20 Years Later, An Iconic 'Doctor Who' Adventure Is Coming To Theaters
Doctor Who is in a transition period. After a failed experiment partnering with Disney, the time-travel sci-fi show is officially being put out to tender by the BBC, so any future versions won’t see the light of day until 2028 at the earliest. Thankfully, Doctor Who has one of the largest archives of episodes, ranging from the serials of the early 1960s to the 60th anniversary specials from 2023.
Now, one of the most beloved adventures from the 10th Doctor era is being re-released in theaters as a special two-hour presentation for the show’s 63rd anniversary. Here’s everything you need to know about this one-night-only event.
The BBC recently announced that “The Impossible Planet” and “The Satan Pit,” two parts of a massive Doctor Who adventure from Season 2 of the 2005 reboot of the series, will get a theatrical release for the anniversary of the series’ release on November 23 across theaters in the U.S., Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. These episodes will be re-edited into a massive two-hour event, incorporating deleted scenes previously only available on the DVD release and completely unseen extended footage.
“The Impossible Planet” and “The Satan Pit” follow the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) as they investigate Krop Tor, a planet surrounding a black hole. There, they find a group of human miners who have encountered a massive, devil-like creature called The Beast.
This two-parter is notable because it introduced the Ood, strange, squid-like creatures who went on to become a fan-favorite alien species and were even brought back years later to “sing the Doctor to sleep” in “The End of Time,” the 10th Doctor’s final episode. It is also one of the scariest episodes in its era — the threat of the Beast preys on the fears of the humans, and we see terrifying visions like untranslatable characters, culminating in a possession that quickly turns deadly.
This two-parter is often compared to a cosmic horror movie that brings Lovecraftian imagery down to a level that even kids can enjoy it, but that doesn’t make it any less unsettling for adults. Doctor Who may be a science fiction show, but when it dabbles into horror, it never pulls any punches — there’s a reason it has a reputation for making British children hide under the sofa.
Even if you’ve rewatched these episodes before, this is a rare opportunity to see a two-part Doctor Who story — practically a TV movie itself — in theaters. It may not be how it was meant to be seen, but perhaps it is how it deserves to be seen.