Planet of the Ood (TV story)

"The circle must be broken!"

- The Ood

Synopsis
After setting the TARDIS controls to random, the Doctor and Donna arrive on the Ood Sphere, in the 42nd century. The Ood are being sold as servants to the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire. But what is possessing the Ood? And what is the circle? Why must it be broken?

Plot
A businessman is in his office with his personal Ood when suddenly he gets "red-eye" and kills him with the Translation sphere.

The Doctor uses the TARDIS to land at a random point in time and space and arrive at the snow-covered Ood Sphere. On leaving the TARDIS, he and Donna find a dying Ood, a species the Doctor previously encountered in "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit". Before dying, Delta-fifty, the Ood's designation, his eyes turn red and it attacks the Doctor. The Doctor muses that they were being influenced by the Devil on their previous encounter, and concludes that their docility is being influenced by a different and closer being. The Doctor and Donna find an industrial complex controlled by Ood Operations, who have been selling the Ood as a servant race since 3914. The Doctor locates their position: the Ood-Sphere in the year 4126.

The "Red Eye" phenomenon is affecting other Ood on the planet: several people have been killed in the weeks prior to the narrative. During the outbreak, the Ood state that "the circle must be broken". Ood Operations noted an increase in the phenomenon, and considered it to be similar to Foot and Mouth disease; CEO Klineman Halpen tells the Doctor the method of killing is identical.

Throughout the episode, Donna becomes sympathetic to the Ood and is horrified by their status as slaves. The Doctor also takes an interest in the Ood noting that no species could naturally evolve to serve. He also feels he had overlooked them on their previous encounter. He and Donna travel through the complex and find a batch of uncultivated Ood. Instead of a translation sphere, they hold a "hind brain" that gives them individuality, and once removed, become subservient; the Doctor derides Halpen for lobotomising them.

The Doctor and Donna are captured by Ood Operations' security force. Shortly after, the Ood begin a mass revolution, and the complex is evacuated. The Doctor follows Halpen to a locked "warehouse 15". The warehouse contains a large brain, which completes the Ood's collective consciousness. The brain's control of the Ood is limited by a circle of pylons emitting a forcefield. Halpen plans to kill the brain, and by extension, all of the Ood, but is stopped by a joint effort between the Doctor, Donna, Dr Ryder, and Halpen's personal Ood, Ood Sigma, Ryder, an activist for "Friends of the Ood", had lowered the telepathic field gradually over ten years, while Ood Sigma used Halpen's hair-loss medication to slowly convert Halpen into an Ood.

The Doctor shuts down the circle, freeing the Ood and allowing them to all rejoin in a telepathic collective. Before leaving, Ood Sigma promises to include the Doctor and Donna in the Ood's song and honour their names forever, but comments that the Doctor's song may soon end.

Cast

 * The Doctor - David Tennant
 * Donna Noble - Catherine Tate
 * Solana Mercurio - Ayesha Dharker
 * Mr Halpen - Tim McInnerny
 * Sigma - Paul Kasey
 * Dr Ryder - Adrian Rawlins
 * Commander Kess - Roger Griffiths
 * Mr Bartle - Paul Clayton
 * Rep - Tariq Jordan
 * Ood - Paul Kasey
 * Voice of the Ood - Silas Carson

Production crew
to be added

Story Notes

 * The snow scenes were shot in a boiling hot week in August, using fake snow. This was done using tiny pieces of paper, as pointed out in this episode's Confidential.
 * The transformation of Halpen into an Ood was originally far more graphic, but after the footage was viewed it was re-edited to be less horrific for a family audience.
 * Russell T. Davies noted during production of the Ood's introductory episodes that he considered their home world to be close to that of the Sensorites.
 * When Ood Sigma says to the Doctor "I think your song must end soon", several seconds of the Doomsday theme, Rose's parting musing from the episode of the same name and most recently heard at her appearance in Partners in Crime, can be heard.
 * The Doctor is threatened by Mr Halpen with a gun and ushers Donna Noble back to protect her.

