SE30E03: Planet Of The Ood [Spoilers]

[NecronLord]

Science... and DW. Sorry, does not compute. I can't even begin to list the number of sci-fi shows that have aliens with horribly retarded/implausible biology to go with the physics. DW is soft, so expect the Ood to not be something you can rationalise all that well.

I still blame some freaky Sensorite uplift experiment.

[Darth Onasi]

Still, holding your brains in your hands like that.. trip over once and splat! Instant lobotomy.

[NecronLord]

Indeed. I figure the things would have some kind of carapace and padding around them, for what that's worth.

[Glimmervoid]

I liked it, there was nothing standout great about the story or execution of said story, but it still held my interest for the entire length with out any problem.

My favourite part was at the start when Donna was bad mouthing the Tardis calling it a box and the rocket ship a Cadillac, I half expected the Doctor to apologise to the Tardis or something but it was still a great comic moment.

[Bedlam]

Running Themes, ideas, jokes, etc so far this season

Were not married 2/3

Rose 1/3

Shadow Proclamation 2/3

Bees disapearing 2/3

Anyone think of any more?

[Stark]

It was a terrible hamfisted morality play that took an interesting premise ('what's up with those Ood guys') and turned it into something crap.

And saying 'lol DW doesn't have to make sense' is a copout . It amused me greatly that a species that serves others could never have evolved naturally, but one with an external brain and a magic immortal brain in a hole in the ice TOTALLY COULD HAVE. Worst writing of the season.

[The Grim Squeaker]

Indeed. I figure the things would have some kind of carapace and padding around them, for what that's worth.

Or perhaps they were cave dwellers, or the brains were once more "armoured" before 2 centuries of eugenic breeding and suit-wearing.

Decent episode, 3/5 at most. The bombastic music was annoying again in the finale, and with the hunting of the Ood slave. The Ood just kept on getting Illithid-ier, from an Elder brain that absorbs things to pulling of the patented "Extract Brains" (The guard towards the end).

It amused me greatly that a species that serves others could never have evolved naturally, but one with an external brain and a magic immortal brain in a hole in the ice TOTALLY COULD HAVE. Worst writing of the season.

Well, er, 1/2 isn't so bad? . Maybe the external brains could electrocute someone as well, despite that making absolutely no sense, especially with Dona mentioning how they'd have to trust someone.

[mr friendly guy]

I give it 3/5.

The Friends of the Ood organisation reminds me of the Sons of Earth in the classic Baker episode "The power of Kroll". Essentially human organisations which disagreed with the way humans treat some alien life forms.

I thought it was a nice twist with Sigma at the end, although I pretty much expected them to have done something to the boss, although I thought it would most likely be poison rather than turning him into an ood.

All in all, an ok episode.

[Stark]

Except the Friends of the Ood are clearly terrorists.

I loved the Sigma bullshit. Oh they lobotomise them oh noez teh slaves... no wait Sigma is fully functional. Oh wait, they all are!

[mr friendly guy]

Except the Friends of the Ood are clearly terrorists.

Well they haven't seem to have done that much more in terms of property damage then say Greenpeace or Sea Shepherd have. (You might have been sarcastic, but it wasn't obvious from where you placed the smilie).

I loved the Sigma bullshit. Oh they lobotomise them oh noez teh slaves... no wait Sigma is fully functional. Oh wait, they all are!

Er, I thought it was explained as the Ood hive brain able to exert control over individual Ood. It just did it with Sigma differently than with the Red eye Ood. At least that was the Doctor's hypothesis and Sigma didn't disagree with him.

That being said, its clear that the Ood don't need all 3 components the Doctor mentioned to function. They can function quite well as long as the Hive brain can reach them, and in the absence of communication from the Hive brain they seem to function quite well as long as they have their external brain.

On another note the Doctor most probably wasn't that big a participant in this episode, in the sense that the Friends of the Ood and the Ood hive brain would have won without him. That being said, in the earlier episodes of the classic series, we would have the Doctor as just appearing and experiencing historical events, and not participating.

In that sense I don't see it any different. Not all time travel stories needs to revolve around the hero participating in history (ie history only happens as written because of the hero). They can still have adventures without having to be the hero, and I think a DW adventure where events happen without needing the Doctor to bail things out works just fine.

