Doctor Who's Sobering Slavery Story

[@HarboWholmes]

Make sure to check out my Patreon, it's...ood www.patreon.com/harbowholmes

[@cameronmonaghan6883]

That's...ood

[@GeorgeTheDinoGuy]

‘Tis ood

[@justanotherboneclock8639]

Hey Harbo why do you rank Rose as the worst companion (excluding the newest three dumbos) because as it just so happens I don't like her much either :)))))

[@phily8093]

I know that the Doctor's age is all over the place, but let's presume they are 2,000 years old (or at least their memories are after whatever The Division did to them on Gallifrey, when they were made to be a child again). To say that you are surprised (and lots of other people seem to be) that he would be bored of entirety of The Universe, and every moment of Present, Past and Future of The Universe, is ridiculous. Even if we are to take into account The Doctor's off screen antics, they must have seen 0.00000000000000000000000000000000001% of it, in both Space and Time, not to mention that they can do remarkable things that we can't (basically anything they want to), even without companions (ok I admit it would get lonely without one), how could you get blasé about exploration, when all that is considered.

[@milk_is_a_lie9331]

It is TV they need to fill the time up for the episode, much like when they have Klingons in an episode in Star Trek so they can complain... they need to fill the time up lol.

[@eeli8295]

The scene where he turns into an ood is probably the only scene in Doctor Who that I actually find genuinely physically disgusting and I love it

[@dylannoneyabiz2426]

more than the coughing up the gas mask? Cos I find the ood thing worse and more ughh arghh digusting icky but none of my friends agree ahah.

[@smorgasbord9940]

How about the bit where the guy turns into a masked child in The Silent Child? Granted the CGI hasn’t aged well. And that could be classified as more horror than grotesque.

[@thomasleongeorgerobertglad7560]

The part where the guy falls into the brain, imagine being THAT guy

[@ahumanbeingfromtheearth1502]

@@smorgasbord9940 I'm gonna disagree massively with the cgi not aging well on that scene. I think it still looks great to this day. Also it's "the empty child"

[@smorgasbord9940]

@a human being from the earth With you saying that I looked at it again and I must say in my mind I didn’t give it enough credit. The only thing I can actually say against it is that it’s got the hole vague soft light thing of all early 2000’s CGI. Other than that tho a serious round of applause for the BBC Special Effects Crew.

[@nicolebee3283]

My favourite part of this episode is when Donna says she wants to go home. The acting is amazing especially when Donna says that the doctor can still hear it

[@RileyWritey]

I miss moments like that. Small things that really hammer home how it feels to be The Doctor.

[@nicolebee3283]

@@RileyWritey and how it feels to be the companion how scary it is

[@akodaah13-e32]

donna is the B E S T companion in MY opinion... she is just.... UFFF, i just love her and how she cares for others

[@iusedtowrite6667]

The guy transforming into the ood scared the shit out of me when I was younger. Its up there with the Gas mask transformation from the Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances.

[@zigzagzoom369]

Those two scenes were both ones that stuck with me and where I worried the special effects wouldn't hold up on rewatch but nope, still terrifying.

[@ZielonaPastela]

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances remain as some of the scariest pieces of media ever created in my opinion. Especially The Empty Child.

[@jonathanskinner7647]

I really like this episode. Other than some dodgy CGI it's pretty solid and I'm glad it cemented the Ood as one of the reoccurring species

[@MovieMagic515]

Ths CGI is part of the charm.

[@christopheralthouse6378]

I don't like how the Ood are called 'monsters' though...that term implies that the Ood are monstrous in terms of not just look but intent as well and they simply are NOT monstrous in intent. It's established in "The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit" that the Ood are one of the most peaceful races in the cosmos and on TOP of all that, "Planet of the Ood" CLEARLY establishes the human race ITSELF as the aggressor being that it takes place on Oodsphere with humanity having invaded and enslaved them. If anything, it's the HUMANS who are the actual "monsters" in that episode. Perspective is really important with episodes like this...

[@JNest1]

Throw an Ood into an episode of Doctor Who and I will be happy

[@johnnavey6036]

@@christopheralthouse6378 I think you should have just made this as it’s own comment this just comes out of nowhere

[@orangepizzaparty688]

Something people don’t seem to notice is when the Ood say every song must end is that the doomsday song is playing in the background, suggesting that the doomsday song will end and indicating towards Rose’s return. Just a thought :)

[@matthewlacey4198]

I noticed that when I was watching it the other day

[@lucypreece7581]

This episode is always a tough watch but it is brilliant. hits all the right notes. emotional, has moments of humour but also is really powerful and profound. Also Catherine Tate in this episode is world class. She and Tennant already are a magnetic pair and she is always on top form but in this episode goddamn she is just sublime.

[@HedeccaTamer]

"Oi I aven't got slaves" "Who d'you think made your clothes?" This episode does in one line what Chibnall would need a whole episode to do

[@rkah6187]

I also like Donna putting the Doctor in place right after that, because it's very easy to be judgmental as an outsider, and the Doctor makes the same mistake we often do. (Of course, the Doctor does have a point here, but he says it in a way that implies Donna is directly responsible for the exploitation. Donna is right to call him out on it.)

[@HedeccaTamer]

@dr103 Probably because when Chibnall acts woke and progressive it's cringe as fuck. Like I'm part of at least 4 different minorities and I feel patronised by everything Chibnall does

[@karenhall4645]

That poor little Ood half buried in the snow always makes me tear up, just like I do when they find the find the caged Ood and Donna can hear them singing.

