Dinosaurs On a Spaceship (3302/702)

[Cold Fuzz]

Your second comment raises a very interesting point... I'm quite anxious to see where this is going. It's been a very long time since we've had a set of companions outgrow the Doctor, shall we say... I hope it's well executed. And if one or both companions do die, I think I will genuinly be emotionally hit.

It took me 2 viewings to see that Dinosaurs on a Spaceship is deeper than at first glance. The current situation with the companions points back to Sarah Jane, Joan Redfern, and Martha, all of whom refused to travel with the Doctor for various reasons. I think all three women displayed great strength of character for doing that.

Also, Amy's behavior in particular points back to "The God Complex" when the Doctor broke her faith in him in order to save her. I think he wants her to stop waiting for him. This also points to something else even further back: The Dream Lord ominously told the Doctor in "Amy's Choice" that the old man prefers the company of the young. Amy & Rory have grown up and the Doctor sees it.

[Cold Fuzz]

I think it's really interesting the way no-one now knows who he is. I was never very keen on the whole previous God-like premise anyway as I felt it didn't sit well with "classic Who". I much prefer the Doctor being an anonymous hero.

Ultimately I think this new development will give more creative freedom with the Doctor's character and his choices, especially if there's a moral dilemma.

[aretood2]

Actually - I think it was deservedly dark. And tbh, only those with a mind able to deal with it will see it as rape.

I was too distracted by the fact that he committed genocide for the off chance that he can sell series of extinct Earth creatures. But thinking back, I agree with Quizzaird below, breaking someone does not mean rape. interrogators break people all the time without sexual assault. Some people "break" as in they lose it. Honestly, after genocide nothing else that he did really added any shock value for me (including the Triceratops's murder). I mean...it took Hitler awhile to develop hate over several years to decide that genocide was the answer...this guy did it in a heart beat without even having personal feelings about the Sulirians.

I thought that the episode was fun to watch, if not disturbing at some points.

I had learned to ignore things in Dr. Who that don't make sense, so I wasn't bothered by the two extra companions. Rory's dad was a great addition Did he end up going with the Doctor on a few trips?

[Quizziard]

I was too distracted by the fact that he committed genocide for the off chance that he can sell series of extinct Earth creatures.

For me, for that reason, he's one of the nastiest villains we've seen in a long time. However, did that give the Doctor the right to become judge, jury and executioner? Does it not drop the Doctor to his level?

[fumblesmcstupid]

My 15 year old daughter & I were watching and Saloman said something like "You won't do this to me" ( killing him) to the doctor. My Daughter and I said at the same time "Yes he would"

The Daleks use to call him "The Predator" for a reason.

[Cold Fuzz]

For me, for that reason, he's one of the nastiest villains we've seen in a long time. However, did that give the Doctor the right to become judge, jury and executioner? Does it not drop the Doctor to his level?

The Doctor is the closest thing Earth has to an interstellar judicial authority like the Shadow Proclamation. The following lines from The Poison Sky pretty much sums up the Doctor's role in Earth's protection:

Colonel Mace: You are not authorized to speak on behalf of the Earth.
The Doctor: Oh, I've got that authority. I earned that a long time ago.

Another example of this would be condemning the Family of Blood to their respective eternal sentences, a fate arguably worse than death.

Does it not drop the Doctor to his level?

No, not at all. The Doctor's decisions in the episode did not even come close to actions like committing genocide against the Silurians, pawning off the dinosaurs or wanting to enslave Nefertiti for base commerce. If Solomon was allowed to live, who knows how many other countless lives would have been lost. Solomon was incredibly unrepentant about everything too. Scragging him was absolutely the right decision. By eliminating Solomon, the Doctor was potentially saving thousands of lives and making sure nobody else has to suffer at his hands.

My 15 year old daughter & I were watching and Saloman said something like "You won't do this to me" ( killing him) to the doctor. My Daughter and I said at the same time "Yes he would"

The Daleks use to call him "The Predator" for a reason.

Yep, he would. If the Doctor was willing to eliminate the Silence en masse in "Day of the Moon" to free humanity from their influence, he'd be willing to scrag a single intergalactic trader guilty of piracy and genocide.

[Coco Pops]

Actually that name "The Predator" seems a bit odd. Wasn't he also called th Krafa fang or something in the Dalek Language?

[Sealurk]

Ka Faraq Gatri, meaning 'the Destroyer of Worlds' to Daleks, though I can't remember if it's in official/canon media or not.

[BruTak]

Who's to say that Solomon's dead? Yes, his ship was destroyed by the missiles, but he could've had an escape pod tucked away somewhere.

[aretood2]

For me, for that reason, he's one of the nastiest villains we've seen in a long time. However, did that give the Doctor the right to become judge, jury and executioner? Does it not drop the Doctor to his level?

There's a lot of things that I have found questionable about the Doctor. He's not a saint. He's a good Timelord, tries his best to do the right thing, but he ends up cornered by his emotions or circumstance and falls short of sainthood. But it's easy to judge him from a TV screen. He has killed before, what's the difference here? He has played god before...

[Teddybrown]

I think Ive worked out why the Doctor bought along Ordel before he knew there were dinosaurs on board.
Maybe when the Earth people did sent the probe up and showed the results to the Doctor, he realised that is was animal DNA or something like that and thought of him because he would be useful against animals, only realising its dinosaurs when he gets onto the ship...

[GateFanSamJack]

Rory's dad, happily sitting in the doorway of the TARDIS, sipping his cuppa, munching on his sandwich (bacon butty I'll be bound), and watching the Earth slowly turn below him... Lovely.

Something else cool about that was Amy and Rory having their moment of seeing him seeing it, if they were to ever get jaded that it's special, then the doctor seeing their seeing him see it moment.

[aretood2]

Something else cool about that was Amy and Rory having their moment of seeing him seeing it, if they were to ever get jaded that it's special, then the doctor seeing their seeing him see it moment.

Que?

[GateFanSamJack]

One point of The Doctor having companions is to have someone along who will be awed.

[RJLCyberPunk]

Your second comment raises a very interesting point... I'm quite anxious to see where this is going. It's been a very long time since we've had a set of companions outgrow the Doctor, shall we say... I hope it's well executed. And if one or both companions do die, I think I will genuinly be emotionally hit.

When was the last time a companion has died? The Dr somehow manages to save them all in the most ingenious ways possible. Anyway am I the only one who felt bad when the young triceratops was killed by Solomon and his robot minions? i think that combined with the genocide he commited with the Silurians led the Doctor to send Solomon to his righteous fiery end.