History Recap / DoctorWhoS30E3PlanetOfTheOod

** Donna compares the TARDIS unfavourably to a big rocket-ship ("You've got a box, he's got a Ferrari!"), much like the Doctor compared Jack's Vortex Manipulator unfavourably to the old girl back in "[[Recap/DoctorWho29E11Utopia Utopia]]".

The Doctor and Donna land on a gorgeous snowy world -- your favorite alpine vistas, [[UpToEleven cranked up to 11]] -- 4126 AC, the time of the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire. It is the Oodsphere, home planet of the Ood, the apparently willing slave race we first met in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet The Impossible Planet]]"/"[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E9TheSatanPit The Satan Pit]]".

But even the unaltered Ood are being restrained somehow -- something is holding back their song. That's when they come across the ''third'' brain of the collective Ood consciousness, a giant mass imprisoned in a ring of machinery and electricity -- the circle which must be broken.

* RunningGag: Solana Mercurio joins the list of people who have mistaken the Doctor and Donna for a couple.

'''Doctor:''' What is the Circle? Tell me!\\

'''Doctor:''' Why?\\

* BlatantLies: "Fire alarms". Not "escaped Odd" alarms.

The Doctor and Donna land on a gorgeous snowy world -- your favorite alpine vistas, [[UpToEleven cranked up to 11]] -- somewhere in the distant future. It is the Oodsphere, home planet of the Ood, the apparently willing slave race we first met in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet The Impossible Planet]]"/"[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E9TheSatanPit The Satan Pit]]".

** The Oodsphere is in the same system as Sensphere, homeworld of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E7TheSensorites the Sensorites]].

* MaamShock: Inverted -- Donna reacts to being called Miss. "Why do you say Miss; do I look single?"

The one with AnAesop about the value of brains and a PortentOfDoom.

The one with AnAesop about preserving your brains and a PortentOfDoom.

The one with AnAesop about preserving brains and a PortentOfDoom.

The one with AnAesop about brains and a PortentOfDoom.

* BodyHorror: Halpen's "hair tonic" turning him into an Ood. His hair and scalp peel away revealing an Ood head, and tentacles spill out of his mouth, followed by a brain.

The Doctor and Donna land on a gorgeous snowy world -- your favourite alpine vistas, [[UpToEleven cranked up to 11]] -- somewhere in the distant future. It is the Oodsphere, home planet of the Ood, the apparently willing slave race we first met in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet "The Impossible Planet"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E9TheSatanPit "The Satan Pit"]].

** Donna wonders whether humans spreading out so far is a good thing -- does it make them explorers or a virus? The Doctor notes that sometimes he wonders; he had a similar conversation with Leela back in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E2TheInvisibleEnemy "The Invisible Enemy"]].

** The Friends of the Ood were mentioned by the Torchwood Archive crew back in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet "The Impossible Planet"]].

** Back in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E1PartnersInCrime "Partners in Crime"]], Donna mentioned that she packed for cold weather. In this episode, she brings out a winter coat.

* HappinessInSlavery: Subverted, after being set up way back in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet "The Impossible Planet"]]. The Ood do ''not'' enjoy their enslavement as the Doctor and the audience were led to believe.

[[caption-width-right:350:The circle must be broken . . .]]

->'''Donna:''' It's weird, but . . . being with you, I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore.\\

The Doctor and Donna sneak off to interview some Ood, but the only hint the Ood themselves can give is that "the circle must be broken"[[note]] [[VideoGame/BioshockInfinite By and by, Lord; by and by . . .]] [[/note]]. The Doctor and Donna discover, to their horror and disgust, that the process that wild Ood undergo to turn them into slave Ood is . . . lobotomy. The communication orb isn't just an addition to their bodies: it's a ''replacement'' for their second, external brain. The Doctor gently connects to Donna telepathically and helps her hear the collective mind-song of those Ood that are still intact.

-->"Funny thing, the subconscious. Takes all sorts of shapes. It came out in the red eye as revenge, it came out in the rabid Ood as anger, and then there was patience. All that intelligence and mercy focused on Ood Sigma . . . how's that hair loss, Mr. Halpen?"

* LongSpeechTeaTime: Donna's first impression of the Oodsphere is that it's freezing. The Doctor encourages her be more awestruck by the setting, consider how last week she was in Chiswick just getting up, working, coming home, watching telly and going to bed and now she's travelling across space and time to land on alien worlds . . . then finds she's gone back into the TARDIS to get a coat.

* NeverTrustAHairTonic: Mr. Halpen's hair tonic . . . isn't.

