Doctor Who 7x02 Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

It took me quite a while to form an opinion about this episode. On the one hand it's not a particularly subtle or complex story, but on the other hand it is still a lot of fun. Writer Chris Chibnall has taken many different elements that kids would love, such as dinosaurs, camp robots and a big game hunter, and constructed a plot around them that remains surprisingly coherent.

The Doctor has assembled a gang to help him investigate a spaceship heading to Earth. On board the ship the Doctor and his gang discover the dinosaurs of the title. There are many different sorts, from ankylosaurs to pterodactyls, triceratops, t-rex and velociraptors. All of them are well realised in CGI form by the creators at the Mill.

Of course, budget issues mean that the episode cannot focus entirely on dinosaur chases, so the plot focuses more on why there are dinosaurs on a ship rather than just trying to get away from them. It turns out that the ship was built by Silurians. It was clever of writer Chris Chibnall to tie the presence of dinosaurs in with an old piece of Doctor Who mythology.

The Silurians themselves are long dead, killed by Solomon, a space pirate who wants to sell the dinosaurs for profit. Many villains in post 2005 Doctor Who have had motivations but Solomon is the first truly nasty villain we’ve seen in ages. He simply wants money, and nothing else. He shows no compassion towards anything at all. You feel very little sympathy for him when the Doctor allows him to die from the missile strike. 

The Doctor spends most of the episode in a fun mood.  He is exuberant in this episode, firing on all emotions from the joy of seeing dinosaurs to kissing Rory. He also gives full on anger when dealing with Solomon.

With no divorce angst this week, Amy Pond is a lot happier and fun to watch. She’s a lot more active in this episode,  accessing the ship's computer and providing the Doctor with crucial information about the nature of the ship. She is almost a Doctor figure herself, keeping an eye on Nefertiti and Riddell.

It was good to see how far Rory has developed since The Eleventh Hour by comparing him with his father, Brian. Rory is so used to the madness of time travel that he just accepts the crazy conclusions that the Doctor comes to without questioning them. He's also angry when Brian is injured and unafraid of venting his anger towards Solomon's camp Robots. Brian Williams is a little more doubtful and hysterical in a crisis. It’s fun seeing Brian adjust to the world of the Tardis and becoming a traveller at the end of the story. It was a bit of a coincidence that the ship needed two people of the same gene set to fly it.

Chris Chibnall has taken a lot of elements that kids would love, such as dinosaurs, Egyptians and big game hunters, and somehow put them together in a coherent plot which works. There are a few conveniences, such as the Doctor recruiting a big game hunter as though he knows he'll need one. There is also the fact that the ship needs two people of the same genetic code to fly the ship, which makes it pretty convenient that the Doctor accidentally brought Brian along. Niggles aside, this episode is still generally good.

7/10