[Stark]

Well they haven't seem to have done that much more in terms of property damage then say Greenpeace or Sea Shepherd have. (You might have been sarcastic, but it wasn't obvious from where you placed the smilie).

Both, really. They were originally supposed to be some kind of activist group I guess, but here that FotO guy causes dozens of deaths on both sides, to further his agenda. He basically creates the situation. I don't recall if they mentioned how Mr I Can't Get Into Room 15 changed the bloody containment system, either.

Saying he only killed the Evil Nazi Stormtroopers who were Only Following Orders doesn't make him less of a criminal.

Er, I thought it was explained as the Ood hive brain able to exert control over individual Ood. It just did it with Sigma differently than with the Red eye Ood. At least that was the Doctor's hypothesis and Sigma didn't disagree with him.

That being said, its clear that the Ood don't need all 3 components the Doctor mentioned to function. They can function quite well as long as the Hive brain can reach them, and in the absence of communication from the Hive brain they seem to function quite well as long as they have their external brain.

Frankly, I think it makes more sense to just figure the Doctor's off-the-cuff knife-in-the-dark speculation is wrong. While he was ranting about 'compassion' and 'rage' and 'revenge' etc, it doesn't make much sense, since the ep clearly suggests that the Ood are 'free', or 'back to normal' at the end, with the 'totally evolutionarily plausible' brain in the hole coordinating the 'totally evolutionarily plausible' brain-in-the-hand-worth-two-in-the-bush guys... even though they've been fucking lobotomised! Retarded shit on top of childish 'lol they are bad slavery is bad okkkk?' shit is not good. Frankly, the episode lost me by saying 'lol servant race is dumb you noob' then saying 'but this other even stupider shit is way plausible lol'.

But hey, this has some guy not noticing his skull has been reconfigured until he *pop* turns into an Ood, so it's pretty much fixed at 'retarded'.

On another note the Doctor most probably wasn't that big a participant in this episode, in the sense that the Friends of the Ood and the Ood hive brain would have won without him. That being said, in the earlier episodes of the classic series, we would have the Doctor as just appearing and experiencing historical events, and not participating.

In that sense I don't see it any different. Not all time travel stories needs to revolve around the hero participating in history (ie history only happens as written because of the hero). They can still have adventures without having to be the hero, and I think a DW adventure where events happen without needing the Doctor to bail things out works just fine.

I really hope this isn't directed at me, because I don't care. I care about stupid plots, retarded exposition and a near total lack of drama, not the crazy need Americans have for there to be more space time travel with Doctor Jesus saving the day. It was a stupid episode, but not for this reason. It chronically mishandled a cool concept (ie, what made the Ood like they are) and was boring.

[NecronLord]

Saying he only killed the Evil Nazi Stormtroopers who were Only Following Orders doesn't make him less of a criminal.

Why? To be honest, I only recall the Ood killing the goons and buyers, and to be honest I laughed. The Ood want to kill guys who want to enslave them? Good for them.

[Lord Woodlouse]

The Doctor said the rage, fear and patience were all manifestations from the subconscious. Basically it seemed like they were saying these things will only manifest if there's extenuating circumstances. Something like a very advanced form of sleepwalking.

They did strike me as a particularly bizarre "evolution", but like Necron said it seems plausible that they're the result of some Sensorite uplifting.

...and my bet is that they're not going to be back to normal at the end. Clearly the HiveBrain can make up for some of the damage, but chances are the lopotomised one's are going to be way more dependant on the HiveBrain for "independent" thought than the natural born Ood.

[Darth Onasi]

Although since they want the brain running them either way, maybe the "lobotomised" ones have the advantage?
I mean look at Sigma, he's all cool with his ball thingy attached to his chest leaving both hands free while external brain Ood still have to run about holding their squishy organ.

[mr friendly guy]

I really hope this isn't directed at me, because I don't care.

It's not. Someone else made the comment earlier that the Doctor's presence was superficial as he didn't save the day, and this being the case detracted from the story.

[Big Orange]

Captain Darling peeling off his scalp then pucking out Ood tendrils was pretty darn graphic for a family show and is perhaps the first NuWho episode that deserves a 12 rating.