-->"Can't say I've ever shot anyone before. Can't say I'm gonna like it. But . . . it's not exactly a normal day, is it?"

* EscapeArtist: Subverted -- the Donna assumes the Doctor's probably met Houdini, but he's forced to admit, "These are REALLY good handcuffs."

The one with lobotomized slaves.

[[caption-width-right:350:The circle must be broken...]]

The one with handheld brains.

'''The Doctor:''' It's better that way. People who know for certain tend to be like Mr Halpen.

* BondVillainStupidity: He's not the BigBad, but the overseer definitely displays this trope once the Doctor's cover is blown. He specifically orders his armed {{Mook}}s back, so that he can have the pleasure of chasing the Doctor around a warehouse with a giant claw machine, instead of [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim just shooting him]]. For bonus points, he even says, "[[IAlwaysWantedToSayThat I've always wanted to do this]]."

** The Friends of the Ood were mentioned by the Torchwood Archive crew back during [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet "The Impossible Planet"]].

--> "Well, we can write [two thousand Ood] off. That's what insurance is for."

* ImproperlyPlacedFirearms: Guards with M4s and a guy with a PPK; in the 42nd Century. Justified in that [[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter it is believed that small arms have hit a peak where making them any more powerful would make them uncontrollable]].

* PinballProtagonist: An unusual case for Who. The Doctor and Donna has minimal effect on the plot, the Ood effectively free themselves thanks to the natural born Ood and Ood Sigma.

* PetTheDog: Despite his attitude towards the Ood at large and his general asshattery, Halpen seems to be genuinely quite fond of Ood Sigma for most of the episode and tells him to 'join your people' while he still can.

* PetTheDog: Despite his attitude towards the Ood at large and his general asshattery, Halpen seems to be genuinely quite fond of Ood Sigma for most of the episode.

->'''Donna:''' It's weird, but... being with you, I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore.\\

The Doctor and Donna sneak off to interview some Ood, but the only hint the Ood themselves can give is that "the circle must be broken"[[note]] [[VideoGame/BioshockInfinite By and by, Lord; by and by...]][[/note]]. The Doctor and Donna discover, to their horror and disgust, that the process that wild Ood undergo to turn them into slave Oods is... lobotomy. The communication orb isn't just an addition to their bodies: it's a ''replacement'' for their second, external brain. The Doctor gently connects to Donna telepathically and makes her hear the collective mind-song of those Ood that are still intact.

* BondVillainStupidity: He's not the BigBad, but the overseer definitely displays this trope once the Doctor's cover is blown. He specifically orders his armed {{Mook}}s back, so that he can have the pleasure of chasing the Doctor around a warehouse with a giant claw machine, instead of [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim just shooting him]]. For bonus points, he even says, "[[IAlwaysWantedToSayThat I've always wanted to do this]].''

** Donna wonders whether humans spreading out so far is a good thing - does it make them explorers or a virus? The Doctor notes that sometimes he wonders; he had a similar conversation with Leela back in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E2TheInvisibleEnemy "The Invisible Enemy"]].

** The Friends of the Ood were mentioned by the Torchwood Archive crew back during [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet The Impossible Planet]].

-->"Funny thing, the subconscious. Takes all sorts of shapes. It came out in the red eye as revenge, it came out in the rabid Ood as anger, and then there was patience. All that intelligence and mercy focused on Ood Sigma...how's that hair loss, Mr. Halpen?"

* EscapeArtist: Subverted - the Donna assumes the Doctor's probably met Houdini, but he's forced to admit, "These are REALLY good handcuffs."

** The Ood refer to the Doctor and Donna collectively as the Doctor-Donna. It takes the rest of the series for the Doctor to figure it out, but when he does, he thinks it's all quite clever. [[MotorMouth Partly because of the way he introduced themselves to the Ood in the first place]]. Truly an example of FridgeBrilliance.
** Mr. Halpen suspects that The Doctor and Donna are from the Friends of the Ood activist group. Dr. Ryder reveals himself as one in the climax.

* HappinessInSlavery: Subverted, after being set up way back in "The Impossible Planet". The Ood do ''not'' enjoy their enslavement as the Doctor and the audience were led to believe.

* LongSpeechTeaTime: Donna's first impression of the Oodsphere is that it's freezing. The Doctor encourages her be more awestruck by the setting, consider how last week she was in Chiswick just getting up, working, coming home, watching telly and going to bed and now she's travelling across space and time to land on alien worlds... then finds she's gone back into the TARDIS to get a coat.

* NeverTrustAHairTonic: Mr. Halpen's hair tonic... isn't.

