The Satan Pit
Encyclopedia
"The Satan Pit" is an episode in the British
science fiction television series Doctor Who
. It is the second part of a two-part story, following "The Impossible Planet
". With the TARDIS seemingly lost, Rose and the remaining humans are trapped on the base with the possessed Ood
, while the planet floats helplessly towards a black hole
. Meanwhile, the Doctor is about to discover exactly what "Beast" is trapped in the heart of the impossible planet.
The episode was first broadcast on 10 June 2006.
and science officer Ida Scott investigate the strange door deep in the planet Krop Tor, Rose
and the rest of the human crew flee from the advancing Ood
, all possessed by The Beast, and regroup to come up with a plan. The group initially believe Toby to be possessed by The Beast, but when they observe a force leaving his body and return to the Ood, they conclude that he has regained his own will. The Doctor makes contact with the crew, revealing that while the door has opened, nothing came out of it. He offers to rappel down the sides to explore further.
As the crew struggles to fight against the advancing horde, attempting to free Captain Zack who is trapped inside the control room and making their way to an escape rocket, the Doctor descends into the open door into a seemingly bottomless pit. The Beast communicates with the Doctor and the rest of the crew through the Ood; the Beast explains he is the epitome of evil across many different religions, as he had been sealed in the planet's Pit since "before time" by the Disciples of the Light, and is seeking to escape. When the Doctor runs out of rope, he opts to drop down, causing Rose to be distressed over his fate. Ida finds herself unable to return to the surface and running short on air. As the Ood continue their attack, the crew is whittled down to just Zack, Rose, Danny and Toby, who board and launch the escape rocket.
The Doctor finds himself in a cave depicting the capture of The Beast, and discovers two jars on pedestals a few feet from each other. Touching them causes the cavern to fill with light, revealing the giant physical form of The Beast, complete with caprine
head and humanoid body, chained to the walls of the cavern. The Doctor quickly deduces from the unintelligible grunts coming from The Beast that the consciousness of The Beast has already managed to escape. He also comes to understand that Krop Tor was a perfect prison for The Beast, as should he escape, the gravity field keeping the planet in orbit about the black hole would collapse, taking The Beast with it. The Doctor, aware that Rose will be put in danger by destroying the gravity field, proceeds to smash the jars, destroying the generators and causing the planet to fall into the event horizon, The Beast's physical form writhing in pain. The Doctor, though willing to sacrifice himself, manages to come across his TARDIS
in another part of the cavern.
Meanwhile, the escape rocket struggles against the black hole's gravity with the energy source now destroyed. The Beast, defiant from being killed, reveals itself as still possessing Toby. Rose takes a yellow-stripped Boltgun and shoots out the rocket's viewscreen and disengages Toby's harness, causing the possessed being to be blown out into space and into the black hole. The cabin is shortly sealed by automatic shields, but the rocket still lacks the power to escape the gravity well. They suddenly find their ride has smoothed out and are being moved far away from the black hole; the Doctor, over a communications channel, reveals that he and Ida are both safe, and that he is using the TARDIS to tow the rocket to safety. However, the Doctor reports he did not have time to go back and save the Ood, innocent victims of the Beast's possession. Once safe, the respective crews regroup and then depart to go their separate ways. As they return to Earth, Zack reads off the list of personnel that died, including the Ood.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. It is the second part of a two-part story, following "The Impossible Planet
The Impossible Planet
"The Impossible Planet" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the first part of a two-part story, followed by "The Satan Pit". The TARDIS lands in a base on a planet orbiting a black hole, an allegedly impossible situation that stumps even the Doctor...
". With the TARDIS seemingly lost, Rose and the remaining humans are trapped on the base with the possessed Ood
Ood
The Ood are a fictional alien species with telepathic abilities from the long running science fiction series Doctor Who. In the series' narrative, they live in the distant future ....
, while the planet floats helplessly towards a black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
. Meanwhile, the Doctor is about to discover exactly what "Beast" is trapped in the heart of the impossible planet.
