The Satan Pit

[vilakins]

I enjoyed The Satan Pit, though not quite as much as The Impossible Planet, but then I often think that the resolution doesn't match the build-up of mystery and anticipation. This happened a lot with Star Trek, and also with the whole Vorlon and Shadow thing in Babylon 5.

Comments

[kerravonsen]

but to make her the most important thing in the universe is just going too far

Agreed.

I like Rose when she isn't treating the universe and the people she meets as there for her entertainment.

Yes, absolutely. When she can stop thinking about herself, she's really got what it takes -- she shone here because... you don't have to do everything to help save the day; simply keeping people on track to do what they can do that nobody else can do, that is a good skill to have.

the beast/Toby shouldn't have fallen faster into the black hole than the ship

Er, um, he was accellerated by the air escaping? Though that whole sequence had much problems with it. Apart from being cool-looking Action, of course.

Toby had to be cast for his smile.

That plus looking like an Innocent when he wasn't smiling.

The station crew's characters were well-rounded and sympathetic so that I liked them and wanted them to live.

Agreed. Kudos to the writer, director, casting director and the actors.

[vilakins]

Er, um, he was accellerated by the air escaping?

Yeah, he'd continue to move away from the ship, I suppose. Eh, it's almost 1am and I should be in bed; will be soon.

that whole sequence had much problems with it.

Yes, I agree with your post about a bolt-gun being able to take out a window on a spaceship. :-P

[kernezelda]

Agreed.

I liked the panicked bicker/banter in the maintenance shafts, and each of the characters, and was glad that several survived.

And throughout, I kept thinking, whoever chained the creature had done everything in its power to give clear warning to stay away, and yet here are the explorers seeking it out. It occurred to me that it would have been sensible to just drop the asteroid into the black hole at the time, if that was an effective means of destroying it.

I liked the way Ida and the Doctor compared that human drive for discovery.

When the Doctor said Rose wasn't a victim, I thought of Idiot's Lantern, where she did proactively try to discover the problem, and was made a victim.

It makes me wonder if the Doctor isn't being set up for a heavy blow with Rose's loss.

The presence of the Tardis was not a surprise, though, because the Doctor and Rose were able to communicate with the station crew throughout, and given how far in the future they were, I misdoubt they had a common dialect.

[vilakins]

Exactly. Plus the TARDIS was dropped into the pit so that the Doctor would have a way out.

Yes, killing the beast outright in the black hole would be much more sensible. James Bond syndrome. :-P

It makes me wonder if the Doctor isn't being set up for a heavy blow with Rose's loss.

There are rumours that Piper may be going so I wouldn't be surprised.

[snowgrouse]

It's funny now that I think about it again--Rose seems to care more about the people in that ep than The Doctor does, and that's... worrying. What *is* The Doctor without his love of People In General and not just someone So Fantastic The Viewer Can't Possibly Be Anywhere Near Her Level Of Special?

And when you put that Only Caring For Rose bit against his lovely discussion with Ida... it does seem like RTD's done the ship pastede on yay thing again.

[vilakins]

Yes, it does look that way. The OTP stuff doesn't match the intelligence and complexity of the rest of the ep and got right up my nose.

[kerravonsen]

Agreed.

[daiseechain]

I think the Doc's having a mid-life crisis (you'll have to forgive me if this has been speculated on elsewhere - I'm not keeping up with the groups), and he went for a younger woman, who is, inevitably, outgrowing him. He's never going to settle down, and she's already voicing thoughts of buying a house together.

I just don't think a two hour tv series, has the scope to carry a story about defeating Satan. I thought the black hole was great, the cast were all excellent, and the ood were creepy. I would have been happier if they had stuck with an ood revolution, or some such, because I was underwhelmed by the resolution.

But I was pleased they finally got off earth and back to space. And I agree about Rose's ability to motivate the crew during a crisis.

[vilakins]

I don't think Rose was quite serious about the mortgage. She knows him too well, but domestic bliss was a nice thing to dream of in a bad situation. In reality, I think, it would bore them both.

I hope for more off-world stories, but I won't hold my breath.