THE IMPOSSIBLE PLANET
Thirty-five years later, the themes of The Dæmons are reprised in Matt Jones’ two-parter The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit. Set this time on a planetary base impossibly orbiting a black hole in deep space, the story revolves around the crew of explorers, drilling down to the planet’s core, as they fight for survival.
“In the Scriptures of the Veltino this planet is called Krop Tor, the bitter pill. And the black hole is supposed to be a mighty demon who was tricked into devouring the planet only to spit it out because it was poison.”[1]
A malevolent mind takes control of the cthulan[2] slave-race, the Ood. The Doctor journeys to the heart of the planet where The Beast has been imprisoned for eternity by ‘the disciples of light’.
The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit offer something of a twist on the von Däniken idea. The Beast is said, like Azal and Sutekh[3] or Quatermass’s Martians, to be the inspiration for mythological demons. Indeed, dialogue from the Dæmons is specifically mimicked:
The Doctor: You get representations of the horned beast right across the universe in myths and legends on a million worlds. Earth, Draconia, Vel Consadine, Dæmos, the Kaled god of war -it’s the same image over and over again. Maybe… that idea came from somewhere… bleeding through. A thought at the back of every sentient mind.[4]
This beast is not merely ‘The truth behind the myth’ [5]. The previous ‘devils’ have been alien in origin: Dæmon, Osiran and Martian. Demonstrating omniscience and claiming ‘impossible’ origins before time[6], the Beast of The Impossible Planet is to be understood as the real devil[7]. The necessary suspension of the viewer’s belief[8], along with the Doctor’s postponing of judgement, allows an exploration of ‘faith’ (here a synonym for a set of religious beliefs).
The Impossible Planet represents a first for Doctor Who, and it is theologically significant. Traditionally, Doctor Who “Reveals its 1960s-80s mindset”[9] when it paints religion as obsolete in the future. While in 2005 Russell T. Davies banned religion in the year five-billion, The Impossible Planet catches up with its contemporaries, painting a picture of a world of many different ‘faiths’.
The Doctor: If you are the Beast then answer me this: Which one, hmm? ‘Cause the universe has been busy since you’ve been gone. There’s more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Arkiphets, Quoldonity, Christianity, Pash Pash, Neo-Judaism, San Claar, the Church of the Tin Vagabond… Which devil are you?[10]
Though it is not without tongue-in-cheek, this is a very significant departure for Doctor Who, coming in line with other science fiction in its answer to the question of ‘What will become of religion in the future?’ Before the 90’s, Sci-Fi’s scientistic answer was that religion would become obsolete[11]. If the conflict thesis is correct, then religion should gradually disappear as science explains more of the universe. The more modern picture shows a diversified, generally pluralistic society where the passage of time has allowed for an explosion of different religious beliefs.
The premise of the origin of all evil having been bound throughout eternity is of course flawed[12]- and even more so when it is seen to be destroyed. As Thacker is fond of asking of the Doctor: “Can he safely retire, all evil being destroyed for ever?”[13] The Satan Pit opens debate as to the origin of evil and, perhaps unsurprisingly under the supervision of Russell T Davies, reaches a humanist conclusion.
The Doctor: I didn’t ask. Have you got any sort of faith?
Ida: Not really. I was brought up Neo-Classic Congregational. Because of my mum, she was… My old mum. But, no, I never believed.
The Doctor: Neo-Classics. Have they got a devil?
Ida: No, not as such. Just, um… the things that men do.
The Doctor: Same thing in the end.[14]
The Nature of Evil
For Russell T. Davies “The things that men do” summates his God-less worldview. Good and evil require no inspiration. This is not so at odds with the Christian view as might be initially assumed. Though there is no room here for a fuller exposition, it is significant to note that the Christian view of good and evil is not, like the Black and White Guardians, equal and opposite. Like The Satan Pit, the existence of a literal devil does not diminish human responsibility. Even Augustinian theology focuses on human choice.
The Doctor’s Beliefs
Ida: What about you?
The Doctor: I believe… I believe I haven’t seen everything, I don’t know.[15]
The most promising feature of The Impossible Planet is asking what the Doctor believes. In a marked contrast to the norm, he is unable to rely on his “Default mechanism” [16]of scientific explanation. Beginning with the scientific impossibility of a planet orbiting a black hole, the Doctor continually comes into contact with things that question his predetermined ‘rules’[17]. Faced with the apparently impossible existence of a creature from ‘before time’, the Doctor seems uncharacteristically unwilling to accept something which is beyond his experience:
The Doctor: That’s impossible; no life could have existed back then.
The Beast: Is that your religion?
The Doctor: It’s a belief.[18]
Here, ‘belief’ seems to take on the postmodern definition of an unassailable personal opinion.
