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Doctor Who 2012 season part one: Dinosaurs On A Spaceship 09 September 2012.

Continuing from last week, if you’re living in a country that hasn’t seen these episodes yet, read with caution but I’m not going to give too much away. If you can watch it first, that’s even better

I wonder when it happened outside of TV continuity that the Doctor became the guy to ring up when there was a problem outside of a people’s control? Last time, it was Churchill, now in 2367AD, a team in India. Is this a subliminal plot to sell novels for these missed events?

Dr Who Poster 2.
Timelords riding dinosaurs? Cool.

The Doctor isn’t correct when he says he’s never led a gang before. What were they when he was in his fifth regeneration when he had four people on the TARDIS and for a longer period? This isn’t to say that there wasn’t some skilled use of the five extra companions this time around and with two of them, a reminder that he often goes out of his way to meet interesting people in his travels, but it was still a touch of convenience plotting to give them all something to do.

Probably the oddest thing was having the TARDIS materialising around the Ponds than letting them walk in through the door like they normally would do. It was just a convenient way to get Rory’s dad, Brian, into the adventure by mistake. Adding this facet to the Doctor Who mythos and something only the Master had done previously, in the Doctor’s fourth regeneration, is of some concern because it would also mean that he can remove companions or unwanted guests the same way now. Part of the interest with the TARDIS is that it doesn’t fully function, not to be made a convenient tool like the sonic screwdriver to do plot necessities because it hasn’t been done before.

Is there anything good? I like the idea that the spaceship was a Silurian Ark. After all, they couldn’t all have stayed on Earth with the Ice Age that had them hibernate. The special effects was near perfection this time and it’s a shame the BBC have dropped their ‘Confidential’ series because it would have been interesting to see behind the scenes of this episode. It was a bit odd that the humans on Earth and the Silurians both had similar touchscreen technology.

Something else that is worrying is that as despicable a villain that Solomon was, this is another first that the Doctor knowingly arranges for someone to die. A bit odd for someone opting for peaceful solutions or a fate with some irony. [Before anyone points out the sixth regeneration Doctor annihilating Skaro, there was no indication that all the Daleks were there when he did so.]

There, a review without even mentioning the dinosaur ride, although its s shame Amy missed out on that. Don’t forget to carry a mini-shovel, medical kit and golf balls if you ever get invited for a little adventure.

 Geoff Willmetts

September 2012

 

I’ve had a couple emails the morning after I put this on-line pointing out that the Doctor has killed in the past. Just in case you think I’ve forgotten my Who history, I think you’ll find all of those, with the exception of Skaro, were done when he and his companions were in immediate danger of being killed themselves. With Solomon, this wasn’t a case of self-defence.

We’re going to be having an active feedback on this new site shortly, so we should be in for some interesting tussles.

UncleGeoff

Geoff Willmetts has been editor at SFCrowsnest for some 21 plus years now, showing a versatility and knowledge in not only Science Fiction, but also the sciences and arts, all of which has been displayed here through editorials, reviews, articles and stories. With the latter, he has been running a short story series under the title of ‘Psi-Kicks’ If you want to contribute to SFCrowsnest, read the guidelines and show him what you can do. If it isn’t usable, he spends as much time telling you what the problems is as he would with material he accepts. This is largely how he got called an Uncle, as in Dutch Uncle. He’s not actually Dutch but hails from the west country in the UK.

19 thoughts on “Doctor Who 2012 season part one: Dinosaurs On A Spaceship 09 September 2012.

  • Sorry to break it to you, but the Doctor has killed, directly or indirectly, many times in his 11 incarnations.

    Just go back through the Doctor’s history and you will see many example.

  • Didn’t you find it strange that Brian didn’t remember the Doctor from Rory’s wedding? Perhaps that’s going to be how the Ponds are written out of it – as everyone begins to forget about the Doctor, so do they and he leaves it that way to protect them.

  • Geoff, it would be a mini-shovel not a mini-shuffle. I also found the Doctors killing of Solomon to be a little out of character, but he did look pretty pissed at Solomon and what he had done earlier…

  • Hello Aidan

    I wonder if Brian actually attended his son’s wedding?? I gave a suggestion as to how the Ponds would be written out in the SFC Forum which might be conceived as a spoiler here.

    Hello Sharpy

    Ooops and corrected on the error. A mini-shuffle is still pretty handy if you have a pack of cards.

