Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #3 – Ood Get Even

Rick Marshall

Rick Marshall was Online Managing Editor for ComicMix before joining MTV's SplashPage. Previously, he was Online Content Manager for Wizard Entertainment. He has written for several daily newspapers, alternative weekly newspapers, trade magazines and online media, and was named "Writer of the Year" by the New York Press Association in 2005.

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8 Responses

  1. Vinnie Bartilucci says:

    The timing of the two Ood episodes rather confused me – if he freed them in this episode, then they wouldn't have been in the ship in Impossible Planet. Not quite worth getting crazy about, but odd considering they've done a good job with continuity so far in the show.There's a lot of Tate-hate in the UK, as her comedy show has reached the phase where people are sick of it and her, but I think she's doing a fine job in the series so far.As of now, Tennant is working on the Christmas episode, so at the very least he's with the show that long.They've done a fine job of making the Big Bad thread less obvious this year – last two years people knew what it was before the perishing series started. So far the recurring themes this year have been the missing planets, the bee death thing (which our own JO made mention of the real event quite some time ago) references to the Shadow Proclamation, The Medusa Cascade, and of course Rose. (Don't blink in the second Sontaran episode!) But there's no clear line on what the Big Bad is There's been rumors that either Donna or her granddad Wilf are baddies in disguise. Seems a bit cliche'd to me, that. There's fairly widespread belief the Daleks are back again (as is that famous "spider-daleks" rumor) but we'll see how much of the Big Bad they are. Three times in four years is a bit much for me, so I'm hoping it's not true, but considering the amount of screen time they're giving the Time War this year, it's still a possibility.So far both Jason Statham and Robert Carlyle have been rumored as the new Doctor, both of which I find unlikely.

    • Rick Marshall says:

      I agree with everything you wrote there, Vinnie. Although one might explain the weird Ood timeline by the far-off mission the crew of "The Impossible Planet" was on when the poo hit the fan. I hope the Daleks don't pop up this season, too – as much as i like them as villains, they need to go in the background a bit so their next appearance has a bit more punch.Thanks for reading, as always. I'm glad you're enjoying the reviews!

    • Mike Gold says:

      They'll want "cute." They've done well with "cute."The question is, will Tennant stick with the season of specials (four or five episodes each running 60 to 75 minutes) or bail at the end of this one. With a supporting cast that runs to three companions plus Captain Jack plus someone who won't be seen on the SciFi channel for another three weeks plus K-9 in a box plus UNIT back in action plus the Brigadier involved in "something" in Peru… well, actually, the show's getting pretty crowded. Do we need The Doctor? Evidently, he won't be in episode (I think) 12.Now, if The Master happens to meet up with Captain John Hart…

      • Neil Ottenstein says:

        Isn't is usually episode 10 (e.g. Love & Monsters and Blink) that is the episode where The Doctor hardly appears?

      • Vinnie Bartilucci says:

        "K-9 in a box": The reason K-9 barely appears in The Sarah Jane Adventures is because the creators of K-9 were shopping their own K-9 series, which I believe was to be CGI. They didn't want to allow his use in the Sarah Jane show, allowing only a couple cameo apperances. I'll talk more about the Brig reference with the next episode review, so as not to confuse things.The reason The Doctor "won't be in" one episode is because of the expanded production schedule that started in Season 2. They added a Christmas episode, but they simply didn't have time to do another episode in the already set up schedule. So they came up with the neat idea of doing an episode done by a second unit, with very little Doctor and his companion in it, just enough that they could film their footage in a day or two, judiciously peppering them through the episode, giving the appearance they were in it more than they were. And ironically, the two "Doctor-less" episodes so far have been two of my favorites: "Love and Monsters" featuring the hilarious Peter Kay, and last season's spectacular "Blink". (And yeah, an episode where Elton Pope and Sally Sparrow teamed up would rock my world like it was James Bond and I was Sylvia Trench.) Perhaps it's because they're sort of forced to do so much more with the story since they can't rely on the standards of the Doctor, resulting in much more creative stories.If they're planning to make one of the finale episodes one of the Doctor-less ones, that ought to be VERY interesting viewing.

  2. Rick Taylor says:

    The thing I like about Donna is she asks questions.She doesn't instantly process all this stuff without knowing the 'why' of things.You really think she's the big bad this season?

    • EmilyB says:

      Yes, I agree with this! I'm not a fan of this season, but I'm surprised that Donna's the least of my annoyances. I love that she questions not only circumstances but also the Doctor in WHY he does what he does. She impresses me and I can completely see that she's grown since "Runaway Bride."

  3. Neil Ottenstein says:

    I thought that the "year"mentioned in The Impossible Plant/Satan Pit was the enigmatic 43K2.1I thought that the episode 42 was in the same time frame as these stories and was in the 42nd century like this one. Of course, even if those stories were later, as you mention it could be that they left before 4126. That coupled with time effects due to the black hole there could have messed up the time. Who knows what relative time they were really using there?In any case, I enjoyed the episode again. It was interesting that despite the red-eye events, they couldn't even fathom any other rebellion going on by the Ood.