Dinosaurs on a Spaceship ( TV story ) Dinosaurs on a Spaceship was the second episode of the seventh series of " Doctor Who " produced by BBC Wales . Uniquely , this adventure played host to a gang of TARDIS travellers rather than just the Ponds , with Queen Nefertiti and John Riddell from off - screen adventures of the Eleventh Doctor joining . Brian Williams was introduced as Rory ' s father . This marks the first appearances of dinosaurs other than Pterodactyls since the 1974 story " Invasion of the Dinosaurs " . Synopsis . In 2367 , the Indian Space Agency is on high alert as an unidentified spaceship hurtles towards the Earth . The Eleventh Doctor assembles a team to investigate , including the legendary Queen Nefertiti , a big game hunter named Riddell , Amy , Rory . . . and Rory ' s father , Brian . Materialising aboard the mystery ship , they ' re surprised to find it populated by dinosaur s . With time running out before the ship is blasted out of the sky , the Doctor must confront a vicious criminal named Solomon , as the lives of his companions and the dinosaurs hang in the balance . . . Plot . The Doctor has saved Egypt from giant alien locusts and is trying to return to his TARDIS . However , Queen Nefertiti , attracted to the Doctor , stops him and tries to get his attention . The Doctor receives a message on his psychic paper . Telling her that it is unimportant , he learns that the Indian Space Agency needs his help ; he ' s forced to take " Neffy " with him , as she forced her way onto the TARDIS despite the Doctor ' s protests . Arriving in the 24th century , the Doctor is informed of a spaceship coming closer to Earth that has failed to respond to any of ISA ' s attempts to communicate ; if it gets within ten thousand kilometres of Earth , they will send up missiles to destroy it . The ship is basically the size of Canada . The Doctor decides he should investigate the ship before the ISA attempt to destroy it , just in case their are aliens that cannot communicate either due to primitive technology or not understanding Earth ' s languages . Realising this would be too much for just him and Neffy , the Doctor decides to head to Africa in the early 20th century . He meets his old friend John Riddell , a game hunter he left behind after saying he was leaving to get some sweets . Riddell initially refuses to join the Doctor on another trip , but gives in when he learns its a mystery to even him . In 21st century London , Rory has his father , Brian Williams , over to help fix a light bulb . After saying the fixture may be the problem , Brian reminds Rory he is lucky to have Amy ; Amy finds this amusing . As Brian continues working on the light , the sound of the TARDIS materialisation is heard . Amy and Rory quietly say that the Doctor picks the worst times to show up and she wants to " kill him " ; Brian thinks perhaps they left the door open . The TARDIS materialises around them , shocking Brian in place while the Doctor ( not looking at them ) greets Amy and Rory . They all travel in the TARDIS to the mystery spacecraft . The Doctor tells everyone to grab a torch as they head outside . As they head out , Amy questions the Doctor about what he ' s up to this time ; the Doctor explains that he decided that he needed a group this time . However , the Doctor calms her by explaining he needed a group ; " They ' re not Ponds . " Brian exits the TARDIS and the Doctor , finally noticing him , questions him with hostility . Rory explains that Brian is his father , whom the Doctor inadvertently brought on board when he materialised the TARDIS around them . This calms the Doctor , whom Brian seems not to have met . The Doctor greets Brian and walks off with Amy , Nefertiti and Riddell ; he and Amy tell Rory that the job of tell Brian what ' s going on is his due to be being the later addition to their TARDIS team . Annoyed that it ' s always his turn , Rory explains to his confused father that he and Amy honeymooned throughout time and space aboard the TARDIS , not in Thailand as they had previously told him . In the meantime , the presence of Neffy and Riddell has lead Amy to believe that the Doctor has replaced her and Rory as his travelling companions during the gap between his last visit . The Doctor tells Amy that it ' s not the case , " they ' re not Ponds " ; he cherishes the bond between them , plus they ' re family . Rory and Brian catch up to the group as the doors in front of them begin opening . Seeing what ' s coming out of the other side , the Doctor tells everyone to run . However , he has to be pulled away by Amy because he is gleefully surprised to find " Dinosaurs , on a spaceship ! " Hiding as the dinosaurs go past , the Doctor keeps Riddell from trying to harm them as they need to be preserved ; Riddell sourly jokes in return " who ' s gonna preserve " us " ? " . They run into a " Triceratops " that sniffs Brian , forcing him to toss away one of the golf ball s he keeps in his pocket to make it leave . The Doctor then examines the ship , discovering an interactive monitor . The Doctor asks to be shown where the engines are on the map , saying they need to get to them ; he , Brian and Rory vanish in flash of light . Amy is left annoyed ; they " always " get separated at some point during an adventure . The Doctor , Rory and Brian arrive on the shore of a rocky beach . Seeing " birds " in the distance , Brian wonders if its kestrel s ; the Doctor quips " I certainly hope so . " Having an epiphany , the Doctor orders them to dig ; Brian complies , producing a trowel from his pocket . Rory is surprised , but his dad tells him to put a trowel on his Christmas list ; when Rory protests he ' s too old to have one , the Doctor retorts that " he " does ( and he ' s centuries old ) . The Doctor runs off to " look at rocks " , with Rory calling after him . Elsewhere , someone sees them on a monitor . He becomes interested when he hears one of them referred to as " the Doctor " . He orders that they be brought to him . Brian hits metal while digging , becoming shocked ; they ' re actually still in the ship . The Doctor reveals a monitor in a rock face , explaining the ship ' s engines are powered by the waves ; an endless supply of power . He said they needed to go to the engine room and the ship complied with its short - ranged teleporter . Brain is left dumbfounded , with Rory trying to explain ; however , the Doctor cuts them off by asking " What about the things that aren ' t kestrels ? " They turn around to see many " Pteranodon " flying at them . The Doctor yells that he would be amazed if he wasn ' t being targeted as food . Brian suggests using the teleport , but the Doctor tells him that it fried out upon their arrival . Upon entering the cave , they hear heavy footsteps approaching them . The Doctor panics , going back and forth , wondering which threat that they should face . Not having an idea , he asks Brian and Rory if they have any preferences . However , their fears are partially relieved when the footsteps are revealed to belong to two large robots ; they seem to have some faulty personalities , as they constantly wine and complain . They demand that the trio come with them Elsewhere , Amy , Nefertiti and Riddell explore the ship , with Nefertiti questioning Amy about the Doctor , saying she found her husband boring ( a " human sleeping potion " ) ; Amy subtly hints the Doctor is married , but Neffy doesn ' t seem to catch on . The lack of a crew confuses them all , with Neffy suggesting a plague killed them , while Riddell believes the dinosaurs were responsible ; Amy tells the " Chuckle Brothers " to lighten up . Investigating a room , Amy overhears Neffy and Riddell continue arguing ; when Riddell threatens to strike Neffy , she responds with the same bravado . Riddell is impressed with the " spitfires " like Neffy in her time . Annoyed , Amy tells the two that she will not be having flirting companions ; now she knows what being the Doctor is like . Seeing a computer , Amy begins fiddling with the controls , she finds an orb and inserts it into the computer ; the first rule of travelling with the Doctor : " see a strange device , start pressing buttons and don ' t stop until you get results . " Getting a fuzzy picture on the screen , Amy smacks the monitor and clears up the image . To her shock , she learns that the spaceship belongs to the Silurian s . They launched it when the Moon was coming into alignment with Earth , fearing a cataclysm might result ; the ship is akin to Noah ' s Ark . In the meantime , the Doctor , Rory and Brian are brought to a smaller spaceship docked with this one ; however , only the Doctor is allowed inside . He finds a man named Solomon laying on bed and listening to " Fantasia in F minor " ; the Doctor brags he was the second set of hands playing the music . The Doctor is briefly startled by a flash of violet light , which Solomon passes off as a malfunction . Solomon explains his legs were badly mauled by raptor s , and the robots could only do so much to treat him . Realising Solomon has mistaken him for a medical doctor , the Doctor offers assistance in exchange for being told how he came by the ship ' s worth of dinosaurs . In response , Brian is given a painful laser burn by one of the robots as a warning . The Doctor proceeds to work on getting Solomon mobile again while Rory tends to his father ' s burn . Brian is surprised Rory keeps a medical supply pack with him ; Rory responds its a habit of their family to keep " tools " with them . Back in the archive room , Amy asks the monitor to display life - signs of Silurians ( " homo reptilia " ) , but gets nothing . Amy then compares this image with one of the day the ship launched , discovering there were numerous Silurians on board . She wonders what happened to them . She then asks the computer to zoom in at the core of the ship , discovering that it ' s been boarded before ( by Solomon ) . Riddell picks up a nearby gun , explaining it ' s full of tranquilliser ( something the Doctor would approve of using in self - defence against the dinosaurs ) ; he tells Neffy that she needs a man of action in her life , before taking off to search for the Doctor . Neffy , now infatuated with Riddell , is told by Amy , " Human sleeping potion or walking innuendo ; take your pick . " In Solomon ' s ship , the Doctor finishes adding braces to help with healing Solomon ' s injuries . He wonders why Solomon is here and learns that he ' s a trader that wants to sell the dinosaurs , but is heading in the wrong direction . The Doctor then realises that the flash of light was an IV System trying to figure out how much he ' s worth . To the Doctor ' s relief and Solomon ' s confusion , there is no record available to reveal how much he ' s worth . At that moment , Rory receives a call from Amy , and is told to give to the Doctor . Amy informs him the Silurians built the ship , but there are no life signs of them . The Doctor questions Solomon on what happened to them . Solomon explains they rescued his ship , but when he found out there were dinosaurs on board , he attempted to do business . When the Silurians refused , he tossed them into space along with the ones in hibernation . However , the Doctor quickly deduce s that Solomon cannot control this so - called ark of the Silurians and his attempt to do so made its auto - pilot head for Earth , its launching point . The Doctor explains that the ISA will soon be launching missiles . The greedy Solomon believes the Doctor is lying and wants the dinosaurs for himself . Exiting Solomon ' s cockpit , the Doctor tells the two dim - witted robots that their boss wants to see them . The Doctor tells Rory and Brian to run as the two robots ask Solomon why he wanted to see them . Realising that the Doctor has tricked them , Solomon orders his lackeys to go after them . They soon encounter the same " Triceratops " from earlier — which the Doctor names " Tricey " — and board its back . The Doctor tries getting Tricey to go by using verbal commands used for horse s , but fails . Brian quickly deduce s the same method they used to get rid of Tricey before can be used again , tossing his remaining golf ball away to make it run . The robots follow after them , unable to go faster than a walking pace , shooting lasers at them until Tricey turns a corner and loses them . The robots are annoyed ; they used to be faster , but all this time on the ship has rusted them . The Doctor then wonders how they are going to stop as Tricey is closing in on a wall ; they fall off and have a hard landing . The ISA contacts the ship and the Doctor answers via the monitor ; he claims to be able to turn the ship around , with a precious cargo on board . However , the head of the ISA , Indira , refuses to listen to the Doctor and informs him that the missiles will be launched within a few minutes . The Doctor , Rory and Brian try finding the TARDIS so they can collect Amy , Riddell and Nefertiti before coming up with a new plan . However , Solomon finds them with the security cameras and teleports to their location with his clumsy robots . Solomon explains that his ship has detected the missiles , saying the Doctor wasn ' t lying . Solomon then explains his scanner found something just as valuable as the dinosaurs ; he then goes on to say how amazed he is that the Doctor was able to procure this " item " . He is demands that Nefertiti be handed over to him , as he can ' t fit a dinosaur in his ship . When the Doctor refuses , Solomon has Tricey shot and killed to prove he ' s serious . Amy , Riddel , and Nefertiti ( who were watching this on another monitor ) arrive via the teleporter . Neffy willingly goes with Solomon to ensure the safety of everyone else . Solomon then has them teleported back to his ship , preparing to leave . The Doctor quickly leads everyone to the control room , explaining that Solomon couldn ' t control the ship because the Silurians designed it to require two pilots who share similar DNA . Brian offers to pilot the ship with Rory — since they are father and son , they share similar DNA . The Doctor has them sit down in the control chairs and tells them how to work the controls ; he jokes " it ' s so simple a monkey could do it . Oh look , they ' re about to . Oh come on guys ! That ' s comedy gold . Where ' s a Silurian audience when you need it ? " He orders Riddell to guard the room from anything that might attack them ; Riddell complies . The Doctor then opens part of the console and begins fiddling with the wiring ; he asks Amy to talk to him as he works better when multitasking . Amy expresses her fear that his visits are becoming farther and farther apart ; one day , he might never show up . However , the Doctor quickly comforts Amy by explaining that he ' ll " always " come to see them . He also learns Amy quit her job ( again ) after their last meeting , in part because she never knows when he ' ll show up again . The Doctor takes a glowing green orb from inside where he ' s been fiddling with the controls , telling Amy he ' s going to teleport to Solomon ' s ship to conduct Phase 1 , saying Phase 2 has been completed . Amy corrects him , explaining 2 comes after 1 , but gets laughter in return . The Doctor says that while human s are always linear about planning , he ' s not . Riddell returns , stating the task is a two - man job ; Amy takes a gun , stating that she ' s easily worth two men , but Riddell can help as well . This is enough to make Riddell smirk as both head outside the room ; the Doctor teleports away to save Neffy . Amy joins him as a group of raptors close in . They shoot the electric tranquilliser into the dinosaurs several times , knocking them out . Riddell expresses interest in taking a dinosaur tooth back with him as a souvenir from the adventure as they continue knocking out the dinosaurs . Back at the Indian Space Agency , one of the staff notices that the ship has turned around . However , Indira doesn ' t care ; the missiles are still going to hit it . In the control room , Brian is laughing with joy as he ' s piloting a spaceship full of dinosaurs . In the meantime , Solomon has realised the Doctor magnetised the Silurian ark to prevent his ship from leaving , just as the Doctor appears behind him and short - circuits the robots to prevent them from assisting . Solomon tells the Doctor that he will not let go of such a valuable item , offending Nefertiti , who knocks him down . As Neffy pins Solomon to the ground with his crutch , the Doctor jokes not to mess with Egypt ian queens . Preparing to take Neffy back to the ark , the Doctor informs Solomon that he ' ll receive a consolation prize : the missiles meant for the ark . He places the orb , which emits the signal the missiles are locked onto , in Solomon ' s ship and teleports away with Neffy . The ship is de - magnetised . Solomon screams in terror as his ship takes off and is hit by the missiles , exploding . At the same time , Rory and Brian pilot the ship away from Earth and into the emptiness of space . With the ship safely piloted into an empty area of space , the Doctor has the chance to take it and the dinosaurs to somewhere else in the universe where they can live on a new planet in peace . Preparing to take everyone back , the Doctor is told by Amy and Rory that they wish to return home ; he accepts this . However , Brian asks the Doctor for a favour before he takes him back home . The Doctor complies . Brian is next seen enjoying lunch , sitting on the edge of the TARDIS doors , looking down on the Earth . Amy and Rory look at him with smiles as the Doctor comes from behind and hugs them . Elsewhen , Riddell has been taken back to the time and place the Doctor took him from , only one thing is different : Nefertiti has decided to stay with him . Back in London , Rory is checking the light - bulb Brian previously tried to fix , agreeing that his father was right — it might be the fixture . Amy enters , saying they got another bunch of postcards from Brian . She puts them on the fridge , showing that Brian ( who was previously afraid to travel ) has now taken to seeing the world . Amy and Rory stare at the last postcard before putting it on the fridge ; it ' s of Siluria , the new home of the dinosaurs , which Brian and the Doctor have just visited . Story notes . Ratings . " Dinosaurs on a Spaceship " was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 8 September 2012 , and on the same date on BBC America in the United States . Overnight ratings showed that it had been watched by 5 . 5 million viewers live in the UK . Final consolidated ratings rose to 7 . 57 million viewers . The episode also received 1 . 8 million requests during the month of September on BBC iPlayer , placing it second on the chart behind " Asylum of the Daleks " . It also received an Appreciation Index of 87 , considered " excellent " . In Canada , on Space , the episode was watched by an average calculation of 575 , 000 viewers , making it the most watched item on the channel that week . Filming locations . " to be added " Home video releases . This episode , along with the rest of the first half of the series ( episodes one through to five ) was released on DVD and Blu Ray on the 28 October 2012 .