    As to Solomon. It wasn’t even though he went down fighting but fleeing and was hardly a great villain.

    Geoff

    • He didn’t seem like the type of father who would miss his son’s wedding, and as he was scared of travelling couldn’t get away with saying that he was on holiday. But yes, perhaps he didn’t make it for some unknown reason and nobody told him about the big blue box that appeared halfway during the speeches.

      Interesting theory on the Ponds. I was also thinking that they may be sent back in time by the Weeping Angels and become the mother and father of humanity – remember the Doctor’s line to Brian – “Of course you’re a Pond” – We’re all Ponds…

      Speculation is fun.

  • Hello Aidan

    Well, Brian had to miss the wedding somehow cos he would have remembered the Doctor’s arrival otherwise. I appreciate the fear of travelling. If you can’t do it, you can’t do it. I make the late Asimov look like he had wanderlust these days.

    As to the Ponds becoming the parents of humanity. Nah! That sounds too close to parenting River Song. Even so, if it was, it goes against what Karen Gillan said that there won’t be any comeback calls. If they are stranded in the past, the Doctor could always rescue them without messing up humanity’s timeline.

    Geoff

  • It jarred with me also about the Doctor deliberately causing Solomon’s death (even though it was well-deserved). That was a LOT out of character! Better if it had been unavoidable, I feel, as DW shouldn’t become just another vigilante.

    And the “We’re all Ponds,” statement fascinates me. Red Herring, or a clue to weirdness? I hope their leaving ISN’T tragic though, as they’ve been in the prog too long for that.

    • In fairness, the Doctor didn’t say in the episode “we’re all Ponds”, I did. He just said to Brian, “of course, you’re a Pond”. The rest was pure theory on my part.

      I kind of hope there is a bit of tragedy. Most of the companions have gone on to lead happy lives. It may be time to shake things up a bit and give the Doctors something to feel guilty about as he doesn’t seem too bothered about the Time War anymore.

  • Hello Aidan

    Brian wouldn’t be a Pond unless he was Amy’s father, would he?? Maybe the Doctor is going senile in his old age.
    It’s been two generations and, by his travelling, probably several decades since the Time War, so he’s probably put it in perspective.

    Hello Jake

    In many instances, the Doctor has been a law unto himself.

    Geoff

    • Very true regarding the Time War Geoff.

      Brian did protest that he wasn’t a Pond but the Doctor wouldn’t hear of it

  • I think it means that Amy is in charge. I found this episode unsatisfying for all the reasons mentioned and the carry-on jokes didn’t work for me. Even Matt Smith was too over the top here. The interchange between Rory and his father the best bits.
    I hope Brian not remembering is not just sloppy plotting.

    • Hi All,

      I know it’s true the Doctor has been a law unto himself (I recall the unsavory sight of S.Mcoy strangling one villain to death)but I just feel it’s the fact that it’s not normal behavior for most of his incarnations is to his credit. However, I enjoy seeing villains get done in, but not by DW if it happens to be avoidable!
      As Sue suggests, we could be reading too much into Brian’s ‘Pond’ bit, as even scriptwriters make mistakes!

  • Hello Sue and Jake

    I was going to make a comment with the next week’s episode that the season episode conference must have started off with: ‘What big thing can we do in each episode?’ Dinosaurs. Westerns. So far.
    With the American connection now, how long before the Doctor arrives in Prohibition Chicago and faces drunken Yeti??
    Geoff

    • Yes, it must be difficult for the scriptwriters, thinking that each story has to be earth-shattering. Personally, I think it’s good to mix it up, & also have quality ‘little’ stories that are simply absorbing. They needn’t have far-reaching repercussions every time.

  • Hello Jake

    I’m still wondering when the show-runners are going to open up to scriptwriters who aren’t on their Christmas card list. Granted its a pressure to do a script for such an expensive show but it might help bring in something that doesn’t have to key into a season topic.

    Geoff

    • Hi Geoff,

      Absolutely. And I’d do it like a shot! Probably like countless others, I’ve secretly nurtured a few ideas over the years, some ‘epic’, some modest little ones. But as you say, it would have to be one that could be slotted in to the long-term themes.

  • Hello Jake

    Immagine how many scripts they would get, too. I can understand their dilemma even if it’s problematic that there aren’t that many experienced SF orientated scriptwriters in the UK.

    Geoff

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