Dinosaurs on a Spaceship Review

This story felt like a traditional Doctor Who story, it felt very much like a base under siege story which was a staple of the original series.

There was an impressive guest cast, Riann Steele almost steals the show as Queen Nefertiti, Rupert Graves was a delight, as was Mark Williams as Rory's Dad Brian but for sheer acting honours Matt Smith really pulled out all the stops in this episode.

It was a lovely storyline which felt dare I say it, a bit like an episode of the original Star Trek.  A spaceship on a collision course with a planet.  In this case the Earth of course, not that Doctor Who didn't do those sorts of story too, hello Mawdryn Undead!  Whilst Mawdryn had Nicholas Courtney's Brigadier, this story had dinosaurs in it.  They were very beautifully realised on screen, the Triceratops in particular must come in for some very well due praise.

A shame we didn't get dinosaurs like this in the classic Jon Pertwee story Invasion of the Dinosaurs, where that story holds up really well is in it's story telling.  Dinosaurs on a Spaceship didn't disappoint either, although I must admit on watching this latest Doctor Who adventure, I kept getting mental flashbacks to Jon's encounter with them.

The humour in the characters was good and modern too with a liberal dose of Carry On standard double entendre's.  Rory's crestfallen look of horror at the Doctor kissing him was priceless! If Russell T. Davies had written this one there would've been the obligatory pokes at his gay agenda, but he didn't, Steven Moffat did.

It was a story which felt very safe.  I just knew that Solomon was gonna get his comeuppance, and it was nice to see the actor best remembered for playing Hogwart's Argus Filch, David Bradley, in a much more meatier role on screen.  Filch might be a nasty character but Solomon was much nastier, even after the Doctor helped him to walk again.

Another epic story which didn't fail to disappoint, and thankfully not much bickering between the Ponds in this story, which is a shame as we know their relationship is doomed to failure.

Looking forward to the next story in the series, A Town Called Mercy looks awesome, it really does.  Don't forget to join us in the Doctor Who Bar on Sunday from 5.15pm pressing Play 5.30pm when we re-watch it.