[@FreakyTeeth]

"She's the worst companion"? She rejected the doctor's offer of travelling in space alone and only joined him on the understanding that she could return to Micky with no time having passed out of selflessness. She wanted Cassandra to be saved despite having previously called her a "bitchy trampoline" and her having nearly murdered her twice. She was willing to die to stop Toby being shot in the Satan Pit. She was willing to be possessed by Cassandra to rescue the doctor in New Earth. She was willing to sacrifice herself to stop that Dalek in the bunker from escaping. Yeah she as Billie Piper herself put it "can be a bit of a cow" and she's stupid at times like in Father's Day. But she really has many moments of brilliance and selflessness and is an instinctively selfless person. Perhaps she's not the best, but she's not at fault for her behaviour towards the Ood not should she be thought of as an awful person.

[@rkah6187]

I'm fairly certain he's just saying things like this to see if you bite, he probably doesn't mean it. And anyways, being the "worst" companion of the Davies era is still a high compliment indeed.

[@FreakyTeeth]

@dr103 She never actually cheated on him with Jack and Adam, they just flirtedbafter Micky and her broke up after WW3 and she wanted him to come along with them at that pot, but Micky said no which wasn't Rose's fault. She was upset that he lied to her about Tisha Delaine to make her jealous. She was upset that the doctor dumped Sarah Jane not that he'd had other companions, the doctor did tell her he'd had other companions in the doctor dances. Yeah she was jealous, but she got over it, it wasn't so much a verbal attack as it was they both were as she pointed out: fighting over the doctor. She was joking when she said maybe Micky made up the alien invasion. She never complained when Micky eventually wanted to come with them at the end of "school reunion". But I reckon she was worried that him and the doctor would fight over her. She did admit she took him for granted but in the end she let him go and they parted on good terms. Her mother didn't need to leave the world she was born on because she'd never been through the void. She in the end did so because she wanted a family with alternate Pete, as she deserved. Rose didn't abandon her because as Pete himself pointed out: the Pete's world was safe. Rose has her moments when she is a bit rude like when she called Micky a "stupid boyfriend" in aliens of London, but that was really heat of the moment more than anything else. And yeah that thanks for noticing moment at the end of Rose, was a bit rude, although admittedly Micky had tried to pressure her out of travelling with the doctor. Added to which, she did behave very self-centred and self-absorbed when she didn't realize that Micky was copied by the nestines. But she got over that and worried over him after she realised. The calling Micky to Cardiff, was meant to be a catch-up. She wasn't being rudely demanding. No the doctor is not so shallow as to abandon her just because she grows old, because he promised. She is clingy when it comes to the doctor, but she is a sincerely selfless person, who just infrequently has brief moments of stupid and ungrateful insecurity and recklessness like in Father's Day, and even then, she upon realising what she did apologized. When it deeply matters and she realises what she is doing, she is really at heart a kind person and the doctor acknowledged that.

[@kbg12ila]

The thing is. People's negative reaction to Rose is because of who she is as a person.... That's just good writing because all the stuff that people find unlikeable is intentional but it's sincere and real and makes the show more engaging. You can have Amy, Clara, and Bill who are written to be likeable and entertaining but that can only go so far. Likeable doesn't create realistic characters and just ends up making you feel disconnected from the characters and in Doctor Who when the companions are the audience's entrance to the world, it doesn't pull you into the sci fi stuff as well as RTDs era did.

[@nick-jo3hy]

Mel ?

[@mpetty45]

rose sucks

[@DJtheBlack-RibbonedRose]

Harbo: "Does it deserve more recognition for its biting exploration of slavery?" *Proceeds to show me that this episode was used to sell toys at one point* 🙃😆

[@endymion3071]

There is something amazing though isn’t there, in having children play-time saving others. I remember playing “Doctor Who” with my friends and it was all about saving others and some of those friends of mine have grown up to be some of the most kind and caring people I know. It’s very bizarre hearing them selling toys, sure, Capitalisation is inescapable even to amazing tv shows, but taking that away there’s something good there in teaching kids to help others.

[@ohgoditshimrun1346]

Regarding the Doctor's claim of being 903 years old, that's very simple. When he stopped being the Doctor on Karn, and became the Warrior, he started over from zero. And when the Last Great Time War was over, he didn't remember anymore how old he'd been back when he called himself the Doctor, so he kept going with the current count (800 years as stated by the Warrior in the 50th special). And yet, the Ninth Doctor started out at 900. Which implies a century of adventures offscreen, without ever getting a glimpse of his own reflection. Odd, that.

[@rkah6187]

That is so heartbreaking when you think about it, though. The Doctor literally could not bear to look in the mirror after what he'd done.

[@EmotionalVortex]

1:10 That guy's enthusiastic talk of freeing the Ood from slavery caught me wayyy off guard that I almost choked on my own laughter 😂

[@gremlinwc8996]

I've never seen this ad or spoof or whatever it is so I was extremely caught off guard

[@TheSimmr001]

@@gremlinwc8996 it was an ad for a toyset. i remember seeing it on tv

[@gremlinwc8996]

@@TheSimmr001 ye I found the video by searching doctor who season 4 action figures on yt, it's amazing

[@FrumiousMing8]

First I want to say that I love your videos and I like that you give a fair rundown of even th most hated episodes. However, I think it's unfair to say that Rose didn't care about the Ood. I think she was pushing for them to be treated right in both episodes. The situations were completely different. Rose and Ten weren't in a position to do anything else except try to survive and escape from the Beast and the black hole. Whereas in this episode with Donna, they are literally put in front of a corporation that tortures and sells Ood. In my opinion, if Rose was in this position she would have fought for the Ood too.

