[Doctor Who Review] Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

Dinosaurs was a fun episode but for the fun I think it squeezed too many people into 43 minutes.
It has been 10 months since the Ponds saw the Doctor and things seem to be on the mend in the household. Meanwhile the Doctor and Queen Nefertiti just saved her people from locusts and before long she and the Doctor are off so quickly you wonder if the Doctor is going to continue light hearts afire across time and space.
See there is a problem in the 24th Century, a giant ship is about to crash into Earth and the International Space Agency has summoned the Doctor for help and he in turn goes back in time to get a big game hunter, Riddell played by Rupert Graves and the Ponds in under two minutes and while the audience tries not suffer from whiplash the TARDIS arrives on the spaceship only to find Dinosaurs!
Cue the credits.

Whew.
The picking up the Ponds would get old for the entire season but they’re leaving in 3 more episodes so let’s ignore the fact the TARDIS dematerializes around the Ponds and Rory’s father played by Harry Potter alum Mark Williams and off they go!
Something Season 6 began was the fact the Doctor has met people before long enough to make an impression and leave. This elevates the: Who are you and it’s bigger on the inside routine. The slight problem is: any more companions than 3 and the plot suffers. If this were a Doctor-lite episode I would not complain but as much as I enjoy the Doctor and his Irregulars (for lack of a better term) save it for the 2 part episodes.
Nefertiti played by Riann Steele suffers a bit from companion kidnap disease by way of Solomon played by Harry Potter alum David Bradley. Solomon’s deeds speak for him and while he’s immobile for most of the episode his end reminded me of cartoon villain even more so since he has the two robot body guards that aren’t working on all thrusters. The plot thread of who is Doctor Who pops up briefly when Solomon cannot find any record of the Doctor.
Can we somehow get Nefertiti and Liz 10 together?
The spaceship filled with both CGI and practical FX dinosaurs makes complete sense once Amy manages to find the captain’s log. Companions picking skills along the way is always good to see since they’re absorbing things and not just waiting for the Doctor to explain things. Rory’s first aide kit to his father trawl are great examples.
The ride on the Triceratops chasing after the golf ball was fun but the scene of Rory’s father eating his lunch from the TARDIS looking down at the Earth was desktop background worthy.
I give it four regenerations out of four.
Next Week: Farscape’s Ben Browder, Cyborg Gun Slinger and gun fights!