The guest actors are stupendous across the board – just look at how much fun Rupert Graves has playing the over-the-top Riddell – but special mention must be given to Mark Williams’ work as Brian. I love how Chibnall writes the character, but it’s Williams who brings him to life so perfectly. Williams’ quietly warm, subtly humorous work as Arthur Weasley was always a highlight of the Harry Potter films, and he puts those same talents to good use here, nailing every comedic moment while also establishing Brian as good man worth caring about.
The strength of his work is evident in the final scene, as Brian’s request to sit in the TARDIS’ entryway with his lunch pail and look upon Earth from above actually brought me to tears. It’s such a beautiful visual, and a gently powerful idea: An everyday British handyman, one with no previous cosmic aspirations, asking to simply look upon his home planet. It works because Williams has so effortlessly made us care about this seemingly simple man, even though we met him only forty minutes prior. In fact, Brian’s arc is one that could only take place on Doctor Who. Where else could one take a new character, develop him over the course of a crazy sci-fi adventure, and end on a soft note of broad cosmic significance? Beautiful, inspiring stuff, and punctuating the moment by revealing that Brian went on to have more adventures with the Doctor only increased my love for the episode.
The dinosaurs, of course, deserve recognition as well. Bringing these creatures to life isn’t just a remarkable feat of television special effects – look how naturally the Triceratops interacts with humans – but an achievement in visual design and direction. The dinosaurs have actual personality here, much like they did in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, allowing us to share the Doctor’s emotional investment in their safety. When the rude robot strikes down the Triceratops, I actually felt sad about this CGI creature, a response most blockbuster movies – let alone individual TV episodes – fail to create.
In fact, Saul Metzstein’s direction was exquisite across the board. The episode looked fantastic, with strong design elements at every turn and a taut sense of pace and momentum. Composer Murray Gold absolutely went wild with the ‘adventure’ elements of the story, delivering a score completely befitting the script’s fun, wacky sensibilities.
Dinosaurs on a Spaceship is a masterful episode of Doctor Who, one that kept a big, goofy grin on my face from beginning to end. It may not be as dramatically potent as some of the series’ most memorable episodes, but serious material is occasionally unnecessary. For a show that can literally be anything, fun and frivolous episodes are real necessities, and Dinosaurs on a Spaceship is one of the best of its kind. I could not possibly be happier with the hour, and am overjoyed that Moffat has chosen to go in a more standalone, ‘blockbuster’ direction this season. So far, the team is batting two-for-two on insanely memorable episodes, and I cannot wait to see what comes next. This is Doctor Who at its very best.
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Follow author Jonathan Lack on Twitter @JonathanLack.