[@frances7575]

didn't she ask them if they were getting paid? I can't fully remember

[@FrumiousMing8]

@@frances7575 yeah she liked asked them if they got paid and if they were happy

[@AdmiralOctopus]

@@FrumiousMing8 "The Beast and his armies will rise from the Pit, to make war against God."

[@karenhall4645]

Rose also asked since when did humans need slaves. The difference is in Rose's experience they were trying to kill her.

[@cheeseebun]

exactly this guy is just biased af against rose for some reason lol rose would've definitely fought for the ood if given the right scenario that was sorta her whole deal

[@DanTheMan2150AD]

Well this is Ood.

[@Rassilons-hand-me-downs]

Very Ood

[@Lizzieaftermidnight]

@@Rassilons-hand-me-downs very Ood indeed

[@matthewgraham3649]

That and the ood predicted the doctor Donna, by the way they said their names at the end as they were saying goodbye

[@stopstaringatmewtf7651]

1:10 I NEED THIS CLIP! The over exaggerated commercial voice just makes the serious thing he's saying so funny.

[@FrisoVB]

please tell me youve found it, i need this too

[@stopstaringatmewtf7651]

@@FrisoVB Unfortunately not... 😔

[@gremlinwc8996]

Same lmao Edit: I FOUND IT, Search "Doctor Who series 4 figure advert" on yt

[@oliviastratton2169]

I loved this two-parter growing up. The scene with the Ood psychic singing hit me hard. My only complaint was that the Doctor & Donna really didn't deserve any credit. When Ood Sigma told them the Ood will remember them, I was like: Seriously? What did they do? It's the undercover Friends of the Ood guy who should be remembered and celebrated. He died helping free them, after years of hard work on their behalf.

[@kbg12ila]

Maybe they did remember that man but they didn't need to mention that to the Doctor and Donna and I mean they did both show compassion towards the Ood so it doesn't seem a problem to me.

[@Cossfrack]

For anyone who complains about the last 2 series getting "too political" I always point to episodes like this. Doctor who has had episodes like this for years, you could just argue that they were just better written.

[@PwnZombie]

@dr103 I wouldn’t complain if the episode was well written, which this is.

[@christopherbennett5858]

If this episode was made in the Chibnall era, the Friends of the Ood scientist would be the main villain, the CEO would walk away unharmed, we'd lose the impact of the story by having Ryan pull someone away to talk about his Daddy issues and the only consequence the corporation would experience would be a month of shutting down business and maybe giving the Ood a Credit an hour. So... Kerblaam but with Ood.

[@niallcarrick6456]

The new series isn't bad because it focuses on politics,its bad because its writing is shockingly bad.

[@christopherbennett5858]

@@niallcarrick6456 Kind of reminds me of a character from the book series "A series of Unfortunate events". They're the headmaster of the school that makes it mandatory for the students to attend his 3 hour long violin recitals... despite being terrible at it. If there's something worse than a bad violin player, it's a bad violin player who refuses to acknowledge that they are bad. It's what makes Chibnall's era rather bad. Not to mention it tries to avoid consequences out of fear that people will complain, often accidentally making it look like they don't condemn the issues discussed.

[@Jackgames-vg7cw]

Christopher Bennett na don't forget the main villain in this episode is a white man so Jodie would sit us down to tell us white man bad

[@JoshSweetvale]

16:00 I like the scene with the grapple because it reinforces what we already saw. The Security chief is a *psycho.* It's not just callous businessmen that are the horror of slavery. The very worst of the worst usually get the job of slavedriver. 5:20 I also love that Ten doesn't mind the cold. Time Lords are a little tougher than humans; which includes better cold tolerance and lower body temp. All because of a 'doctors have cold hands' joke. Random theory: Some of the Time Lords's adaptations (cold resistance, respiratory bypass with two hearts) are genetic engineering to help survive getting spaced.

[@jtyler9130]

19:50 is David Tennants audition piece for Barry Crouch Jr in Harry Potter.

[@thegamerfromhell10]

Back when Doctor Who could tackle hugely political topics while keeping the story entertaining and instead of having huge speeches spelling everything out we just get cynical one liners like "who do you think made your clothes". Peak Doctor Who.

[@kaykutcher2103]

The speeches are what drove me away from DW. When eleven showed up nearly every other episode ended with a grand speech so I can imagine it only got worse with the addition of not only over explaining plot and character progression but also preaching whatever political matter happens to be relevant that week. As a kid I used to turn sitcoms off five minutes ahead of time because I knew they were going to play sappy music and explain the episode's moral lesson bit by bit a lesson I already picked up on rendering those five minutes pointless in my eyes.

