DW Review: "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"

Dinosaurs! On a spaceship! That's how this episode began, as the doctor and Queen Nefertiti land on a ship bound for earth, with earth bound to destroy it. With a quick pickup of a game hunter and the Ponds, with Mr. Williams included, the story sets off. After escaping dinosaurs galore, and playing fetch with a triceratops, the gang encounters the true threat and truth behind this ship. It's the equivalent of an ark for the Silurians, preserving their time in a ship as their species faced extinction. A trader named Solomon landed there by accident, saw the cargo, and murdered the Silurians. Unfortunately, he couldn't pilot the ship, which was defaulted back to earth. The doctor was able to stop Solomon, repilot the ship back, and save the day.

This was a fantastic standalone episode. I really don't like episodes on a spaceship, mostly because of the largely throwaway characters, but Chibnall did well here. The game hunter was reminiscent of Muldoon from Jurassic Park. Its all in the accent. But he brought a good amount of comedy in his dealings with Nefertiti, who was portrayed as a truly strong, independent woman. Mr. Williams was a fantastic addition, and it was mostly believable how he went from experiencing the TARDIS for the first time, to helping save the day. And he even got inspired to travel afterwards.

One of the best parts was the doctor's dealing with the Ponds. They have come to value their own private, home life now. They still like adventures with the doctor, but that's only a part of their life. But we can see that for the doctor, that's a major part of his life. You can feel the sadness on his face when they want to return home. And how distraught he was at the thought that he may outlive the Ponds. They hinted a bit that the Ponds may depart prematurely, and I wonder if they'll hint more at it in the next two episodes.

And shockingly, the doctor let Solomon die instead of saving him. It's a real change of character, and somewhat scary as well. I hope this was an intentional move, and if so, I'm so curious to see where it leads. 

Overall, a very strong episode, which was about more than its seemingly superficial title. Next week also looks like a fun standalone, in a good western setting. A strong continuation of the season thus far, and I can see how each episode is almost like a standalone blockbuster. Good stuff.

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