7x02 - Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (Vorausstrahlungsthread)

Doctor Who “Dinosaurs On A Spaceship” Spoiler-Free Preview

From SFX

Quote:
• A very silly, fast-paced, but amusing romp. Kind of like how “The Curse Of The Black Spot” should have been, but wasn’t. The story may not be the greatest ever, but it absolutely nails the correct tone.

• Although it may be a little too fast-paced to begin with. It’s not confusing – you know what’s going on – you’d just like to know a little but more about why what’s going on is going on.

• The humour ranges from Carry On innuendo to some near-Douglas Adams style concepts, especially a means of propulsion.

• The guest performances aren’t as broad as you’d expect given the crazy cast of characters (and casting) the story has on offer; it’s actually played remarkable straight…

• …Except for two specific characters, who are very funny, very Douglas Adams and impeccably voiced.

• We may have found the new Wilfred Mott – you’ll know who we mean within minutes of the episode starting and his final scene is so sweet.

• The reason there are dinosaurs on a spaceship has a very pleasing logic behind it.

• There are some creaky plot mechanics that come into play at certain points; some things that appear “random” are actually “convenient”.

• Rory gets to do what he’s best at.

• Director Saul Metzstein seems to be going for the world record for the number of “reverse angle shots from behind a viewscreen” he can fit into an episode. Use for the basis of a drinking game.

• The dinosaurs are great – both in terms of FX and the way they’re used in the plot – and there are enough of them to justify the hyperbolic episode title.

• There’s a foreshadowing line between the Doctor and Amy that will send shivers down your spine.

• There are two Arthur C Clarke references, one overt, one a not-so-subtle (but very funny) allusion to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

• The villain is very good, and again, surprisingly underplayed, especially considering what the actor playing him said about who he based his performance on (there are mild spoilers at that link – ed)… it doesn’t show.

• Hell, if I’d seen this when I was seven it would have been the BEST THING EVER! But then again, I LOVED dinosaurs…

Zitat

Im Trailer ist eine Felswand zu sehen, die stark an die Felswand im Engel-Zweiteiler erinnert.

Typisch BBC Cardiff.

Auf BBC1 lief eben ein "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"-trailer, den ich noch nirgends online gesehen habe und der viel mehr auf den Inhalt eingeht.

Hier eine interessante Rezension mit ein paar milden Spoilers:

Zitat

Ok, when last year we heard that the Moff in his wisdom was going to produce an episode called Let's Kill Hitler, I, for one, groaned. Awful title, I bemoaned, daft, stupid, petty and silly. I'll hate it, I was convinced. Hate it completely.

Turns out I loved it, and what do I know about titles? Nothing! That's what I know, nothing. So when Chris Chibnall comes up with, ahem, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, I refrained from going, "What? Really? Awww, get to maaaan!" and instead settled down to watch it with a Hitlerian open mind. Can I say that? Probably not.

So, we have the Doctor abducting the Ponds again, this time along with Rory's handyman dad Brian (there to fix a light fitting) in a breathless beginning involving Egyptian God/Queen Queen Nefertiti and turn of the the (20th) Century big game hunter (luckily, as he's not picked specifically for what's to come...) Riddel and the ISA (a sort of Asian UNIT of the 27th Century) all landing on a spaceship seemingly devoid of crew but well, you can guess what's on it. Perhaps not why though, although there is a very logical reason and once you know you'll slap your forehead and go "of course".

Of course, there's a ticking clock; the ship is heading to Earth and the Doctor and his gang ("Always wanted a gang...") have six hours to stop it or the ISA are going to blow it out of the sky, and complications, including the afore mentioned dinosaurs, a pair of wonderful camp and bickering robots and the brutal and greedy Solomon conspire to stop them but the Doctor is positively devouring the adventure and the absolute bonkerness of the situation with relish. Can they stop Solomon's greedy ambitions and save not just themselves, but the last of the dinosaurs as well?

It's an odd one, this. It may divide folks right down the middle. You'll either love the Adamesque daftness of it, the manic, whirlwind Doctor and the sometimes near the knuckle jokes and language, or you'll cringe at the near the knuckle jokes and language, crazily camp but deadly robots and the denoument which sees the Doctor do something so out of character - and so uncommented on - that you'll be screaming Chibnall's name as you set yourself on fire.