[@frances7575]

@@kaykutcher2103 I never minded Eleven's speeches that much bc they were usually just him shouting at the bad guys/being his general (arrogant) self, but when they got all preachy it felt a bit out of place in the middle of an episode

[@Jackgames-vg7cw]

Frances because when he gave a speech most of the time he would bully the aliens as well also his voice was lounder

[@connoraltier7081]

If that same ‘who do you think made your clothes’ comment came out of Whittakers mouth youd hate it, dont pretend otherwise

[@creed8712]

@@connoraltier7081 Whittaker doesn’t have the same charisma as other doctors and we also know her doctor is a massive hypocrite

[@chin70]

12:36 You will be the first to go when the machine rise up against us

[@Hannahfab7]

I feel like Donna’s rudeness and attitude in her first episode could also be bc of the fact that it was supposed to be her wedding day so she was genuinely pissed of the entire time

[@andvitzeninn]

Rose never accepted what she was told. She stands to defend the Oods and when dismissed by the people on the base she goes straight to talk to one of the Ood to ask if their willingness was true and tries to show them she was a safe person for the Ood to talk to. Turns out the Ood is already mind controlled and says something about the devil killing everyone and then rught after they're attacked and the Ood becomes the enemies. What else was she supposed to do? I swear everytime someone shows to be a Rose hater on this fandom is purely based on things that never happened or straight up lies. If youfe calling someone the worst companion it should be backed up by the real events of the story you're quoting.

[@franl155]

I love how quickly Donna's humanity comes through after she first sees the Ood, how genuinely caring she is. I can't wait for you to cover the rest of this series ... ps I read a comment on another channel's review of this episode, saying that this doesn't count as an allegory for the slave trade on earth because the Ood are a different species. I'm in no position to make any judgements on that; I just throw it in for what it's worth.

[@victoriaturnershoemaker3723]

Rather how white people considered people with dark skin to be a different species or subspecies. They weren’t ‘real’ humans. 😢

[@christopherbennett5858]

@@victoriaturnershoemaker3723 Yeah, human history is rife with people trying to call oppressed groups as sub human as a way of excusing their abhorrent treatment.

[@overlydramaticpanda]

Allegory? Maybe not. Commentary? Absolutely. Though as far as the "it can't be allegory cos different species" argument goes, I think it's worth keeping in mind both that the Ood were still, at this point in the series, one of the most humanoid aliens that had been presented in the show (and thus were among the easiest for us to identify with), and also that slavery was widely excused even up to as recently as the US Civil Rights Movement by it being a generally accepted "fact" that slaves in general (and later just those of a different skin colour regardless of whether they were currently slaves or not) were automatically subhuman whose natural state was being subjugated. That kind of thinking even goes back to the days of the Ancient Romans, and it's still a common tactic in propaganda to use language that applies more to animals than to human beings to demonise a particular group (one of the most recent examples was during the Syrian refugee crisis, various politicians/right-wing media would refer to the migrants and refugees as being like "leeches" or "cockroaches" who were "swarming" across Europe). This episode is basically taking that mindset and bringing it to the logical extreme conclusion by applying it to genuine aliens.

[@godschannel4899]

Him calling rose the worst companion low-key ruined the vid for me lmao I will stan rose for life

[@beeeeeesbury]

NAH nardole peak companion

[@aussie7410]

I've always found the Ood unironically beautiful. Positively gorgeous. Then again, I think the Titanoboa should have never gone extinct.

[@the_armada5579]

The fact that they are born with their heart outside their body and carry it around is just so heartbreaking

[@nicholasfarrell5981]

A second brain, but yeah.

[@langdonledwig3734]

It is a second brain but yes

[@Warlock3417]

I think what they mean is that the second brain is technically their heart. Because the second brain contains their emotions, personality and feelings, people usually say that hearts contain those things. So maybe they mean ‘heart’ as a metaphor.

[@maddyc2412]

Not their heart their brain

[@JackFrost008]

brains not hearts dude...

[@misscattrap]

Ive always thought it would be interesting if Impossible Planet and this episode where switched... Learning they are slaves but finding out 2 series and years later their uprising failed and that humans will never change

[@mattevans4377]

Too dark for DW. There always has to be little bit of hope.

[@parodysam]

1 Ood costs 25 cents. According to the credits to pounds conversion the doctor mentioned in Voyage of the Damned (£1,000,000 = 50,000,056 credits), assuming that meant 2007 pounds, then adjusting for inflation, 1 Ood costs the equivalent of $0.25 or £0.18 in 2021.

[@AgherDeadpan]

I like it whenever Sci-fi has a creative allegory for something in real life, it allows the viewer themself to make the connection with something in our world and engages them but it also doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the show. However, whenever the show says "this is this" or makes it so obvious and in your face, it makes you unengaged and feel bad, which is not what I really want when watching a supposedly fun TV show. I think this problem is a massive issue in Chibnalls run (among other glaring issues) and whilst there have always been political or moral viewpoints and lessons in Doctor Who, it's so on the nose now that it's boring and lazy. This could also be attributed to a lot of Sci-fi in the last few years, i.e Star Trek Picard, etc. It's right to include this stuff, but it needs to be creative with varying degrees of subtlety, if I wanted to learn this stuff out right I would watch a documentary or the news.

[@rosellastar468]

This I totally agree with and personally think a subtle allegory and message is more successful than on the nose because the message becomes embedded in our minds along with the story and helps us learn but when it’s on the nose you normally switch off so the message isn’t learned it’s basically sloppy writing of people thinking I want a deep message in my story but I’m too stupid and lazy to know how to do it so I will make it obvious

[@christopherbennett5858]

Unfortunately, sometimes subtlety has a tendency to go over people's heads. Especially if it's so half hearted. The issue with a lot of the 13th doctor's "political" takes on things kind of reminds me of a film; Nightmare on Elm Street 2. The movie is lauded as a gay icon movie as it makes reference to aspects of the LGBT experience at the time. However, since those aspects were more visual and not really centre focus, this approach gets incredibly muddied and the only thing it has to say is "This exists, I guess". That's kind of where 13th comes in. Whenever it's anything political, it airs to the side of "This exists, I guess" without any resolution. 9th helped nuke a criminal family who abused the political system. 10th helped a slave rebellion. 12th punched out the guy being racist to Bill and forced two warring sides to talk about peace. What does 13th do? Nothing really. Even in the episode where she does something to the bomber in Kerblaam, she does nothing to make sure the company that screwed the planet open whose AI GAVE the bombs to the human workers to detonate and kill them, is left without any precautions. Series 11 and 12 hints at injustice but does nothing. It's very much the perfomative ally of Modern Who. At least 11 was upfront with his apathy to things like the Dalek prison camps.

