Dinosaurs on a spaceship. DW 7.2
Very brief thoughts.
If I was not so very tired, I would attempt a comparison of this episode with The Ark in Space (the 2nd episode of Season 12 - 4th Doctor travelling with Sarah Jane and Harry). Or maybe more of a Compare and Contrast...
Anyways, here are Things I Found Interesting/Good About Dinosaurs on a Spaceship.
- Rory's dad. The trowel. The eating sandwiches whilst watching Earth. Just... everything. <3
- Rory. Especially the moment where he threatens the robots. Because it's not an empty threat - his father doesn't know that, nor do the robots; but we do. There is some very nice Doctor-mirroring going on there - the surface looks daft, but underneath there's a core of steel. (Nurse/Doctor vs. warrior)
- Amy. Darling Amy who is now very Doctor-y in her own right. All take-charge and confident and brilliant.
- Nefertiti and Riddell. I found them entertaining and a nice addition - already 'friends' with the Doctor, so they didn't need lengthy explanations, but also new to adventuring, so (along with Brian) could fill the more traditional companion role.
- The Doctor and Solomon. So much of the episode was a fun and frothy frolic, but underneath it had a true heart of darkness - genocide and murder and the ever-present theme of death. Solomon was in many ways a very dark mirror for the Doctor (many thanks to owlsie for this insight): A magpie searching the universe for shiny things, but attaching a monetary value to everything. We have rarely has as truly vile a villain as this, and rarely has the Doctor's response been as unambiguous. He didn't give Solomon 'a choice', didn't try to reason with him [certainly not after learning about how he'd killed the Silurians] - he very deliberately killed him, and just as deliberately let Solomon know that this was what he was doing. ("He never raised his voice. That was the worst thing. The fury of the Time Lord.") My thoughts on this are twofold: One, being anonymous/unknown/worthless is - quite probably - a bad thing, as there is nothing to hold him back [I'm sure this will be a theme] and Two, I love how he owns his actions. No 'You forced me to do this' just 'I am doing this because you are despicable'. And that honesty is good. Dangerous, but good.
There were Other Things, but I am in no fit state to ponder them. Like music and Christmas lists and perception... Was reminded of van Statten from 'Dalek' who was so very excited when he discovered how rare the Doctor was, and the Doctor's verdict: "You just want to drag the stars down and stick them underground underneath tons of sand and dirt. And label them. You're about as far from the stars as you can get." Solomon's and van Statten's aims were technically different - one wanted to make money, the other was a collector - but it ended up as the same thing: Only wanting something in order to possess it, and attaching an arbitrary value to everything. The Doctor was priceless/worthless and judged on those terms, no other.
Oh and I loved the matter-of-fact way in which he fixed Solomon's legs.
If I was not so very tired, I would attempt a comparison of this episode with The Ark in Space (the 2nd episode of Season 12 - 4th Doctor travelling with Sarah Jane and Harry). Or maybe more of a Compare and Contrast...
Anyways, here are Things I Found Interesting/Good About Dinosaurs on a Spaceship.
- Rory's dad. The trowel. The eating sandwiches whilst watching Earth. Just... everything. <3
- Rory. Especially the moment where he threatens the robots. Because it's not an empty threat - his father doesn't know that, nor do the robots; but we do. There is some very nice Doctor-mirroring going on there - the surface looks daft, but underneath there's a core of steel. (Nurse/Doctor vs. warrior)
- Amy. Darling Amy who is now very Doctor-y in her own right. All take-charge and confident and brilliant.
- Nefertiti and Riddell. I found them entertaining and a nice addition - already 'friends' with the Doctor, so they didn't need lengthy explanations, but also new to adventuring, so (along with Brian) could fill the more traditional companion role.
- The Doctor and Solomon. So much of the episode was a fun and frothy frolic, but underneath it had a true heart of darkness - genocide and murder and the ever-present theme of death. Solomon was in many ways a very dark mirror for the Doctor (many thanks to owlsie for this insight): A magpie searching the universe for shiny things, but attaching a monetary value to everything. We have rarely has as truly vile a villain as this, and rarely has the Doctor's response been as unambiguous. He didn't give Solomon 'a choice', didn't try to reason with him [certainly not after learning about how he'd killed the Silurians] - he very deliberately killed him, and just as deliberately let Solomon know that this was what he was doing. ("He never raised his voice. That was the worst thing. The fury of the Time Lord.") My thoughts on this are twofold: One, being anonymous/unknown/worthless is - quite probably - a bad thing, as there is nothing to hold him back [I'm sure this will be a theme] and Two, I love how he owns his actions. No 'You forced me to do this' just 'I am doing this because you are despicable'. And that honesty is good. Dangerous, but good.
There were Other Things, but I am in no fit state to ponder them. Like music and Christmas lists and perception... Was reminded of van Statten from 'Dalek' who was so very excited when he discovered how rare the Doctor was, and the Doctor's verdict: "You just want to drag the stars down and stick them underground underneath tons of sand and dirt. And label them. You're about as far from the stars as you can get." Solomon's and van Statten's aims were technically different - one wanted to make money, the other was a collector - but it ended up as the same thing: Only wanting something in order to possess it, and attaching an arbitrary value to everything. The Doctor was priceless/worthless and judged on those terms, no other.
Oh and I loved the matter-of-fact way in which he fixed Solomon's legs.