The episode was first broadcast on 10 June 2006.
Plot
While the DoctorDoctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
and science officer Ida Scott investigate the strange door deep in the planet Krop Tor, Rose
Rose Tyler
Rose Marion Tyler is a fictional character portrayed by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was created by series producer Russell T Davies...
and the rest of the human crew flee from the advancing Ood
Ood
The Ood are a fictional alien species with telepathic abilities from the long running science fiction series Doctor Who. In the series' narrative, they live in the distant future ....
, all possessed by The Beast, and regroup to come up with a plan. The group initially believe Toby to be possessed by The Beast, but when they observe a force leaving his body and return to the Ood, they conclude that he has regained his own will. The Doctor makes contact with the crew, revealing that while the door has opened, nothing came out of it. He offers to rappel down the sides to explore further.
As the crew struggles to fight against the advancing horde, attempting to free Captain Zack who is trapped inside the control room and making their way to an escape rocket, the Doctor descends into the open door into a seemingly bottomless pit. The Beast communicates with the Doctor and the rest of the crew through the Ood; the Beast explains he is the epitome of evil across many different religions, as he had been sealed in the planet's Pit since "before time" by the Disciples of the Light, and is seeking to escape. When the Doctor runs out of rope, he opts to drop down, causing Rose to be distressed over his fate. Ida finds herself unable to return to the surface and running short on air. As the Ood continue their attack, the crew is whittled down to just Zack, Rose, Danny and Toby, who board and launch the escape rocket.
The Doctor finds himself in a cave depicting the capture of The Beast, and discovers two jars on pedestals a few feet from each other. Touching them causes the cavern to fill with light, revealing the giant physical form of The Beast, complete with caprine
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
head and humanoid body, chained to the walls of the cavern. The Doctor quickly deduces from the unintelligible grunts coming from The Beast that the consciousness of The Beast has already managed to escape. He also comes to understand that Krop Tor was a perfect prison for The Beast, as should he escape, the gravity field keeping the planet in orbit about the black hole would collapse, taking The Beast with it. The Doctor, aware that Rose will be put in danger by destroying the gravity field, proceeds to smash the jars, destroying the generators and causing the planet to fall into the event horizon, The Beast's physical form writhing in pain. The Doctor, though willing to sacrifice himself, manages to come across his TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
in another part of the cavern.
Meanwhile, the escape rocket struggles against the black hole's gravity with the energy source now destroyed. The Beast, defiant from being killed, reveals itself as still possessing Toby. Rose takes a yellow-stripped Boltgun and shoots out the rocket's viewscreen and disengages Toby's harness, causing the possessed being to be blown out into space and into the black hole. The cabin is shortly sealed by automatic shields, but the rocket still lacks the power to escape the gravity well. They suddenly find their ride has smoothed out and are being moved far away from the black hole; the Doctor, over a communications channel, reveals that he and Ida are both safe, and that he is using the TARDIS to tow the rocket to safety. However, the Doctor reports he did not have time to go back and save the Ood, innocent victims of the Beast's possession. Once safe, the respective crews regroup and then depart to go their separate ways. As they return to Earth, Zack reads off the list of personnel that died, including the Ood.
Continuity
- In the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, the episode "End of DaysEnd of Days (Torchwood)"End of Days" is the thirteenth episode and the first series finale of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It originally aired on BBC Three on 1 January 2007, alongside the previous episode, "Captain Jack Harkness". The episode was written by Chris Chibnall and directed by...
" features a creature called AbaddonAbaddonAbaddon in the Revelation of St. John, is the king of tormenting locusts and the angel of the bottomless pit. The exact nature of Abaddon is debated, but the Hebrew word is related to the triliteral root אבד , which in verb form means "to perish."...
, which is also described as "son of the great beast". It also was sealed away "before time" similarly to the Beast. - Zack identifies the expedition as representing the Torchwood ArchiveTorchwood InstituteThe Torchwood Institute is a fictional secret organization from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood. It was established in 1879 by Queen Victoria after the events of "Tooth and Claw". Its prime directive, is to defend the earth against...