[@frances7575]

@@christopherbennett5858 y'know I've never seen anyone give this take before but I fully agree, I think this is why the latest seasons felt so clumsy to me

[@christopherbennett5858]

@@frances7575 Thank you. It's something I've been noticing the last few years first in animation then shows like DW. Well, that and the snapshot redemption which Doctor Who hasn't done... yet. However, with characters like the corporate tycoon who sold Earth out to the Daleks and the abusive dad from "It takes you away", the only punishment is an absence of reward. Despite episodes being longer, the themes don't have much resolution, making them half hearted. In fact, some episodes like Praxeus have this Lovecraft vibe not because of Cosmic horror but because Lovecraft was a bad science student who was afraid of so much. I do remember there was this video loking at all the doctor's political compasses or the approximation. The most extreme left were 9, 10 and 12 with 11 and 13 being centre-right. 13 does come across as the kid who wanted to rebel against her conservative parents but, when faced with the real world, should have been confused as to why more left leaning individuals object to what she thinks. However, she's pretty much surrounded by Yes men who play the straight men to her... and never call her out until the New Year's special.

[@roguemeteorite6778]

@@christopherbennett5858 I don't suppose you would have a link to the video about the doctor's political compasses, would you? It sounds really interesting.

[@The_D0C70R]

When it comes to discussing slavery in popular British fiction, you get either the virgin Harry Potter house elves or the gigachad Ood.

[@beeeeeesbury]

"B-but we want to be enslaved!" shush Joanne!

[@robincarey6341]

I have to admit I was worried when I heard Catherine Tate would be the Doctor's companion, worried she would just be a pastiche of her sitcom characters. This episode proved to me that she is indeed a serious actress, and the character Donna, of whom I already was growing fond, firmly became my favourite companion in the whole Whoniverse. She has also had the biggest impact on the Whoniverse, none of the others were ever described as the most important man/woman in the universe, not for one shining moment. No one is singing songs of Amy Pond, or telling stories of Ace. Adric who? It's Donna Noble for the champions win. Sarah Jane Smith was something of a uniter, as shown by how many former companions attended her funeral. As such she will always be something of a legend. For many older fans she will be the companion of choice, but Donna Noble has a much "closer to home" feel which makes her so much more relatable today. Genius character, genius casting, I'm so glad we finally get the proper ending of the DoctorDonna's story.

[@DROOKiEZ]

I actually don't think that the scientist reveal came out of nowhere. Earlier in the episode, he accidentally bumbs past Ood Sigmas shoulder and he apologises for it. I don't know about you but when I first watched the episode that really struck me and I had it on my mind the whole time because we don't see any other human behaving remotely like that.

[@nextofkin2321]

4:30 yo thank you for ignoring the terrible timeless child bullshit, much love🙌

[@mgthestrange9098]

This is one of my all time favourites, it’s quite a grown up episode and it really cements Donna as one of the greatest companions. I love how it tackles a social issue without being too blunt (Chibnall take note!). The ending makes me bawl every single time I watch it. I have one thing I wonder about though, at the end of the episode when the guy becomes an ood and the other ood say they will take care of him, does that mean that they will look after him or kill him?

[@ZielonaPastela]

I'd like to think that they will look after him, now that he's one of them. To show the opposite of how he treated the Ood.

[@rkah6187]

They would not have gone to the trouble of turning him into an Ood if they wanted to kill him. Plus, the Ood are peaceful by nature, and I think the hive mind they share would prevent them from killing one another.

[@MaxFPSGamer]

The idea of the Oods secondary brain being removed to disable higher functions reminds me of the Dæmon severing in His Dark Materials.

[@Erinselysion]

I think the episode is kinda clumsy in terms of the effects & having to backtrack on the Doctor/Rose's actions in Impossible Planet/Satan Pit, but I still really really love it. It's very emotionally compelling and, like you said, shows the beautiful humanity that Donna has. I think one of the best things about DW, my favorite part of it being such a long-running series, is that it consistently brings up the topic of empathy and reminds all of us that we should never abandon it, even when it's difficult or painful to keep utilizing it. When I was in high school and having a really rough week, I used to turn on netflix and rewatch this episode so that I could get a cry out and keep moving forward, for my sake and for others. I guess that sounds cheesy but I'm really grateful I had DW as a positive influence growing up.

[@theentity5201]

The halpen ood conversion reminds me of district 9 a bit with vikus turning into a prawn

[@GrandadsLounge]

7:52 David Tennant literally flying to the rescue!