-->"Can't say I've ever shot anyone before. Can't say I'm gonna like it. But...it's not exactly a normal day, is it?"

-->'''The Doctor:''' His eyes turned red.
-->'''Donna:''' What's that mean?
-->'''The Doctor:''' Trouble.

* ReverseMole: Dr Ryder, for the Friends of the Ood social activism group. He spent the last ten years infiltrating Ood Operations so he could free the Ood.

* TheWorldIsJustAwesome: Despite nine hundred or more years traveling time and space, The Doctor ''still'' gets excited at each location he visits because the universe is amazing! Why else would he still be traveling?
* TheXOfY: "Planet of the Ood".

* BatmanGambit: Ood Sigma's "hair tonic". He was counting on Mr Halpen's concern about his baldness to blind him to the possiblity that it was something else.

* ChekhovsGun: The drinks Mr Halpen keeps knocking back are blatantly going to bite him ''somehow''. Boy, do they ever.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Mr Halpen.

-->"Funny thing, the subconscious. Takes all sorts of shapes. It came out in the red eye as revenge, it came out in the rabid Ood as anger, and then there was patience. All that intelligence and mercy focused on Ood Sigma...how's that hair loss, Mister Halpen?"
* DistressedDude: The Doctor tied to a pole.

** Mr Halpen suspects that The Doctor and Donna are from the Friends of the Ood activist group. Dr Ryder reveals himself as one in the climax.

* HappinessInSlavery: Subverted after being set up way back in "The Impossible Planet". The Ood do ''not'' enjoy their enslavement as the Doctor and the audience were led to believe.

* LargeHam: The overseer takes this to impressive levels while he's chasing the Doctor around the warehouse with a giant claw machine, cackling, rocking back and forth in his seat, and making some ''very'' expressive faces just to be sure the viewer understands that he's [[EvilFeelsGood having fun]].

* NeverTrustAHairTonic: Mr Halpen's hair tonic... isn't.
* NonActionBigBad: Mister Halpen.

* QuickNip: Solana reminds Mr Halpen that alcohol isn't allowed on the premises; he explains it's hair tonic. That's what he thinks, anyway.
* RailingKill: When Dr Ryder reveals he's a Friend of the Ood, Halpen pushes him over the rail and ''into'' the Ood brain.

-->'''Doctor:''' His eyes turned red.

-->'''Doctor:''' Trouble.

* Running Gag: Solana Mercurio joins the list of people who have mistaken the Doctor and Donna for a couple.

All is not well on the Oodsphere. Ood Operations, the Ood suppliers to the galaxy, are sitting on a disturbing fact: Ood everywhere have been going berserk and killing their masters. The only symptom is that the Ood's eyes will turn red just before it snaps.

** Oodsphere being in the same system as Sensphere, home-world of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E7TheSensorites the Sensorites]].
** Donna wonders whether humans spreading out so far is a good thing - does it make them explorers or a virus? The Doctor notes that sometimes he wonders; he had a similar conversation with Leela back in "The Invisible Enemy:.

** The Friends of The Ood were mentioned by the Torchwood Archive crew back during [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet The Impossible Planet]].

** The Doctor gives Donna a brief recap of what happened the last time he encountered Ood. They were possessed by the devil, or at least something that ''claimed'' to inspire the legend of such a creature.
** Back in "Partners in Crime", Donna mentioned that she packed for cold weather. In this episode, she brings out a winter coat.

* HappinessInSlavery: Subverted after being set up way back in "The Impossible Planet". The Ood do ''not'' enjoy their enslavement as The Doctor and the audience are led to believe.

* KarmicDeath: The PR rep is zapped after rejecting the Doctor's offer to stop the injustice against the Ood, and the overseer is gassed to death with the same gas he tried to use on the Oods.

* ReverseMole: Dr Ryder for the Friends of the Ood social activism group. He spent the last ten years infiltrating Ood Operations so he could free the Ood.
* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: "Pleased to meet you, Doctor Noble, Mrs Noble." The response here is "not ever".
* ShoutOut: The "comedy classic" Ood is programmed to say "[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons D'oh!]]" when it's told it dropped something.

* TheXOfY: The Planet of the Ood.

* AssholeVictim: pretty much everyone the Ood kill qualifies as this.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Donna gives Mr Halpen a ''very big and very deserved'' one. The Doctor approves of Donna's correctness.

* ZergRush: A perpetual favourite of berserk Ood.

** Mr Halpen suspects that The Doctor and Donna are from the Friends of the Ood activist group, revealing that such an organization exists and is trying to infiltrate him. Dr Ryder reveals himself as one in the climax.