Doctor Who Review: Dinosaurs On A Spaceship
The entire episode is built upon the crossover dreams of a nine year old (or adult nerds at heart). Photo courtesy of BBC America On the surface, the premise seems outlandish, but this is exactly what makes this episode a fun departure from the high stakes drama of Asylum of the Daleks.
SPOILER LINE
Silurians looking for a new planet to live on filled a spaceship with dinosaurs and other precious ancient rarities. Solomon, an unethical collector of rare items, infiltrated the ship attempting to steal everything. He defeated the Silurians but ended up stuck on board. The ship is now on a crash course towards Earth, and the Doctor must avert disaster..
He recieves the distress call and assembles a gang to investigate. Queen Nerfetiti, an Indiana Jones-eque wild game hunter named John Ridell, and the Ponds answer the Doctor’s call. Rory’s father Brian is swept up into the action by accident.
Sherlock BBC fans will definitely appreciate this episode. Rupert Graves (Lestrade) guest plays John Ridell. Graves does a great job with portraying a character who undergoes a serious change in attitude. He thinks that he can act like a jerk towards Nerfetiti and Amy and get away with it, but Nerfetiti threatens to break him in two. Over the course of the episode he gets a serious lesson in how to respect women.
Queen Nerfetiti steals the spotlight. The episode begins with her actively hitting on the Doctor and wishing for a change of pace from her life in the Egyptian court. The writers turned her disaapearance from history 14 years into her husband’s reign into a plot worth watching. She is fiercely protective of her ability to make her own decisions, and this rubs off on Amy. Nerfetiti is not afraid to use weapons and other means to defend herself. Her interactions with Ridell are the most interesting portions of the episode.
Continuing on the themes from the prequel and last week, Rory and Amy are still struggling to settle into domesticity. The Doctor’s overwhelming presence in their lives comforts them yet scares them at the same time. Brian finds out about their adventures in the worst way possible, which only adds to their stress. However, Rory uses the trip as a chance to bond with his father, which adds to his character development considerably.
The Doctor tries to keep a low profile, but he can’t avoid it the universe’s spotlight. He is glad that the ship’s computers do not recognize his existence. At the same time, he also has some pent up emotions waiting to be released on the next opponent who crosses his path. I believe the ethical issues that arise from his dealings with Solomon will be an important clue in how the rest of the season plays out.
Check back next week for a review of next week’s aliens versus cowboys episode!