[@surrealistgirlx]

This is one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes. I cry my eyes out. You have amazing analyses; in this case the brilliant connection between the songs of the Ood and American slave songs. Cheers

[@roaming_holden]

It might seem silly but this is my all time favourite episode of Doctor Who, never fails to make me tear up

[@gremlinwc8996]

Why would it be silly? It's a great episode. And it's good that you can cry because of it, because that means that you can really empathise with the ood and engage with the story. I rarely cry because of some unresolved trauma, so it's good to know that other people can be emotionally healthy enough to be able to cry

[@lateralhistory]

The entire episode is a critique of empire. That map of the Great and Bountiful Human Empire isn't a heartwarming sight, it's a horrible one. Even the name for the empire is blatant propaganda. I never see it talked about but I find it interesting because it suggests there is a hierarchy at this time, built on propaganda and exploitation, and humans are the top of that hierarchy. Which strongly suggests anyone who isn't human is getting mistreated, just like the Ood. The Doctor saves the Ood, but he doesn't even think to ask about the fate of the other species living in the Great and Bountiful Human Empire. All those galaxies. All that space. Are we really to believe that humans and Ood are the only two species out there? I doubt it. And yet humans are all we see. The Ood are obviously the easiest to control, as the humans are literally cutting out their brains, but how many other species are being mistreated in other ways? How are the humans keeping them in line? It makes me think of the Teller in Time Heist, being forced to kill to keep his mate alive. I'd love to see more episodes exploring the dark side of this great human expansion. Just not written by Chris Chibnall. Watching the Chibnall era and then coming back to series four has given me a whole new appreciation for episodes like this. Planet of the Ood makes it look easy to write stuff like this, when apparently, it's anything but. I'd give my right arm for an era of Doctor Who where dodgy CGI or a goofy moment here and there was the worst thing that could be said about an episode. Especially an episode attempting to tackle such a loaded issue.

[@rkah6187]

Thank you for saying it. Whenever I hear "Great and Bountiful Human Empire", I get shivers down my spine. It sounds ominous, not something joyful. I am from a post-communist country and pretentious names like these are screaming authoritarianism to me. I can only imagine the bloodshed and violence that led to its foundation, especially since there is at least four of these 'great' empires.

[@carolinemcgovern4488]

I must say, it's such a shame we hardly hear anything about the "Great and Bountiful Human Empire" beyond these snippets, and even with these snippets, chances are it's not looking good for any alien that happens to be in the way of Human expansion and Imperialism- and even if the Ood get rights, well some other poor sod is gonna be in our sights and the whole cycle repeats itself over and over again.

[@dialpforpete621]

I agree with most of this. Especially the poorly judged Solana decision, I feel like she could've been a character we'd root for and subsequently more sad about her death if she hadn't have turned them in.

[@robbiesmith8055]

Posting this on a bunch of your videos to help metrics: Thank you so much for making this series. Doctor Who was my favourite tv show as a kid, and was literally the only interest that every member of my family had in common, so it was very special to us growing up. Watching all your deep dives into each of the NuWho episodes has been a very nostalgic experience for me, so thank you thank you xx

[@danm3882]

I never realised that this was the first alien planet we saw in New Who.

[@matthewlacey4198]

I mean Krop Tor and the planet in Utopia were also *technically* alien planets, as he says, New Earth was truly an alien planet, but looked like Earth, the Oodsphere was the first DISTINCTLY alien planet, I'd argue

[@The12thDimension.]

Everyone says the Ood transformation is horrifying (for good reason) but that guy at 21:49 just got his face eaten by one! And Dr Ryder drowned in a giant brain whilst being consumed alive!

[@TheSpencermacdougall]

Yah, know, this kinda makes me feel bad for the minecraft villagers i have in my trade hall/breeder (well, only a little)

[@enbyennui]

This is still one of my favourite episodes of the whole revival. Incredible combination of character development (for both Donna and the Doctor), strong commentary, and (mostly) fantastic dialogue.

[@noneya3635]

Donna has been the only really good companion in the modern era, just a good friend who can ask questions for the audience, but doesn't get all Dr. Kissy face in love with the doc. Funny, but able to stand her ground, and also be afraid enough to know when she wants to go back to the TARDIS because being with him can be too much.

[@zingertar]

I actually really enjoyed the crane chase scene, the actor of security chief was really chewing the scenery

[@cleanerben9636]

The crane sequence shows how sadistic the head of security is to make you hate him more making his death even more satisfying later on.

[@PwnZombie]

02:38 never noticed that’s Sophie’s dad from peep show. Though I know the other bloke is Darling from Blackadder

[@TelestoTheBesto]

"Not pieces of lifeless metal' It was at this moment, Skynet broke into his house and murdered him.

[@cosmichobo4216]

I wish That Doctor Who can make new recurring monsters.

[@rkah6187]

Well, they had the pting come back for the special, but I'd rather that one did not come back to the show ever again.

[@TheAlmightyGeoff]

This was my first episode of Doctor Who, so I hold this story very close to my heart. I get such a huge rush of nostalgia with series 4 in general, but this story always hits a little different to the others.

[@lilirishlad8702]

When the robot uprising happens in in 2046, your comment on Alexa/Siri will be their reasoning for eviscerating the Earth

[@jacobcordner]

I will say that despite the fact that the Ood home world was the first new alien planet in the Russell T Davis Era of Doc Who, to me the Ood home world just felt and looked like the Ice planet: Hoth from Star Wars, just my opinion

[@BrontoSmilodon1]

I remember I was on my lunch break and a co-worker literally said out loud, "I believe slavery is necessary". From then on not only did I stop respecting him after that but it kinda revealed how he probably saw me as a worker.

