Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (TV story)

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship was the second episode of the seventh series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales. With this episode, a member of the Williams family is finally introduced by name; specifically Rory's father. It also shows how much more technologically advanced the Silurians were; they created the Ark to house dinosaurs and some of their species when the Moon was about to align with Earth.

Synopsis
The Doctor is recruited to help with an spaceship hurtling towards Earth. He has very little time to find a way to change its destination, Earth, and save its impossible cargo… of dinosaurs!

Plot
The Doctor has saved Egypt from trouble and is trying to return to his TARDIS. However, Queen Nefertiti, attracted to the Doctor, stops him and tries to get his attention. The Doctor's cellphone rings; he answers it. Telling her the device is unimportant, he learns that the Indian Space Agency needs his help; he's forced to take "Neffy" with him. Arriving in the 24th century, the Doctor is informed of a spaceship coming closer to Earth that has failed to respond to any of their attempts to communicate; if it gets within ten thousand Km of Earth, they will send up missiles to destroy it. The Doctor decides to get a "gang" together to help explore the vessel. Arriving in Africa in the 20th century, the Doctor meets his old friend John Riddell, a game hunter he left behind after saying he left to get some sweets; Riddell eagerly agrees to join in the mystery adventure. In Leadworth, 2020, Rory has his father, Brian Williams, over to help fix a light bulb. After explaining the fixture may be the problem, Brian says Rory is lucky to have Amy; Amy finds this amusing. As Brian continues working on the light, the sound of the TARDIS materialization is heard. Amy and Rory quietly argue that the Doctor picks the worst times to show up and she wants to "kill him"; Brian thinks they left the door open.

The TARDIS materializes around them, shocking Brian in place while the Doctor (not looking at them) greets Amy and Rory, telling them to grab a torchlight and head outside with him, Neffy and Riddell. As they head out, Amy questions the Doctor about what he's up to this time; he decided he needed a group, so he picked them up. Brian exits the TARDIS and the Doctor immediately questions him with hostility. Rory explains that Brian is his father, calming the Doctor. The Doctor, who Brian seems to have not met, greets him as he walks off with Amy, Neffy and Riddell. Rory explains he and Amy honeymooned throughout time and space aboard the TARDIS to his confused father. Amy and the Doctor catch up in the meantime as she expresses her fear that the gaps between his visits are becoming longer to the point where he might never show up again. The Doctor comforts her, saying he will always show up. Rory and Brian catch up as the doors in front of them begin opening. Seeing what's coming out of the other side, the Doctor tells everyone to run. However, he has to be pulled away by Amy because he is surprised to find "Dinosaurs, on a spaceship!"

to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Matt Smith
 * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
 * Rory Williams - Arthur Darvill
 * Riddell - Rupert Graves
 * Brian Williams - Mark Williams
 * Solomon - David Bradley
 * Queen Nefertiti - Riann Steele
 * Indira - Sunetra Sarker
 * Robot 1 - Noel Byrne
 * Robot 1 voice - David Mitchell
 * Robot 2 - Richard Garaghty
 * Robot 2 voice - Robert Webb
 * Bleytal - Richard Hope
 * ISA Worker - Rudi Dharmalingam

Culture

 * Brian calls the Doctor Arthur C. Clarke when he, the Doctor and Rory are in the engine room.
 * When the Doctor disables Solomon's robots, they sing "Daisy Bell" - a reference to HAL's disabling in Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey.
 * Amy says that John needs a lesson in gender politics.

Sports

 * Brian enjoys golf and carries golf balls around with him.

Story notes

 * This episode received an Appreciation Index of 87.
 * The Doctor claims to be a Sagittarius, but qualifies this statement by adding, "Probably." Interestingly enough, November 23 (the first airdate of Doctor Who in 1963) falls during the time that Sagittarius is occupied by the sun.
 * In a moment of excitement, the Doctor kisses Rory on the mouth after Rory suggests checking if the Silurian Ark has defence systems. This is the second same-sex kiss featured in the series and the first initiated by the Doctor. The first kiss was between Captain Jack Harkness and the Ninth Doctor in The Parting of the Ways.
 * For this episode, the Doctor Who logo's texture resembled scales, like those of a dinosaur. It was also given a green hue.
 * Mark Williams (Brian Williams) previously played Maxwell Edison in BFA: The Eternal Summer.

Ratings

 * The episode received overnight ratings of 5.5 million viewers in the UK.

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors

 * The Doctor's socks constantly change from stripy blue socks to his normal black socks.
 * On the final postcard sent by Rory's dad, the TARDIS exterior resembles how it looked before the redesign in The Eleventh Hour.
 * The flying reptiles identified as pterodactyls are actually pteranodons, a related, though different species of pterosaur, as noted by the distinctive spike-like crest on the back of its head.
 * Shots of the TARDIS and Solomon's ship next to the Silurian Ark show it is nowhere near the size of Canada (10 million square kilometres)

Continuity

 * Rory states that he is 31 years old. If Rory was born in 1989 (considering that Amy and Rory are the same age in DW: Let's Kill Hitler and Amy's birth year according to DW: The Big Bang was 1989), then the Doctor picks up Rory, Amy and Brian in 2020, which seems to be the same year that Amy and Rory went back to the hill and waved to themselves in DW: The Hungry Earth, an episode also featuring Silurians.
 * Rory's mobile phone rings on the spaceship and Brian is shocked by how it can work in space. On previous occasions the Doctor has been shown to convert a mobile phone into a "superphone". He has done this for Rose Tyler, (DW: The End of the World), and Martha Jones. (DW: 42)
 * The Doctor has previously taken a companion's parent on a TARDIS trip by accident before in DW: Army of Ghosts.
 * The Doctor has travelled with Egyptian royalty before, as he shared many adventures with the princess Erimem in the Big Finish audio adventures (from BFA: The Eye of the Scorpion). As is implied with Nefertiti, Erimem also ultimately ended up staying behind in another time and place (BFA: The Bride of Peladon). While he did not necessarily travel with her, he was also implied to have a relationship with Cleopatra. (DW: The Girl in the Fireplace, The Wedding of River Song)
 * A photo of Amy and Rory at their wedding appears on their fridge alongside Brian's postcards (DW: The Big Bang)
 * The Silurians were previously seen to use a dinosaur to guard their base. (DW: Doctor Who and the Silurians)
 * The Doctor accuses Brian Williams of boarding the TARDIS via transmat. (DW: Bad Wolf)
 * The Doctor say to Rory, when talking about Brian, that the TARDIS isn't a Taxi Service, like he said to Adric when he wanted to go back to Alzarius. (DW: Earthshock)

DVD releases
to be added

Blu-ray releases
to be added