. - Jefferson remarks that he was "a bit slow", echoing Rose's words as she tried and failed to escape from the DalekDalekThe Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
in "DalekDalek (Doctor Who episode)"Dalek" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 30 April 2005. It should not be confused with the first Dalek serial, The Daleks...
". - The Beast claims that Rose is destined to die in battle. While this does not come to pass in the episode, it foreshadows events in the season finale, "DoomsdayDoomsday (Doctor Who)"Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the revival of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006...
". Russell T Davies mentions this statement from the Beast in the downloadable episode commentary, stating that everything else the Beast said about the characters' fears was true. - The Doctor says it is "impossible" for the Beast to have existed before Time. In the Virgin New AdventuresVirgin New AdventuresThe Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
, a number of Doctor Who monsters were said to be Great Old Ones from the universe before this one and radically transformed by the shift to the present universe. - Danny says that the broadcast flare will cause a "brain storm" in the Ood. This term was used by the Doctor in "The Age of SteelThe Age of Steel"The Age of Steel" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 20 May 2006 and is the second part of a two-part story that was the first to feature the Cybermen since Silver Nemesis in 1988. The first part, "Rise of the Cybermen", was...
" to explain why it was dangerous to simply disconnect the entranced humans from the EarPods that were controlling them. - When the Doctor abseilsAbseilingAbseiling , rappelling in American English, is the controlled descent down a rock face using a rope; climbers use this technique when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection.- Slang terms :...
into the Pit, he lists some planets and races whose mythologies have horned demons, speculating that they are inspired by the Beast. Among the planets he mentions are DraconiaDraconian (Doctor Who)The Draconians are a fictional extraterrestrial race from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Their only television appearance to date was in the 1973 serial Frontier in Space. Unlike many "monster" races in Doctor Who, the Draconians were articulate and portrayed as having a...
(Frontier in SpaceFrontier in SpaceFrontier in Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from February 24 to March 31, 1973...
) and Dæmos, planet of the horned Dæmon Azal (The DæmonsThe DæmonsThe Dæmons is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in five weekly parts from May 22 to June 19, 1971.-Plot:...
). In The Dæmons, the Third DoctorThird DoctorThe Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
speculated that the Dæmons inspired the stories of demons in Earth mythology. In this episode, the Doctor also makes reference to the Kaled god of war (The DaleksThe DaleksThe Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from 21 December 1963 to 1 February 1964...
, Genesis of the DaleksGenesis of the DaleksGenesis of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was originally broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1975. It marks the first appearance of Davros, the creator of the Daleks.-Plot:...
). Davies stated in the Doctor Who ConfidentialDoctor Who ConfidentialDoctor Who Confidential is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode was broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly...
episode "Religion and Myth" that they aimed to create a "Russian doll" effect, wrapping this episode around The Dæmons. - The shot of the rocket flying into space resembles Maitland's ship leaving the planet of The SensoritesThe SensoritesThe Sensorites is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from June 20 to August 1, 1964. The story is notable for its early demonstration of Susan's telepathy and references to the Doctor and her home planet.-Plot:The...
, which was the first ever exterior shot of a spaceship in flight in space in Doctor Who. In the previous Doctor Who Confidential episode "You've Got the Look", Davies said that he wanted the Ood to resemble the Sensorites, and that he likes to think that they come from a planet near the Sense Sphere. This was later confirmed on screen in "Planet of the OodPlanet of the Ood"Planet of the Ood" is the third episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 19 April 2008. It features the return of the Ood, who appeared in the second series episodes "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit".The episode...
". - The Doctor said that he believed in Rose. In the serial The Curse of FenricThe Curse of FenricThe Curse of Fenric is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 25 October to 15 November 1989...