And I voted 3, a overall solid episode like "42", "The Shakespeare Code", "Rose" or "Tooth & Claw" that is certainly not outstanding yet far from awful, and I liked the the moment where the liberated Ood were standing in a circle (I expected it to turn into the BBC 1's current preview logo ).

And now for my rant:


Helen Raynor, a decent script editor that dropped the ball in Season Three, is coming back next week, penning the story for the Sontaran two parter and I'm now having low expectations to avoid serious disappointment.

But then again the last three early season two parters have generally been weaker than most of the latter season episodes, with only the Cyberman story not having too many serious issues (with a mostly strong cast, swiftly improving production crew and a very young Tom MacRae all giving a good account of themselves).

The Slitheen story had a very good set piece where a Slitheen ship sliced through Westminster, there was a shocking opening where Rose found out she had gone away in the TARDIS for a year, in addition to other truly wonderful individual character moments penned by RTD (usually revolving around Harriet Jones), and I also quite liked the goofily sinister Slitheen overall. But Mickey too easily hacking into UNIT's missle network and obese people farting dragged the proceedings down.

"Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks" mostly didn't work at all, even though 1930s NY was recreated very well on a relatively low budget, and there was a inspired moment where a Dalek emerged from a art deco elevator (but then the two parter swiftly went downhill from there, and why pathetic Pigmen instead of Robomen?!).

Now I don't expect the Sontaran two parter to be anywhere near as classic as Moffat's eagerly awaited story set in a haunted library or even RTD episodes such as "Midnight", I just want unpretentious and campy fun that is less annoying and disappointing than last year's Dalek clunker.

Hopefully Helen Raynor has learned from her mistakes and properly applied her creative writing skills this time, but then again I have the impression the Dalek two parter was plagued by rushed re-writes with the Daleks intended to not be featured at all, with another set of original bad guys being central to the plot instead, with the Daleks only shoved in during the writing period at the last minute (the producers likely thought it would boost ratings... ).

[Yuri2356]

I think one of the best ways to make sense of the ood's outer brain is that it's a essentialy an antenna for their telepathy, and not much else. Being out on a chord could allow them to get better reception at a distance, and the loss of it would only render the individual mute. This would also explain why the translator globe can be mounted there.

The submissive behavior of the slave-ood would be the result of some mix of having their link to the hive-brain dulled, and fairly conventional training/conditioning.

[Big Orange]

The Ood brains on the end of cords did look insulated and padded, since you can't make out the brain grooves. But that said the giant brain was silly, it would've made more sense if that the creature imprisoned in Warehouse 15 was a giant Ood creature resembling a Termite Queen that spewed out hundreds of Ood eggs for the evil human corporatists to collect.

[NecronLord]

I think one of the best ways to make sense of the ood's outer brain is that it's a essentialy an antenna for their telepathy, and not much else. Being out on a chord could allow them to get better reception at a distance, and the loss of it would only render the individual mute. This would also explain why the translator globe can be mounted there.

That... actually makes sense.

[Stark]

The Doctor said the rage, fear and patience were all manifestations from the subconscious. Basically it seemed like they were saying these things will only manifest if there's extenuating circumstances. Something like a very advanced form of sleepwalking.

They did strike me as a particularly bizarre "evolution", but like Necron said it seems plausible that they're the result of some Sensorite uplifting.

...and my bet is that they're not going to be back to normal at the end. Clearly the HiveBrain can make up for some of the damage, but chances are the lopotomised one's are going to be way more dependant on the HiveBrain for "independent" thought than the natural born Ood.

Sorry, 'fixing' something 'evolutionarily impossible' with something that only makes sense with uplifting is stupid. Uplifting also explains the original presentation. I mean, just look at the ep: 'that would be stupid' ... 'big immortal brain found in hole in ice'. What's an editor? They could have made this ep something really interesting (particularly since the Ood were presented as a race that imprinted themselves on humans and needed to serve due to some issue) but that was too grey-area for them, so they made it lolbotomies and whips and cackling nazis. I was still hoping setting the Ood 'free' would turn them into dangerous, aggressive people who killed without mercy but... oh wait, they did! lol.

