Doctor Who, Series 4, Episode 3: Planet of the Ood

"Planet of the Ood" was fantastic. A great story, several good comedy moments (especially the "quality" handcuffs) and one of Murray Gold's best scores yet. The Ood song at the end of the episode, marking their liberation from slavery, was the first genuine tear-jerker of the series and the highlight of the episode:



I was not expecting to enjoy this one anything like as much as I did. On the whole, I like earth-bound stories more than alien planet stories, and I was not particularly excited, before watching it, about seeing the Ood from Series 2 again. But it confounded all those expectations. The best -- and most entertaining -- review I have seen of this episode is on Behind the Sofa, Song from Ten, by Neil Perryman.

This is definitely the strongest start to any of the new Doctor Who series. Three episodes in and all excellent, and this one quite the best. Catherine Tate is a revelation. Five TARDIS groans from me.

Thus, for Series 4 so far, my ratings are:

Partners in Crime: 4 1/2 TARDIS groans
Fires of Pompeii: 4 TARDIS groans
Planet of the Ood: 5 TARDIS groans.