, the Seventh DoctorSeventh DoctorThe Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
was able to psychically repel a force of Haemovores using his faith in his past companions. - The TARDIS is shown towing the rocket by means of an unseen and unspecified force, capable of doing this against the pull of a black hole or by nullifying the hole's gravitational attraction. In The Creature from the PitThe Creature from the PitThe Creature from the Pit is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 27 October to 17 November 1979.-Synopsis:On the planet Chloris, metal is scarce....
the TARDIS uses its "gravity tractor beam" to hold a neutron starNeutron starA neutron star is a type of stellar remnant that can result from the gravitational collapse of a massive star during a Type II, Type Ib or Type Ic supernova event. Such stars are composed almost entirely of neutrons, which are subatomic particles without electrical charge and with a slightly larger...
and in Delta and the BannermenDelta and the Bannermen-Preproduction:*This was the first three-part story since Planet of Giants , not counting the 3 x 45 minute episodes of The Two Doctors, which had been broadcast two years previously, and the first intended to be this length....
a similar function is used to cushion the fall of another spacecraft disguised as an old bus. This TARDIS ability is also seen in Journey's End as a means to "tow" the Earth back into place. - Ida briefly travels in the TARDIS. Her later words imply she was largely unconscious for the duration of her trip, as she is unable to remember the TARDIS's interior.
- The Doctor refers to how his race "invented" black holes. This is a reference to the Eye of HarmonyEye of HarmonyThe Eye of Harmony is an artificial black hole created by the Time Lords to provide energy for their home world of Gallifrey and their time travel technology in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-First appearances:...
, the black hole-derived power source used by the Time-Lords as established in the original series. - The Beast calls the Doctor the "killer of his own kind", suggesting explicitly the Doctor's involvement with the destruction of all the Time Lords in the last great Time WarTime War (Doctor Who)The Time War, more specifically called The Last Great Time War, is a conflict within the fictional universe of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
. This is later alluded to in "The Sound of Drums", "Journey's EndJourney's End (Doctor Who)"Journey's End" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who first broadcast on BBC One on 5 July 2008. It is the second episode of a two-part crossover story featuring the characters of spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane...
" to a lesser extent, and "The End of TimeThe End of TimeThe End of Time: The Next Revolution in Our Understanding of the Universe, also sold with the alternate subtitle The Next Revolution in Physics, is a 1999 science book in which the author Julian Barbour argues that time exists merely as an illusion.-Auto-biography:The book begins by describing how...
." - Gravity globes would reappear in "The Time of AngelsThe Time of Angels"The Time of Angels" is the fourth episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on 24 April 2010 on BBC One. It is the first episode of a two-part story written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith; the second episode was...
".
Production
- In this episode's Doctor Who Confidential, Davies said that in order to inspire the design of the Beast, he sent the visual designers at The Mill images of paintings by Simon BisleySimon BisleySimon Bisley is a British comics artist best known for his 1990s work on ABC Warriors, Lobo and Sláine. His style, reliant on paints, acrylics, inks and multiple-mediums, is strongly influenced by Frank Frazetta, Bill Sienkiewicz, Gustav Klimt, Salvador Dalí, Egon Schiele, and Richard Corben...
, a comics artist known for muscular grotesqueries. - The scenes with the Beast and the Doctor were filmed at Clearwell CavesClearwell CavesClearwell Caves, at Clearwell in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, is a natural cave system which has been extensively mined for iron ore. It now operates primarily as a mining museum....
, last seen as the Sycorax ship in "The Christmas InvasionThe Christmas Invasion"The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is Christmas, but there is little cause for celebration as planet Earth is invaded by aliens known as the Sycorax...
". - In the episode commentary, Davies said that an early draft of the script called for the role of the Ood to be filled by the same species as the SlitheenSlitheenThe Slitheen are a family of massive, bipedal extraterrestrials from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and they are adversaries of the Doctor. They first appeared in the 2005 series episodes "Aliens of London" and "World War Three", and subsequently recur in later episodes of...
. Their race would have been enslaved and they wished to awaken the Beast, whom they believed to be a god that could free them. - Davies claims credit for naming the Ood in the accompanying episode of Doctor Who Confidential as a play on the word "odd".