There are a few instances where the Doctor seems to entertain the possibility of things beyond his experience: “All these things I don’t believe in, are they real?”[19], but ultimately he displays a closed mind when it comes to the possibility of the supernatural- perhaps for political reasons.[20]
Face to face with the Beast itself, the Doctor relents only slightly: “I accept that you exist. I don’t have to accept what you are, but you’re physical existence, I’ll give you that.”[21] While this statement is true to the Doctor’s positivism, the stubborn resistance of the new is not in keeping with the Doctor’s inquisitiveness and wonderment. The Doctor himself notes this inconsistency. “Still, that’s why I keep travelling. To be proved wrong.”[22]
Actor David Tennant explains the Doctor’s reaction: “He doesn’t find an explanation, and in the end he chooses not to understand."[23] This is a most unsatisfying conclusion. A ‘scientific explanation’ ending would have been preferable, keeping the Doctor’s integrity.
Rose: What do you think it was, really?
The Doctor: I think we beat it. That’s good enough for me.[24]
Coming from the man who refuses to leave a planet until he has explored it, this sentiment is somewhat unbelievable.
Another uncharacteristic sentiment is the painfully pluralist “Well, if that’s what you want to believe.[25]” This is an obvious reflection of the pseudo-religious zeitgeist. Like The Dæmons, this supports a fideistic concept of ‘faith’, but where the Third Doctor rejected it in favour of scientific explanations the Tenth Doctor seems to condone this laissez-faire pluralism. The Doctor is primarily a ‘truth seeker’ and it seems unlikely that he would adopt such a politely relativist attitude to the truth (or otherwise) of religious beliefs. It would be more in keeping with his character if he were to be openly hostile towards religious claims.
Russell T. Davies says of the characterisation of the Doctor in the new series: “The best thing you can do with the Doctor…is to keep pushing the character”[26]. A character is, however, defined as much by what they do not do as what they do. In an attempt to make a more layered character, we have the Doctor engaged in what we could describe as un-doctorish behaviour.
The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit are perhaps the most memorable episodes of Series Two and are commendable for raising issues of belief and addressing the idea of religion in a way that Doctor Who has not done before. What Thacker sees as “a more nuanced reaction by this Tenth Doctor[27]” is, however, incongruent and unconvincing. The Doctor of The Impossible Planet who refuses to accept what is beyond his experience is irreconcilable with the Doctor who rebukes Dickens’ closed-mindedness in The Unquiet Dead.
“Because he usually is the man with all the answers, to even entertain the fact that there might be something other… It unsettles him to have to even confront those issues, I think. And I think, generally, he avoids doing that."[28]
The Doctor neither speculates as to the truth of religious claims, nor denies them. He simply doesn’t think about them[29]. Of course, having the Doctor adhere to any particular set of beliefs would be crass but this is the worst kind of intellectual blinkeredness - the Doctor actively chooses to remain ignorant. This is anathema in Doctor Who, and is quite at odds with the ‘questioning’ theme of the story.
Ultimately, the resolution is more philosophically agreeable than a von Däniken plot, and whilst it struggles with the Doctor’s position, it challenges the viewer to examine what they believe and why they believe it.
[2] That is, their appearance is reminiscent of popular depictions of Cthulu ‘the old one’ from the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
[3] von Däniken villain of 1975 classic The Pyramids of Mars. Also known as Set, Sadok and Satan.
[4] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 25m 10s
[5] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 08m 13s
[6] Though the evil of The Curse of Fenric (1989) was formed before ‘time was born’.
[7] This is a classic Russell T. Davies device. In The Second Coming (Red Productions, 2003) in order to make an atheist point, Davies encourages the viewer to believe that the Christian God is real.
[8] This position is adopted by Russell T. Davies in his drama The Second Coming. (2003 Red Productions) Here, Davies invites the audience to believe that Stephen Baxter is the Son of God, in order to make his atheist point.
[9] Thacker, Anthony. A Closer Look at Science Fiction. Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne. 2001. Pg. 264
[10] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 08m 13s
[11] The ‘Mercerism’ of Philip K. Dick’s distopian ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’ (Rapp & Whiting. 1969) is a remarkable exception showing a future remained to include religion.
[12] Put simply, if no evil occurs without the inspiration of this creature, then its being bound requires that there is no evil.
[13] Thacker, Anthony. Behind the Sofa: The Satan Pit. Equipping the Church. http://www.equippingthechurch.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=4_37&products_id=2774 (1/4/2007) See also Thacker, Anthony. A Closer Look at Science Fiction. Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne. 2001.263
[14] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 26m 55s
[15] Matt Jones The Satan Pit 00h 27m 33s
[16] David Tennant, in ‘Myths & Legends’ Confidential Cut-Down 00h 04m 39s
[17] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 28m 00s
[18] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 09m 18s
[19] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 35m 30s
[20] Not only would it be crass to give the Doctor a definitive ‘faith perspective’, it would be a dangerous move for the BBC’s flagship show.
[21] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 34m 50s
[22] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 28m 08s
[23] ‘Myths & Legends’ Confidential Cut-Down 00h 06m 49s
[24] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 44m 45s
[25] Jones, Matt The Satan Pit 00h 25m 45s
[26] ‘Myths & Legends’ Confidential Cut-Down 00h 05m 25s
[27] Thacker, Anthony. Behind the Sofa: The Satan Pit. Equipping the Church. http://www.equippingthechurch.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=4_37&products_id=2774 (1/4/2007)
[28] ‘Myths & Legends’ Confidential Cut-Down 00h 06m 05sr
[29] At least, not for any longer than one sentence.
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