Ratings

 * Final Ratings - 7.50 million viewers

Myths and rumours

 * This is set before The Impossible Planet. (Most fans assume this because the pre-publicity stated that we would find out why the Ood were slaves and the date for that story was 43k2.1 but we never found out what those numbers meant, and there is no reason why this cannot be after that story.  If Impossible planet was after this story, all the ood on Sanctuary base would not be slaves)
 * A snippet of the separation music from Doomsday can be heard after the Ood tells the Doctor "you song will end soon." This led to speculation that this was a reference to Rose Tyler's return, and/or an imminent regeneration for the Doctor. Ultimately it ended up being a reference to River Song in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead.

Filming Locations

 * Blue Circle Cement Works, East Aberthaw, The Vale of Glamorgan

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * When Halpen and Ryder first go to Warehouse 15, Halpen pours his "hair tonic" onto the Ood Brain. When he retreats from the edge of the containment area, there is still tonic in his glass which he drinks and then leaves. But in between while the ground is shaking he turns to the Ood, it looks like he is giving back the glass, so he might have got a full one in exchange.
 * As the Oods begin to turn bad, the Ood behind Solana briefly stops panicking.
 * Ood fighting against the armed guards are seen not to be suffering from Red Eye.
 * When the Doctor and Donna escape from the security guards at the start of the Ood attack, they run out of the warehouse alone, but when they stop outside, Solana is with them (giving her the opportunity to betray them). (this fact is false).
 * The Ood that dies in the snow can be seen breathing after it has died. The actor needed to breathe. Also, it is in alien creature. It is entirely possible that the breathing mechanism continues after death until the energy runs out. The human heart can continue to beat even after being removed as the SAN regulates it.
 * Halpen claims he will be saddened and regret his first shooting, but didn't he just kill someone by throwing him into the brain?

Continuity

 * The Ood previously appeared in The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit. Although the Doctor's timeline has progressed, it is not stated whether the events of this episode occur before or after the events of the two-parter from the Ood's perspective. It takes place after because this episode takes place in 4126 and the 2 parter takes place in 4100. (The events on the Planet of Ood may have stopped the production of more Ood-slaves, but perhaps not all Ood in the Universe have stopped being slaves - especially not ones on the remote mining ships in far-off galaxies)
 * The Doctor refers to the time when he couldn't save the Ood from falling into the black hole in The Satan Pit.
 * The Doctor comments that he visited the Sense-Sphere "ages ago". (DW: The Sensorites)
 * Massive brains had previously appeared in DW: The Brain of Morbius, DW: Time and the Rani and in NA: Deceit.
 * When the Doctor and Donna exit the TARDIS and see the Ood-Sphere for the first time, the Doctor comments that for once, he is glad to see it snow for real. During the new series, it has snowed three times, however it was never real snow. In The Christmas Invasion, the snow was the ash from the Sycorax ship breaking up in the atmosphere. In The Runaway Bride, the Doctor used the TARDIS to influence the Earth's atmosphere and force it to snow. Finally, in Voyage of the Damned, Mr. Copper tells the Doctor that the snow is really ballast from the Titanic as it flew over London. Ironically fake snow was used to film that scene in this episode.
 * The Third Doctor occasionally went by the name Doctor Noble.
 * In this episode, Donna tries to be friendly with the Ood just like Rose befriended the Dalek in DW: Dalek.
 * When Ood Sigma says that "Your song will end soon", he could be referring to River Song dying in the episode Forest of the Dead. It could also be an end of his lament to Rose being gone forever
 * When the Ood say DoctorDonna this is actually a reference to Journey's End when Donna is a human but has the mind of The Doctor.

DVD Releases

 * It will be released on the Series 4 boxset DVD in November 2008.
 * It was released as part of Series 4 Volume 1 on June 2nd 2008 alongside Partners in Crime and The Fires of Pompeii.
 * The BBFC has rated this story a 12 certificate citing a 'moderate gory scene'. Partners in Crime and The Fires of Pompeii were also both given PG certificates.