These reviews are based on the UK broadcast of the series, which is several episodes ahead of the US broadcast, so beware of spoilers.
SUMMARY:
4126, the time of the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire, spanning three galaxies.
For the last 200 years, humanity has employed the services of the Ood, a telepathic squid-like humanoid race who are born to serve. But on their homeworld, the frozen Ood-Sphere, an outbreak of "red-eye" is growing. The Ood turn homicidal, using their translator spheres as lethal weapons.
The Doctor and Donna arrive and come across a dying Ood, who tells them "The circle must be broken." The Doctor tries to help, but it goes mad for an instant before passing away. The Doctor has seen this phenomenon in the Ood before, so he determines to investigate.
The travelers bluff their way into a group of corporate VIPs visiting Ood Operations. At the same time, Klineman Halpern, CEO of the company, has arrived to determine what is to be done about the red-eye, since Ood Operations scientist Dr. Ryder has been unable to determine the cause of the outbreak.
The Doctor and Donna slip away from the reception to explore the compound. They witness Ood being mistreated by Commander Kess, the sadistic head of security, and realize the Ood are slaves rather than willing servants. The Doctor failed the Ood once before, and feels he owes them one. Eventually they find themselves in a shipping warehouse; hundreds of Ood are crammed into freight containers to be exported across the Empire. They open up a container, and Donna asks the Ood why they don't escape, but they have no understanding of freedom. The Doctor asks them what 'The Circle' is, and they all chant "The circle must be broken."
Unfortunately their cover is blown by Solana Mercurio, head of the PR department. Halpern wants them quietly captured, but Kess's enthusiasm gets the better of him and he sets off the alarm. Donna is quickly captured and thrown into a shipping container with Ood beginning to exhibit red-eye. Kess uses the loading crane to chase down the Doctor, nearly killing him before Solana interrupts, admonishing Kess that Halpern's orders were to take them alive.
Donna is released from the container, but the Ood escape and begin killing the soldiers. The Doctor tells Solana he can help fix the red-eye and asks her to come with them, but instead she sets the soldiers on them again. They make their way to a cell holding natural-born, unprocessed Ood, which all seem to be clutching something in their hands. This turns out to be a hind brain, the part of the Ood that gives them their personality. The Doctor realizes the company has been lobotomizing the Ood, replacing the hind brain with the translator spheres.
The Doctor and Donna are captured again and taken to Halpern's office, where he accuses them of being 'Friends of the Ood' terrorists. The Doctor is horrified to learn Halpern plans to gas the entire stock of Ood, but before this can happen every Ood in the compound goes mad, slaughtering the soldiers and the VIPs.
Halpern and Dr. Ryder escape to Warehouse 15. Something has been contained within for two centuries, and Halpern plans to destroy it. A trio of Ood advance on the Doctor and Donna, but the group of unprocessed Ood recognize them as friends and telepathically link with their bretheren, stopping them from killing the travelers. The Doctor needs to find out where Halpern has gone, and he and Donna are unexpectedly guided by Ood Sigma, Halpern's personal Ood, and the only processed one who has not been affected by the red-eye.
They enter Warehouse 15 and finally learn the whole truth. The Warehouse contains a massive brain, the group-mind that links all Ood together. But the brain has been inhibited by a dampening field placed around it - this is 'The Circle' that must be broken. The field has kept the Ood from joining together in telepathic song for 200 years, leaving them vulnerable and easily exploited. Halpern plans to blow up the master brain, but Dr. Ryder reveals that he is a 'Friends of the Ood' agent, and has lowered the field strength over tp it's minimum, which is the real cause for the red-eye.
Halpern throws Ryder from the gantry, and he is absorbed by the brain. Halpern then plans to shoot the Doctor and Donna, but he suddenly feels unwell. The hair tonic he has been taking is actually Ood-graft, which Sigma has been feeding him for years. The Doctor deduces that while the rabid Ood were anger, and the red-eye Ood were revenge, Sigma was the manifestation of the master brain's patience. With the field lowered, the brain's proximity activates the graft which transforms Halpern into an Ood. The Doctor then siwtches the field off completely, ending the red-eye and allowing the Ood to sing once again.
The song stretches across the three galaxies of the Empire, calling all Ood home and ending their centuries of slavery. The Ood are grateful, and will remember the Doctor and Donna in their song for generations to come. But Sigma says the Doctor's song "may end soon."
REVIEW:
And now we have the first alien planet of the new season.
Since the Doctor travels through space as well as time, one of the major challenges the series has always faced is the creation of alien worlds. Some attempts have proved more effective than others. In the classic series, rock quarries were often used, and it became an in-joke within the fan community. The quarry sollution is still used in the new series, but thanks to advances in CG technology, computer generated panoramas have replaced models.
While they make use of a quarry in this episode, besides painting the ground white and pumping out artificial snow, they also produce several stunning backgrounds of ice fields, mountains, and the requisite planets visible in the sky. This is all beautifully rendered and adds that extra quality that really makes the audience believe they are viewing another world.
The Ood were originally featured in Season 2, in the 2-part story The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit. That story established them as a servant race, as well as their telepathic abilities. While they were an integral part of the story, not much else was revealed about them. This story manages to fill in that backstory, showing that the Ood are not in fact content servants, but slaves. The Doctor is reminded of his failure to save the group of Ood he met last time, so he feels obligated to help them now, especially after he discovers how they are mutilated into subserviance.
Slavery is the central theme of the episode. In many ways this is a cautionary tale, reminding us of our own past and warning us that humanity's dark side could rear it's ugly head again in the future.
Catherine Tate once again puts in a good performance, from Donna's initial reaction of horror at the Oods' appearance, to sympathizing with them.
By far the best sequence of the episode is the Doctor's run through the warehouse as he's being chased by the giant loading claw. If there was a vote for best scenes of the season, that one would be up among the top picks so far.
BUILDING THE STORY ARC:
Nothing overt this time around, although Ood Sigma's comment to the Doctor, "I think your song must end soon," is rather ominous.
REACTION:
This was definitely a middle-of-the-road episode. Not among the worst, and not among the best, but still a decent story.
The guest characters don't really do anything to distingush themselves: Halpern is the typical greedy businessman/slave merchant, Commander Kess is the typical sadistic soldier, and Solana is so caught up by the status quo that she gives the Doctor and Donna away rather than acknowledge that the way the Ood are being treated is wrong. The revelation that Dr. Ryder is a Friend of the Ood is brought out and then glossed over just as quickly with his death in less than a minute of revealing his true colors.
A good day out for Tennant and Tate and a well-deserved back story for the Ood, but nothing much else to distinguish itself. Although after the roller coaster of the previous episode, this is probably a good thing.
