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Is there any backstory to the 10th Doctor episode The Satan Pit other than what is revealed in the episode itself?
There are many gaps in the story, such as:
To answer a few of your questions.
The Beast claimed to have existed before the Universe, a claim that the Tenth Doctor found troubling to accept or consider as he believed nothing could have existed before then. It is known that the Beast had been at battle with the Disciples of the Light. The Disciples, who themselves existed before the Universe, bound him in giant chains and confined him to a pit in the centre of Krop Tor, a planet in orbit around K37 Gem 5, a black hole. If he ever tried to escape, the field holding Krop Tor in orbit would collapse and the planet would be sucked into the black hole, taking the Beast with it. Despite this, the Beast claimed that he was the basis of the Devil-figure in all religions.
The Disciples, who themselves existed before the Universe, bound him in giant chains and confined him to a pit in the centre of Krop Tor, a planet in orbit around K37 Gem 5, a black hole. If he ever tried to escape, the field holding Krop Tor in orbit would collapse and the planet would be sucked into the black hole, taking the Beast with it.
That is saying, the TARDIS can beat the black hole?
Yep, 10th says in the episode that
Time Lords invented black holes.
My people practically invented black holes. Well, in fact they did. which I take to mean that not only can they control them, but they can make them at will (with the right technology). See the eye of harmony. I doubt the Doctor meant they literally invented black holes.
What is the beast? Satan? If he is just a creature, what is his race?
I believe that this is not clarified in the episode. It makes various claims but we have no way of knowing whether the claims it made were true.
Why lock it up, rather than kill it?
Several possible reasons exist, perhaps their justice system did not include the death penalty, perhaps it cannot die and they did not want to send it though the black hole unless they had to as they were not sure what would happen, perhaps they thought that they might need it someday?
Who locked it up? (Presumably creating the gravity field to maintain the planet as well).
The Disciples of Light.
Did the creators of the prison add safety features that saved the Doctor when he fell off the pit? Or is it the TARDIS?
It was designed with safety features in case someone had to come down there and operate the controls like the doctor did (notice that they left information and instructions etc on the wall for this eventuality).
2) I guess the Disciples of Light created the field around the planet and the mechanism that would destroy the planet should the Beast physically escape. I can only guess that they took some sort of mercy on him, because they didn't destroy him outright, and put his well being in his own hands, physically escaping meant death.
In regards to leaving it alive; that creature had a massive ego. Can you imagine a better hell for such a being other than being trapped forever by what it likely considers an inferior species? What makes it even better is that they gave it suicide as a way out, since he could always trigger the black hole himself.
The Beast & the diciples of the light are Great Old Ones. They shunted themselves into our universe after their universe collapsed. Fenric the Greater Intelligence are also Great Old Ones.
The beast is a Timelord without a TARDIS, as shown by the dialogue. The Timelords don't kill people, the first Timelords locked it up or maybe even a future version of the doctor.
Finally (and possibly the same thing as shown by my last answer) but they were there before there TARDIS went there...
