NB: For all of the "new series" multi-part episodes, reviews are relevant to the complete story, and the name of the first part is used as a story title.

After spending a season and a half as good as confined to Earth, "The Impossible Planet" sees The Doctor finally arrive somewhere else. Of course, there's still humans all over the place, but this is still a step towards some sort of variety. It's a shame that Russell T. Davies' prejudices have taken over so much - this series we've had four stories set in Earth's near future (remember, anything on the council estate after "Rose" is near future, with "The Christmas Invasion" taking place in 2006), on in the present, one story set in Earth's far future, three in Earth's past, and one on a parallel Earth. It's hardly much of a mix considering the scope Doctor Who is capable of.

Thankfully, someone talks a bit of sense, and we have what is - astonishingly - the first story that hasn't been set on or around Earth since "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy", waaay back in 1988. Just as thankfully, it's a very, very good story - possibly the best since the series' return, with only "The Empty Child" providing any competition. I'm not a fan of Matt Jones' New Adventure 'Bad Therapy', and his columns in DWM always seemed to be of the "Let's talk about me" variety, but God damn can he write scripts, at least on this evidence.

The setting for the story is a fantastic idea - a planet suspended over a black hole, crewed by a group of humans trying to find out why it isn't sucked in. The reason why it's not is a typical Who piece of improbability - an evil being from before the universe, the Beast, is being imprisoned there, and has engineered the situation in order to attract the humans and escape itself. You have to asked why the beast's jailors don't just kill it or chuck it straight into the black hole in the first place, but the verve of the story takes you away from this, just as, say, "Remembrance of the Daleks" prevents you from asking why The Doctor didn't just nuke Skaro as soon as he possessed the Hand of Omega.

As well as the outer space setting, the story revives another Doctor Who staple, combining science with the supernatural. The way the Beast is used is fantastic, and the script goes to great pains, treading the line between it being a powerful alien whose influence may have filtered through the universe and been recognised as the Adversary in most religions, and the Beast actually being said Adversary. That The Doctor decides he doesn't actually need, or want, to find out which is true is an excellent touch, maintaining some lasting mystery. The similarities to Sutekh go beyond Gabriel Woolf's terrific vocal performance, and like the Osirans the menace isn't cheapened by a cop-out conclusion as Azal was.

Jones' script does well to avoid two of the more tiresome features of the newer series as well. First of all, it looks like we're going to have a preachy session from RTD's mouthpiece, Rose, about the Ood, but it's left as a throwaway comment - the Ood are simply happy to serve and have a purpose that way. In the same vein, for once, in Jefferson, we get someone whose job involves a gun who isn't portrayed as a complete bastard. There's a minor thread about him and his late wife, but generally the character is written with honour, which makes for a pleasant surprise.

The other characters are generally as well written - Toby is inquisitive to a fault, Zach self-doubting but likeable, Ida is intelligent and Danny perfectly illustrates that the team are out of their depth. All are brought to life by a skilled cast (Shaun Parkes standing out amongst stiff competition - the scene where Rose pulls the bolt-gun on Zach is masterfully played). Only Scooti lacks characterisation, and it's a bit of a damp squib when she dies, having made no impact.

The Ood are a fantastic idea, and our perceptions are played with - it's very easy to believe they're up to something, and the twist is, simply, that they aren't - a straightforward double-bluff that works in the series' favour. The production is excellent - the humans and their base again channel Red Dwarf's design philosophy, and make a pleasant change from far future tales such as "The Long Game" or "Bad Wolf", the costumes of which scream that the story took place three months ago. The sets are brilliantly designed to aid the storytelling, and bring a real feel of claustrophobia, contrasting nicely with the ironic open feeling of the pit itself.

David Tennant gives possibly his best performance so far, his charm just about swinging some glib opening scenes (the whole "I love humans" schtick) and he gives a reverential performance later on, doing especially well at showing The Doctor to be intelligent, and not arrogant. Rose is also more likeable than she has been of late - again, the characters work better once separated. Rose is shown to be intelligent and resourceful.

James Strong's direction is exemplary, using the first episode to build suspense and atmosphere, and the second to crank the pace up. The contrast between the desperation in the base and the quieter scenes at the pit with The Doctor and Ida is excellent, and Strong uses the script perfectly, making the story a taunt thriller. The atmosphere in as The Doctor descends and the planet begins to fall into the black hole is so doom-laden that on first viewing I had to keep reminding myself that The Doctor will pull through…

Overall, it's very nearly perfect, with everyone giving their best. Hopefully the unqualified success of this story will persuade the production team to allow The Doctor and Rose to stray out of Earth's orbit more often. For now it's been the high-point of a season which had began to judder off the rails, and the best Tennant story to date.

Review written: 24/06/2006