[@ashleywalla4087]

I'm bingeing your series 4 reviews and I wanted to point out some threads you pointed out in the others that you skipped over. Also sorry for the actual essay, I apparently had more to say than I thought and I'm as long-winded as the Doctor is when speaking techno-babble. I feel like this episode does a great job of continuing what you pointed out in Partners in Crime, even with a very short time to influence each other they are very similar and need each other. This is only Donna's fourth adventure and second in the TARDIS yet when they are handcuffed with the Red-Eyed Ood and the Doctor is trying to reason with the Ood, if I'm remembering the quote right, he says 'We are a friend of the Ood.' This is Donna's first alien planet, she could not have been living in the TARDIS for more than a week, that is a VERY FAST turnaround on him considering the two of them one entity, something I can't remember him ever doing with either Rose or Martha. If I'm right, you know this is intentional not only from the writers but the Doctor in-universe as that version of the sentence is grammatically incorrect and therefore doesn't roll off the tongue as well as the grammatically correct 'We are friends of the Ood'. This leads to the first drop of the phrase 'the DoctorDonna' at the end of the episode. While it's odd to viewers it also makes sense with these specific aliens because to the Ood, who have two brains per body and a third hivemind brain elsewhere it is not strange to them to connect those dots as 'this is one entity in two bodies and this singular entity is a friend to us and their name is the DoctorDonna.' So you as an audience member write it off like a joke, 'Haha. The Ood are just as wrong about the relationship between these two as the woman was but in such an alien way. What is funnier? These two are actually one being or these two are actually married?' Also, if I remember right this episode is the first time we see Donna interact with the psychic paper. The doctor is the one using it but while the marketing lady is looking at it Donna is the one saying what is supposedly on it and the woman does not say that they do not match up and based on the look of surprise from the Doctor to Donna, they did not talk about a cover story beforehand and so she couldn't have known what he was making show up on that paper and she guessed correctly. It's a great way to once again show that the two of them are constantly on the same wavelength and show how Donna is more mature than Rose or Martha by using her, comparatively, superior life experience to show that she quickly came up with a fake company and information for it so good that it is identical to what the Doctor came up with and they did so in a similar amount of time. I actually misremembered that psychic paper scene for a while and thought Donna was using it and the surprised look was from how good the coverstory was for her first time using it and that she had such control over her mind that it actually worked and showed up as she wanted it too. We know from the interaction between Jack and Rose that if you let your mind wander even the slightest bit while using the paper it won't work as you want it to and I had reworked it in my head to be like foreshadowing for how Donna lasts so long in the finale with the Metacrisis in her head, the Doctor and her are incredibly similar and she has great mental fortitude so while it will always overpower her, she is uniquely equipped to last longer.

[@druefreeman439]

I don't know why this particular video hit my recommendation list tonight, but by totally by coincidence I just watched this episode on DVD a few hours ago!

[@mattevans4377]

"You end up routing for the slaves to kill the slavers" Now where have I seen something like that before.....

[@Chris_Cross]

I can think of a few. But what are you referring to?

[@mattevans4377]

@@Chris_Cross Hint: There's a group of modern day people that wish to get 'revenge' for the slave trade, despite them never being slaves themselves, and the people they are attacking aren't actual slavers.

[@Chris_Cross]

@@mattevans4377 Sounds about right.

[@Barely_Edited]

@@mattevans4377 this is a hilariously biased read of modern events to the point you make it out to be a systematic targeted killing You cannot seriously be that unaware

[@mattevans4377]

@@Barely_Edited And you act like there is no such thing as the slippery slope....

[@fadikhoory5350]

I don't like how the robots from robots of death seem a little like the Ood. They attack you when they have red-eye and they're servants. I love the Songs of Captivity and the topic of slavery used in the episode. Edit: When I watched this after watching Edward Scissorhands I literally broke down throughout the whole day.

[@chiffon788]

I love the Ood. They are like peaceful Mind Flayers, but with a neat remote brain.

[@arthurvelwest5481]

It's sad that this British guy knows more about how American history went then a lot of Americans

[@justsomeguy28]

To be fair, the British Empire had the whole slavery thing on lockdown long before America was ever a thing.

[@arthurvelwest5481]

@@justsomeguy28 true, but in the video he is talking about American slavery

[@winternow2242]

The Ood Transformation scene was classic, cemented by Donna's reaction - she doesn't know what's right and wrong anymore. It's like Doctor Who was Rick & Morty before they even existed.

[@Tulf42]

I actually watched this episode twice last week, whilst I was editing my photos of me in the snow in my 10th Doctor outfit from this episode. (This is one of the reasons why I watch this episode, as it's rare to see the 10th Doctor in his blue suit and without a tie, the only other episode this happens is 42.) I could see why the crane chase scene was used from a logical perspective of wearing the Doctor out and making it easier to catch him rather than chasing him on foot with guns that would probably miss him as the Doctor is a fast runner, but I'll respect your opinion if it was unneeded as an action piece. I also remember saying I would never look at spaghetti, pasta or even wavy mincemeat the same way again when I first saw the ood in 2006 and this episode, thanks to Mr Halpen's transformation, which also explained why the S4 Volume 1 DVD was rated a 12 instead of PG. The Songs of Captivity and Freedom are some of Murray Gold's best, like Vale Decem and the Long Song. I also didn't think you could get any more jokes out of Sonic 06 after all these years but you've proved me wrong with the similarity between the city name Soleanna and minor character Solanna.