- Davies also mentioned that one of many unused ideas for a creature in this episode would be used in series three, this turned out to be the Toclafane from "The Sound of DrumsThe Sound of Drums"The Sound of Drums" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 23 June 2007, and is the twelfth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series...
"/"Last of the Time LordsLast of the Time Lords"Last of the Time Lords" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 30 June 2007, and is the thirteenth and final episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series...
" as revealed via Davies comments in Doctor Who MagazineDoctor Who MagazineDoctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
Series Three Companion. - The Sanctuary Base 6 corridor set was recycled to become the entrance to the set for Totally Doctor WhoTotally Doctor WhoTotally Doctor Who is a children's television series produced by the BBC that was originally broadcast between 13 April 2006 and 29 June 2007, accompanying the second and third revived series of Doctor Who. No episodes have been produced following the third series...
. - According to the DVD commentary, the final scene in the TARDIS where the Doctor says "the stuff of legend" was the last major scene shot for the 2006 series, and the last to feature Billie Piper (whose actual final episode had been filmed weeks earlier). It was not, however, the very last scene filmed for the season, which was the "cliffhanger" scene at the very end of "Doomsday".
Outside references
- During the TARDISODETARDISODETardisodes are mini-episodes of the television programme Doctor Who created to accompany the 2006 series of the programme. Made by Doctor Who producers BBC Wales, each Tardisode is approximately 60 seconds long and serves as an introduction to one of the actual 45-minute episodes...
for this episode, the letters "SB6" (presumably standing for Sanctuary Base 6) are seen on a display changing into the numbers "666Number of the BeastThe Number of the Beast is a term in the Book of Revelation, of the New Testament, that is associated with the first Beast of Revelation chapter 13, the Beast of the sea. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of the Beast is...
". - While considering human curiosity, the Doctor quotes "[For fools rush in] where angels fear to tread", from Alexander PopeAlexander PopeAlexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
's An Essay on CriticismAn Essay on CriticismAn Essay on Criticism is one of the first major poems written by the English writer Alexander Pope . It is written in a type of rhyming verse called heroic couplets....
.
Broadcast and DVD release
- Overnight ratings for "The Satan Pit" came in at 5.5 million viewers. While these are the lowest to date, the good weather, combined with the first EnglandEngland national football teamThe England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
game of the 2006 World Cup2006 FIFA World CupThe 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
are factors to be considered. Moreover, "The Satan Pit" had an audience share of 35%, meaning that its overall share has remained static and it was the third most watched programme of the day, after the England vs. Paraguay game and CasualtyCasualty (TV series)Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
. The audience Appreciation IndexAppreciation IndexThe Audience Appreciation Index is a score out of 100 which is used as an indicator of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom. Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by BARB, the organisation that compiles television...
for the episode was 86. The final consolidated rating was 6.08 million. - This episode was shown the Saturday after 6/6/06Number of the BeastThe Number of the Beast is a term in the Book of Revelation, of the New Testament, that is associated with the first Beast of Revelation chapter 13, the Beast of the sea. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of the Beast is...
, with the first part airing the Saturday before, hence it bookmarked a week full of Devil-related stories in the media. - This episode and "The Impossible PlanetThe Impossible Planet"The Impossible Planet" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the first part of a two-part story, followed by "The Satan Pit". The TARDIS lands in a base on a planet orbiting a black hole, an allegedly impossible situation that stumps even the Doctor...
" were released in the UK, together with "Love & MonstersLove & Monsters"Love & Monsters" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In this episode, an ordinary man named Elton Pope becomes obsessed with a man called the Doctor and his strange blue box, and joins a group of like-minded people in hopes of finding him...
", as a basic DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
with no special features on 7 August 2006.
External links
- TARDISODE 9
- Episode Commentary by Russell T Davies, Peter McKinstry, and Gareth Skelding (MP3)
- "The Satan Pit" episode homepage