 This story and the following story, "A Town Called Mercy", were the first stories of Season Thirty Three (New Series 7) to go before the cameras, both have been directed by Saul Metzstein.
Along with the fourth story of this season, "The Power of Three", these are Chris Chibnall’s first scripts for the show since the 2010 story "The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood" which featured the Silurians as part of the Eleventh Doctor’s first season. Chris Chibnall was also the writer of the 2007 Tenth Doctor story "42". He has also worked on the spinoff series Torchwood.
Director Saul Metzstein - a newcomer to Doctor Who - previous work includes the 2010 series of Upstairs, Downstairs; Micro Men (the dramatisation of the rivalry between 1980s computer firms Sinclair and Acorn); and 2001 comedy Late Night Shopping, for which he won Best Director at the Scottish BAFTAs.
This story guest stars Rupert Graves, as an Edwardian explorer, who is best known for his starring roles in the Merchant Ivory adaptations of EM Forster's novels A Room With a View and Maurice. He also previously worked with Steven Moffat playing the recurring role of Detective Inspector Lestrade in BBC One's Sherlock.
Also guest-starring - as Brian - is Mark Williams, well known for playing Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, as well as roles in many television shows and films including Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) in 2001, 2008's Sense & Sensibility, and Grass. Mark Williams also played a variety of characters in The Fast Show and has previously been in Doctor Who - having played Maxwell Edison in the Big Finish Productions Fifth Doctor audio story "The Eternal Summer".
Another Harry Potter actor appearing in this story is David Bradley, who played mean-spirited caretaker Argus Filch in the movie franchise. Amongst David Bradley's other roles are appearances in Game of Thrones, Waking the Dead and Blackpool (alongside David Tennant). Although this is David Bradley's first Doctor Who role, he previously provided the voice for one of the Shansheeth in The Sarah Jane Adventures story "Death of The Doctor", which guest-starred Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor.
David Bradley's character, Solomon, has been described, by Chris Chibnall, as ‘half businessman, half Somali pirate’.
This story contains one of the biggest sets ever built for the show. Some scenes were also filmed at Southerndown beach, Vale of Glamorgan in late February 2012. The beach had previously been used as Bad Wolf Bay in the Tenth Doctor stories "Army of Ghosts/Doomsday" (2006) and "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End" (2008). It had also been used as the planet Alfava Metraxis in the 2010 Eleventh Doctor story "The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone".
The Doctor had previously encountered dinosaurs in the 1974 Third Doctor story "Invasion of the Dinosaurs". A dinosaur also appeared in the 1970 Third Doctor story "Doctor Who and the Silurians". It was being used by The Silurians to guard their underground base.
Brian is heard to call The Doctor ‘Arthur C. Clarke’ when The Doctor, Rory and he are in the engine room.
The Doctor accuses Brian Williams of boarding the TARDIS via transmat (see the Ninth Doctor in the 2005 story "Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways").
The Doctor is heard to say to Rory, when talking about Brian, that the TARDIS isn't a Taxi Service, like the Fifth Doctor said to Adric when he wanted to go back to Alzarius in the 1982 story "Earthshock".
Luckily for The Doctor, and his other travelling companions, Brian enjoys golf and carries golf balls around with him.
The Doctor has previously taken a companion's parent on a TARDIS trip by accident before in (see "Army of Ghosts/Doomsday").
The Doctor kisses Rory affectionately on the mouth after Rory suggests checking if the Silurian Ark has defence systems. This is the second same-sex kiss that has featured in the show and the first initiated by The Doctor. The first kiss was between Captain Jack Harkness and the Ninth Doctor in "Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways".
Rory is seen giving his father a shot of painkiller and promises it won't hurt. However, when Brian yelps at the pain of the shot, Rory says, ‘I lied’. This scene parallels the one done in the 2010 story "The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone" when, like her father, River Song gave Amy a shot and promised it wouldn't hurt, only to later explain that she lied.
The Doctor has travelled with Egyptian royalty before, as he shared many adventures with the princess Erimem in the Big Finish Productions audio stories. Erimem joined the Fifth Doctor and Peri in the TARDIS in "The Eye of the Scorpion". As is implied with Nefertiti, Erimem also ultimately ended up staying behind in another time and place (see "The Bride of Peladon"). While he did not necessarily travel with her, he was also implied to have a relationship with Cleopatra. ("The Girl in the Fireplace" and "The Wedding of River Song").
When The Doctor disables Solomon's robots, they are heard singing ‘Daisy, Daisy’ - a reference to Hal's disabling in Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The Doctor claims to be a Sagittarius, but qualifies this statement by adding, ‘Probably’. Interestingly enough, the 23rd November (the date Doctor Who was broadcast in 1963) falls during the time that Sagittarius is occupied by the sun.
Rory states that he is 31 years old. If Rory was born in 1989 (considering that Amy and Rory are the same age in the 2011 story "Let's Kill Hitler" and Amy's birth year according to "The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang" was 1989), then this story is set in 2020. Therefore, this seems to be the same year that Amy and Rory encountered Silurians and also went back to the hill and waved to themselves in "The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood".
Rory's mobile phone rings on the spaceship and Brian is shocked by how it can work in space. On previous occasions The Doctor has been shown to convert a mobile phone into a ‘superphone’. He has done this for Rose Tyler ("The End of the World") and for Martha Jones ("42").
A photo of Amy and Rory at their wedding appears on their fridge alongside Brian's postcards.
As with "Asylum of the Daleks" this story includes a unique logo in the title sequence. This time mimicking a Dinosaur's skin and scales. It was also given a green hue. The production team have confirmed that the title sequence for every story in this season will have slightly different stylized versions of the Doctor Who logo.
This story contains a number of errors. Namely: The Doctor's socks constantly change from stripy blue socks to his normal black socks; The flying reptiles identified by The Doctor as pterodactyls are actually pteranodons, a relation, though different species of pterosaur, as noted by the distinctive spike-like crest on the back of its head; On the final postcard sent by Brian, the TARDIS exterior resembles how it looked before the redesign in the 2010 story "The Eleventh Hour".
A preview clip of this story was released at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International.
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The Firsts:
The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Saul Metzstein.
Chris Chibnall’s first scripts for the show since the 2010 story "The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood".
The first story of this season, along with "A Town Called Mercy", to go before the cameras.
Mark Williams' first appearance as Rory's father, Brian.
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(Position = 4 out of 5)
(Position = 157 out of 241)