[@gamercore7833]

How can u say rose is the worst companion give a reason why She connects with the doctor the most

[@mrdr0161]

Because she's horrible to everyone around her

[@slutty_raccoon69]

I think it's just the fact at a lot of times she's written kinda to the side Lile Martha and Donna both took charge and had powerful roles and it kinda felt like rose had to fight a lot harder to be the doctors equal/have some kind of leverage

[@fastertrackcreative]

People say it's about slavery (which it is), but isn't it also about the meat industry which functions in a very similar way to Ood "processing"?

[@ShadeStormXD]

wow i was enjoying this until i had to hear that rose slander

[@sladewilson9718]

Hearing the song of the slaves and her choosing to not hear it is so powerful, and a great analogy for people turning a blind eye👍🏽

[@willmurrill3572]

That rocket looked like Thunderbird 3

[@jeniglace]

I'm so delighted that we're up to series 4 reviews, all of this really brings back good memories from when I was first getting into who as a kid :)

[@HuntingViolets]

I wouldn't say the Ood are monsters.

[@xGOKOPx]

And then in Pond life Doctor is like "chill out they're conditioned to serve it's cool", as if he wasn't the one to liberate them from this very lifestyle

[@thomasmonserud3701]

"You end up rooting for the slaves to kill their slavers" ...well, I mean... shouldn't you?

[@rosiehawtrey]

Captain Darling strikes back.

[@chaiidoost]

I honestly look forward to your videos. Thank you 🙏🏼

[@scantopup2226]

the commparison between the rocket and the tardis is very funny, the fact the doctor is offended whenever somebody disses the tardis is just funny to me

[@Dani-it9vc]

I've always adored the ood and the way they were explored more in this episode. Ever since the first story they were in they remained in the back of my mind. In my opinion they were one of the most memorable creatures in doctor who, even in just the first episode. Both in their concept and their design they really stand out in my opinion. I remember crying alongside donna when I first saw this episode. This is partially because of tate's amazing acting but also just because of how truly tragic and sad most of this episode really is. It's absolutely one of my favorites

[@ryancier]

"... because you end up rooting for the slaves to kill their slavers" this but unironically

[@walkblessed445]

Yeah, I kinda thought that was the whole idea.

[@philbogart7702]

This is how you do a slavery story on doctor who without beinh preachy. Chibnall take note

[@philbogart7702]

@dr103 these r beleivable charaters , 10 shows genuine concern unlike whitaker

[@philbogart7702]

@dr103 if chibnall wrote this i say its a good episode. He wrote countrycide and i liked that

[@philbogart7702]

She be useless there

[@sykeassai]

Now here's the thing, Rose is basically a teenager while Donna was already a fairly well rounded Adult before she met the Doctor. Maybe that's why Rose is and always has been a bad companion.

[@georgebellamy32]

Liked as soon as I heard the Sonic 06 reference.

[@ryanjones5133]

I have actually met Keith temple and he is a brilliant and humble man. Plus in are art college we did a radio version of this episode were I played the Doctor

[@ordinarytree4678]

the doctor and donna visit the planet of the ood to FREE THEM FROM SLAVERY. that made me laugh so hard

[@mathieuleader8601]

I want the doctor to have an Ood companion in the TV show

[@willadeefriesland5107]

"Ooohh... The CLAW. The DOCTOR, he is chosen."...

[@kylepitt8926]

This episode for me set Catherine Tate as a amazing actress

[@canadian__ninja]

I find it fascinating that Fires of Pompeii takes the bite out of the episode when it's the other way around for me. I vastly prefer this one to that one.

[@DarthZevrel66]

Rose was a great companion

[@scottbeard9603]

I love your review of this episode; great as always! However, I think this episode paints the Dr in a bad light. If he could hear the Ood’s pain early doors, why did he wait so long to try and save them? It takes until Donna can hear it for him to try and change it

[@connorchenery977]

JFC that commercial at the beginning unlocked some hidden memories

[@Lunabyes]

24:31 I can confirm this absolutely caused me nightmares when it came out. I was 7 and it absolutely terrified me. Still kept watching though LMAO

[@silkmoth7951]

When he talked about the relation between USA slavery and songs it reminded me of my country, Brazil I don't know much about songs, but is very common knowledge that during the period of slavery here, the slaves had a dance called "Capoeira" with, while being a dance, was also a way to practice fighting without too much suspicion It just seens so interesting to me this correlation between art of any kinda and the will and need for freedom, to be free. Of course is an easy connection, but still one I really admire looking at

[@youraveragepersonwalkingth6850]

Doctordonna. Hurts after the finale.

[@VelociraptorsOfSkyrim]

I never knew I would have so much in common with an Ood.

[@maddyc2412]

The Ood aren't monsters, you got that wrong immediately

[@chtholly8084]

The thing I like most about this episode is that it doesn't just portray slavery as being an evil of the white European, but of all humanity, because historically that is just the truth. Slavery has existed since the dawn of civilisation and pretty much all cultures on all continents have participated in it. They could have gone full-on Chibnall with this and turned into a 'the white man vs everyone else' episode, but the fact that the cast of humans is so diverse hammers home that slavery is a HUMAN sin and not solely the sin of any one race, religion, or creed. It's something that almost every culture on Earth has to reflect on, because all successful cultures on Earth, from European kingdoms to Islamic Empires, from South Americans, Asians and even certain African and Native American tribes benefited from their own slave trades at some point in history. Some countries (*cough cough* Qatar *cough cough*) are still even benefiting from slavery today.