Written By: Chris Chibnall
Directed By: Saul Metzstein
The Story: The Doctor, accompanied by Amy & Rory, Rory’s dad Brian, English explorer Ridell, and the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, arrives on a spaceship that is going to crash to Earth unless he can stop it. The cargo on-board: Dinosaurs… and a sinister man named Solomon.
The Verdict: Now that’s more like it! After last week’s dark and slightly disappointing opening number, DOCTOR WHO is back to doing what it does best this week, with a fantastic, fast paced story that is both quirky and action packed.
It could easily have fallen into the trap of being an episode that’s all title and no substance. Instead, writer Chris Chibnall instils the script with plenty of funny lines (and a fair bit of innuendo), as well as some great character moments for the Doctor, Amy and above all, the hodophobic Brian.
As for the plot, it’s a simple affair – dinosaurs on a spaceship, spaceship hijacked by evil pirate, Doctor and co. must stop him and save the dinosaurs – but keeping it simple works in the episode’s favour. There’s enough going on in terms of action to keep things moving, with every character having a part to play (even Queen Nefertiti, who at first seems like she’s just there because… well, just because she can be). The reveal of the villain’s motivations are nothing new or particularly shocking, but again, the script acknowledges this, and just runs with it, resulting in a fun and enjoyable romp that this show does best.
Evoking the humour and quirky storytelling of Douglas Adams, DINOSAURS ON A SPACESHIP is a simple, funny, engrossing, and entertaining episode that works perfectly as a standalone story, a much needed refresher from the previous, arc-plot heavy storyline of last week.
Best Bit: So many bits this week, but the stand out moment for me was the beautiful and silent moment as Brian sits down, sandwich and cuppa in hand, watching the Earth spin on its axis. The great music from Murray Gold compliments a superb piece of writing that sums up the wonder and all round British-ness of DOCTOR WHO.
What? What?! What?!! The Doctor pretty much executes Solomon! I know he’s allowed villains to die before, but he’s always given them a chance. Here, he knowingly pulls the trigger by releasing the magnets on the spaceship, thus resulting in Solomon getting blown to pieces. A bit too cold blooded for the Doctor, in my opinion.
Location, Location, Location: The beach scenes here were filmed at Sotherndown Beach, previously used as Bad Wolf Bay in DOOMSDAY (2006) and JOURNEY’S END (2008), as well as the planet of Alfava Metraxis in THE TIME OF ANGELS/FLESH & STONE (2010).
Nitpick: Getting a bit bored of every famous woman from Earth’s history falling in lust with the Doctor. I know Matt Smith’s a babe, but c’mon! Who’s going to fall for him next, Mother Teresa?
It’s Wossiname: In case you didn’t notice, yep, that’s David Mitchell & Robert Webb from THAT MITCHELL & WEBB LOOK as the voices of Solomon’s robots! Great casting, if I do say so myself.
Star Performance: Guest stars David Bradley and Rupert Graves as Solomon and Ridell are on top form, but my pick this week has to be Mark Williams as Brian Williams (oops, sorry… Brian Pond)! A very funny and sweet performance from Mark Williams, it’s almost nigh on impossible not to warm to him by the end of the episode.
Best Line(s):
The Doctor: “I’m Sagittarius…probably”.
OR
The Doctor: “How do you start a Triceratops?”
Join us next week for part three of THN’s Doctor Who Series Blog.
From an early age, Matt Dennis dreamt of one day becoming a Power Ranger. Having achieved that dream back in the noughties, he’s now turned his hand to journalism and broadcasting. Matt can often be found in front of a TV screen, watching his current favourite shows such as DOCTOR WHO, GAME OF THRONES, SHERLOCK, DAREDEVIL, and THE WALKING DEAD, though he’s partial to a bit of vintage TV from yesteryear. Matt also co-presents the Geek Cubed podcast, which you can download from iTunes. It’s quite nice.
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