill down to the core of the planet. The Doctor and Ida journey down the mine shaft and into a massive cavern with ancient giant sculptures along its walls. They head for the power source, guided by sensor readings, and find a large circular disk set in the floor of the cavern, which the Doctor suspects is a trap door of some sort. The edge of the disk is also covered with inscriptions.

Meanwhile in the base, the Ood's telepathic fields rise dangerously to Basic 100, which is high enough to induce brain death, but they are obviously still alive. Finally the beast makes itself known through Toby before seemingly transferring itself to the Ood. The Ood identify themselves as the Legion of the Beast and begin to advance on the crew members, including Rose. All this coincides with the opening of the trap door as the cavern begins to shake and debris rains down. Zack warns everyone that the planet's gravity field is fading and that the planet is heading straight for the black hole. The voice of the Beast speaks through the Ood, and down below, the trap door fully opens.

Cast

Crew

to be added

References

  • The Scarlet System was home to the Pallushi, a mighty civilisation that spanned a billion years.
  • The scriptures of the Valtino describe the planet as Krop Tor - "the bitter pill".
  • The Doctor states TARDISes are grown, rather than built.

Story Notes

Ratings

  • 6.31 million viewers

Myths

to be added

Location Filming

to be added

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

  • Ida considers the concept of the planet having a name ludicrous. However, it is later stated that in the Scripture of the Valtino, the planet is named Krop Tor.She means that the planet does not have an official intergalactic designation.
  • It is just as possible for a planet to orbit a black hole as it is to orbit a star, as long as it is far enough away and moving fast enough.It is, however, unlikely. The planet may be closer than should be possible.

Continuity

DVD Releases

See Also

to be added

External Links

Template:Series 2

v • e
Ood stories
For the purposes of this list, an "Ood story" is one in which one living, authentic Ood plays a part within the confines of the story, outside of flashbacks to previous stories and cliffhangers that lead into the following story. For this reason, stories such as The Waters of Mars are not counted due to the Oods' appearance being defined by their importance to following stories. Stories like Face the Raven, Hell Bent and Revolution of the Daleks are also not included due to the Oods' cameos being of no consequence to the plot of the story.
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