Impossible Planet

The Impossible Planet is let down by an implausible ending. I just think the conceptual ending failed and left the viewer confused as it tried to eschew the obvious twist ending that the visitors actually arrive on Earth which would had been more faithful to the book.

Brian Norton and Ed Andrews are space tour guides who when offered an enormous bundles of real cash decide to take a deaf, very elderly old lady Irma Louise Gordon and her robot to a trip to Earth. The problem is the planet no longer exists and they decide to configure a trip to an Earth like planet and pass it off. After all the money she is offering is 5 years salary.

Andrews is the cynical one and happy to lead the old lady on for the money. Norton is more reluctant and makes a connection to Gordon. The robot knows that they cannot take her to the actual planet but seems to be going along with their plan.

The story was rather straightforward, the productions values reminded me of the Eccleston/Tennant era of Doctor Who, especially with the use of purple lighting. Geraldine Chaplin was very good as the old lady longing to visit Earth once more but the ending was unsatisfying.

A couple charlatans run tours for bored people as they look at things like novas and space events. They are partly fact and partly fiction. We know immediately that if reality isn't good enough, they can tweak the thing. A very elderly woman comes on board and is willing to hand over a huge amount of money to get them to take her to earth. One of the men, a truly disgusting guy, decides to bilk her by taking her to a different planet and pretending it is earth. What happens to the young guy who is in charge is and his relationship with this 300 year old woman is the real issue here. The problem is that the first half is gripping and the conclusion is a disappointment.

I actually liked the episode, but the ending just made no sense. It went from sci-fi to fantasy in a second, and as a sci-fi fan I hate when they do that. I haven't read this particulary story before so I didn't know what to expect. Most people found it boring, I thought it was ok, I thought it was actually leading to something interesting... but it ultimately didn't. The acting was really good, the special effects were ok, and the story was ok until the ending. It starts as sci fi, but the ending is fantasy.

The screen writer should have stayed with the original ending....it is more thought provoking.

I liked the looks of this episode a lot. First, it was actual sci-fi, which is what I tuned in for. The world-building was solid and very reminiscent of Blade Runner in good (not cheezy rip-off) ways. I liked the premise, and the plot, as it started out, was compelling. But then they just kind of gave up on the story, and it drifted off into some sort of vague, sentimental fantasy story. None of it made much sense.The clever twist you were expecting never came. Very disappointing.