An Hour of Who a Day: 06/18/15

June 18: "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"

The slightly daft title aside (which appears to be riffing off the 2006 film Snakes on a Plane, and was actually Steven Moffat's idea), Chris Chibnall's third full story for the series (ignoring mini-episodes like "Pond Life") is easily his best one yet, with lots of fun and excitement on display.

I'm stating this up front because it was a pleasant surprise, given his previous track record. Torchwood did get better, yes, but much of Chibnall's actual episodes were among the worst the show ever produced, and his previous Who stories were hampered either by throwing everything into one script and hoping something would stick ("42") or by remixing some Pertwee stories into a hodgepodge that never felt particularly original or truly engaging ("The Hungry Earth" / "Cold Blood"). So, having been conditioned to not expect great things from Chibnall, it's a welcome change to find just how good "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" is.

The overall feeling that one gets while watching this episode is just how much fun it is. The thought of the Doctor forming a "gang" to help him investigate a spaceship threatening to crash into 2367 Earth is an intriguing one (even to the Doctor: "I thought we might need a new gang. Not really had a gang before. It's new," he remarks), and the people he's chosen are quite varied -- I like how we get a big game hunter and Queen Nefertiti interacting with Amy and Rory, as well as Rory's father Brian (who's been accidentally brought along). Mark Williams (probably best known as either a part of The Fast Show or as Arthur Weasley from the Harry Potter films, although I'll always think of him as Petersen off Red Dwarf) is rather wonderful as Brian, someone who hates traveling but is nevertheless still practically-minded and able to help out, as opposed to being a burden, and Williams gives it just the right amount of wonder. And then, in a good contrast, we get fellow Harry Potter alum (and future Doctor, of a sort) David Bradley as the villainous Solomon, whose primary concern is making money at all costs. He's portrayed as completely amoral, willing to kill an entire ship of Silurians or kidnap Nefertiti for the sake of a larger profit. He's presented as an interesting foil for the Doctor, completely implacable and selfish.

But as I said, there's an underlying feeling of fun. The way the dinosaurs are said to be aboard the ship makes perfect sense in terms of the series, and it also means that we get dinosaurs that are leagues ahead of the ones in Invasion of the Dinosaurs. The triceratops model in particular is nicely done, but things like the ankylosaurs are also really lovely. (Although once again they're referring to pteranodons as pterodactyls.) And because we've got dinosaurs roaming around, a "gang" who all seem to more or less like each other (and who all contribute in some way), some genuinely funny robots, and some really lovely writing, the end result is really good. The only potentially duff note is the Doctor's refusal to grant Solomon any mercy, instead leaving the tracking device that the Indian Space Agency's missiles are following on Solomon's ship and then sending it away with Solomon still on board. "Doctor, whatever you want, I can get it for you. Whatever object you desire," Solomon pleads. "Did the Silurians beg you to stop?" the Doctor replies softly. "Look, Solomon. The missiles. See them shine? See how valuable they are. And they're all yours." "You wouldn't leave me, Doctor," Solomon says. "Enjoy your bounty," the Doctor says, closing the gate to Solomon's ship. The script goes to great pains to establish that Solomon is emphatically not a nice man, but it's still surprising to see the Doctor unwilling to grant any quarter. (Well, unless you think he left the beacon thingy out for Solomon to eject himself, as a way to justify his decision -- but it doesn't really look like there's enough time to actually get rid of the beacon.) It's a darker eleventh Doctor than I think we're used to, and because it feels cold it sticks out.

However, if the worst thing about this episode is that a dramatically justified decision doesn't quite "feel" right, then we're doing pretty well. "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" is a really nice episode that's hopefully an indication of how series 7 is going to be.