Frankly I think it's pretty obvious that this isn't necessarily a 'happy ending', and I have no doubt they'll have it bite the Doctor on the ass (I mean, his actions were basically blind assumption). However, constructing complex reasons why the 'lobomised' Ood appear totally fine after the containment is dropped is unnecessary: the Doctor was wrong. Done, rationalised. He's been wrong before, and we have almost no idea what a 'normal' Ood would be like, and he has ZERO idea.

It's pretty funny people didn't draw the obvious link between the 'translator globe' and the external brains: before the Doctor's ignorant 'lolbotomy' rant, I assumed they simply put the brain in the ball with mods to allow it to translate using their telepathy. That wouldn't have been EVIL SLAVERY enough, though, so out come the lobotomies and whips.

I mean, Sanctuary Base had a telepathic control field. The factory has whips? Bad writing.

Why? To be honest, I only recall the Ood killing the goons and buyers, and to be honest I laughed. The Ood want to kill guys who want to enslave them? Good for them.

I only kill black people who want to rob me. GOOD FOR ME? Oh wait. 'Freeing the Ood' doesn't directly lead to 'massive causualties on both sides', unless you have some idiot fucking with containment and DRIVING THE OOD MAD. Just like the Doctor, he had no idea what he was doing, and it caused many deaths. I hear he's not responsible, though - I mean, with his high-level access he could just have gone public and had the operation shut down, but nah, needs more G36s! They didn't discriminate: were killing everyone and would have killed the Doctor. It wasn't a revolution, it was a massacre.

A stupid one too, since even if they'd succeeded, the humans would have returned and carpet bombed them all anyway. GO FRIENDS OF THE OOD.

[NecronLord]

I mean, Sanctuary Base had a telepathic control field. The factory has whips? Bad writing.

Hey. The expedition was a well funded imperial expedition; they could probably afford to be more careful with their Ood. The Factory hardly cares if some of them die, does it?

I only kill black people who want to rob me. GOOD FOR ME? Oh wait. 'Freeing the Ood' doesn't directly lead to 'massive causualties on both sides', unless you have some idiot fucking with containment and DRIVING THE OOD MAD. Just like the Doctor, he had no idea what he was doing, and it caused many deaths. I hear he's not responsible, though - I mean, with his high-level access he could just have gone public and had the operation shut down, but nah, needs more G36s! They didn't discriminate: were killing everyone and would have killed the Doctor. It wasn't a revolution, it was a massacre.

And? Slaves are generally never liberated without killing; even sedate examples of Western nations ending the slave trade involved a great deal of killing of pirates and illicit slavers. EDIT: It might have been more interesting if the Doctor had managed to arrange for the killing to stop here, and it would have given him something more productive to do in the story...

A stupid one too, since even if they'd succeeded, the humans would have returned and carpet bombed them all anyway. GO FRIENDS OF THE OOD.

Because of course, we're absolutely certain that the 2nd Empire even has an army now (It's notable that the Ood are suposedly its grunts). Or know anything about the wider situation... Oh, wait.

[Gandalf]

I cant help looking at the ood without thinking that they're probably delicious.

That said, I didn't mind it. 3/5.

[Xon]

Frankly I think it's pretty obvious that this isn't necessarily a 'happy ending', and I have no doubt they'll have it bite the Doctor on the ass

It sure as hell isnt a 'happy ending' for the second great and bountify human empire. They just had an entire servent race walk out on them.

[Umbras]

The first time I saw the Ood all I thought was damn they look like the Illithid from D&D and when they showed the Ood frying peoples minds with a telepathic attack and the hive mind, all I could do was laugh and hope they got the ok from WotC to avoid a copy write infringement suit.

[The Grim Squeaker]

Frankly I think it's pretty obvious that this isn't necessarily a 'happy ending', and I have no doubt they'll have it bite the Doctor on the ass

It sure as hell isnt a 'happy ending' for the second great and bountify human empire. They just had an entire servent race walk out on them.

I have the feeling this is going to have negative repercussions due to the Doctor's fiddling, Harriet Jones and the Master anyone? Especially with this seasons focus on galactic empires getting brutalized .