Oodunnit

Oodunnit is a classic example of a brilliant production laywaid by a somewhat middling story. It's not even terribly written or that lacking in compelling content, either - it's a fun enough murder mystery. Like Odyssey, this episode is a sort of sequel to the Impossible Planet double-episode from Doctor Who, this time focusing on Zachary Cross Flane, who always stood out to me a bit as a memorable supporting character from the original episodes. I liked him as the protagonist here, and his ongoing trauma from the Beast event really nicely informs his character - we as an audience know exactly why he is wary of the Ood.

The murder mystery itself boils down to an Ood being killed over workplace politics involving a corporation, a number of union workers, a squad of Ood, an a lingering threat of artificial intelligence replacing everyone. The story really has everything going for it, but I found it all gets resolved in a pretty unsatisfying way. The excellent acting by all parties (even if some characters have weaker writing over others) and really solid use of Mowat's music (along with Gold's existing works) really help to elevate the audio, though. Silas Carson talks about being cast as the Ood way back in the day on the behind the scenes to this, and I really appreciate how much he brings to the role.

I suppose I would recommend this if you really enjoyed the Impossible Planet and Satan Pit episodes. Since they are solid, I would expect most Doctor Who fans would enjoy this, even if they aren't going to get anything exceptional and the Torchwood connections are threadbare. It was nice to be reminded that Torchwood still exists in the future though, showing that all the hard work of preserving it after its near destruction in the contemporary setting does eventually pay off.