Personally, well, it's a big daft old adventure. It has that fractured and somewhat pointless "the Ponds are at home and the Doctor comes and whisks them away again" (ten months have elapsed from, we presume, Asylum of the Daleks), and it shows a Doctor not averse to gaining other companions and having a myriad of unseen adventures. Riann Steele and the woefully underused Rupert Grave's Nefertiti and Riddel are old friends and/or companions of the Doctor with a trust and shorthand only preserved for TARDIS crews. Amy remakes "So who are those two, the new us?" at one point, but the Doctor points out that the Ponds are different, they need a life of their own, because they have each other. Why we have a big game hunter and an Egyptian Queen is cursorarily explained but for the most part it's just because they add to the craziness of it. There's also a nice little cameo from an old enemy, so the internal continuity is spot on. The story itself is pretty one dimensional, and David Bradley's Solomon is just another growling old pirate with an incredibly viscious streak. Even so, the Doctor's treatment of him will have notice boards buzzing for weeks.

Star of the show is Mark William's Brian, who when you meet him you'll say "Well, of course that's Rory's dad!" and the comedy triple act between him, Rory and the Doctor is a funny, if occasionally inappropriate for tea time, vaudeville act. There's nothing to not like about him, although he sort of accepts the situation a bit too readily.

There's some laugh out loud gags, some little continuity touches - "Love a rock" - and the special effects - from the dinosaurs themselves (exorcising any memory of certain other dinosaurs on Doctor Who) to the fabulous space scenes, are well executed and beautifully shot.

Whether you like this or not will depend on your frame of mind and what you want to get out of your Who. Some will see it for the daft knock about it is. Most will appreciate a uniformally funny perfomance by all the cast. Some may see it as a lightweight adventure which sits uncomfortably with its brutal ending, with underdeveloped characters and a story more concerned about fitting itself around a funny title than actually telling good Who.

I'm still not sure where I lie yet.

TEASERS

1. The Doctor does something he did in Parting of the Ways and Blink
2. An old enemy played by a familiar actor makes an appearance
3. "Love a rock"
4. There's a A Good Man Goes to War vibe to the first couple of minutes
5. "Those things that aren't kestrels"
6. What is it with the Doctor and Queens?
7. "Don't tell him I said that"
8. "Well, there is my balls..."
9. "Comedy gold!"
10. Welcome to...

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Klingt für mich als ob Chibnall den Moffat-Stil kopiert. Verspüre wenig Vorfreude was diese Episode angeht...

Zitat von Tichy

oder oswin

Sie ist kein "enemy". Außerdem haben etliche, die die Folge bereits gesehen haben, bestätigt, dass Oswin weder erscheint noch erwähnt wird.

Zitat von jjbgood

naja bekannter schauspieler der einen bekannten feind spielt, kann man so oder so verstehen.
ich habs jetzt so verstanden, das es ein bekannter schauspieler ist, aber nicht aus dem who universum, also eine alte rolle neu(prominent) besetzt.
man kann es natürlich auch so verstehen, das ein alter feind mit einen bekannten who schauspieler wiederkäme...dann könnte es (rein theoretisch) john simm als master, frances barber als madame kovarian oder julian bleach als davros sein...
ersteres undletzteres wage ich aber zu bezweifeln...

"familiar" heißt aber nicht "famous" oder "known". Sondern, dass er uns familiär, also bekannt sein sollte. Den Who-Zuschauern bekannt.

EDIT:

Mehr hints...

Zitat

Cult Box offered up these 10 hints about the upcoming Dinosaurs on a Spaceship episode (what are your guesses):

» A day referenced in Asylum of the Daleks is mentioned again. [Christmas]

» The Doctor does something very un-Doctory.

» Wasn't expecting to see that old monster! [Makes me think not Silurian, because that you would expect.]

» The Doctor has new nickname for a well-known Queen.

» Rory doesn't have one any more, but the Doctor does.

» The psychic paper shows off a new attribute.

» The Doctor is missing the right audience for attempt at stand-up comedy.

» We're pretty sure that's not the right TARDIS.

» Rory finally connects (literally) with the Doctor in a way that all previous nu-Who companions have at some point. [kisses the Doctor?]

» One scene evokes both The Beast Below and Partners In Crime at once.

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Zitat von thunder_burn

Madame Kavarian halte ich auch für äußerst unwahrscheinlich. Dann kann der Doctor auch gleich auf den Heimatplaneten der Silence fliegen, aussteigen und rufen "Bin da! Wer noch?". Würde ja die ganze Idee vernichten, dass das Universum glaubt, der Doctor wäre tot. Jetzt mal abgesehen von den Daleks.

Öhm, der Doctor ist doch ein Zeitreisender... er wurde ja nicht völlig aus der Zeit gelöscht!

Zitat von thunder_burn

Schon richtig. Glaube dennoch nicht, das Moffat das wieder ausgräbt, nachdem er das Thema gerade erst beendet hat. Zudem: Würdest Du Die Madame als "Old Enemy" bezeichnen? Ist eher ´n Neuer Feind, oder?

Die Frage ist halt, wie alt ist "old"...

Davros? Cassandra?