Invasion of the Dinosaurs

071 – Invasion of the Dinosaurs
Doctor Who serial
The T-Rex appears in London. The special effects of the dinosaurs received negative reception, with some critics feeling that they detracted from the plot.
Cast
Doctor Jon Pertwee (Third Doctor)
Companion Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith)
Others Nicholas Courtney — Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart Richard Franklin — Captain Mike Yates John Levene — Sergeant Benton Noel Johnson — Sir Charles Grover Peter Miles — Professor Whittaker Martin Jarvis — Butler John Bennett — General Finch Terence Wilton — Mark Carmen Silvera — Ruth Brian Badcoe — Adam Ben Aris — Lieutenant Shears Dave Carter — Sgt Duffy Martin Taylor — Corporal Norton George Bryson — Private Ogden John Caesar — R/T Soldier Pat Gorman — UNIT Corporal Colin Bell — Private Bryson Timothy Craven — Robinson Trevor Lawrence — Lodge Terry Walsh — Looter Gordon Reid — Phillips James Marcus — Peasant
Production
Directed by	Paddy Russell
Written by	Malcolm Hulke
Script editor	Terrance Dicks (and Robert Holmes, uncredited)
Produced by	Barry Letts
Executive producer(s)	None
Incidental music composer	Dudley Simpson
Production code	WWW
Series	Season 11
Length	6 episodes, 25 minutes each
Originally broadcast	12 January – 16 February 1974
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → The Time Warrior Death to the Daleks

Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion

Author	Malcolm Hulke
Cover artist	Chris Achilleos
Series	Doctor Who book: Target novelisations
Release number	22
Publisher	Target Books
Publication date	19 February 1976
ISBN

Invasion of the Dinosaurs is the second serial of the 11th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 12 January to 16 February 1974.

The Doctor and Sarah arrive in 1970s London to find that the city has been evacuated, due to the mysterious appearance of dinosaurs. The monsters are being brought to the present by a disaffected scientist, using a time machine nicknamed the Timescoop, as part of a plan to revert London to a utopian pre-technological age. The plan calls for Central London to be depopulated prior to being moved back through time, so that only an elite group (who will re-found the human race in the remote past, along more ethical lines) will make the trip. This plan, known as Operation Golden Age, is secretly being supported by key personnel within the British Government - and even within the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, which is ostensibly combatting the menace.

The Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith arrive in a deserted London, where UNIT is assisting in maintaining martial law. The regular army, headed by General Finch, has evacuated the city and issued a command that all looters will be shot. The Doctor and Sarah are arrested on suspicion of looting, but are rescued by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart who is heading the UNIT operation. The Doctor learns that dinosaurs are appearing all over the city, causing havoc, but no one can account for their sudden appearances and disappearances.

The Doctor recognises these events as a time-space phenomenon known as a "Time Eddy", and begins to suspect that someone is deliberately tampering with time. They are introduced to Sir Charles Grover, an MP who is the Minister with Special Responsibilities, the only member of the government still in London. As the Doctor and Sarah settle in, Captain Mike Yates returns from a leave of absence following his traumatic ordeal at Global Chemicals (depicted in The Green Death). In a hidden laboratory, Professor Whitaker is operating secret Timescoop technology. The dinosaurs are being used to compel the authorities to evacuate the city. It turns out that Whitaker is being aided by a disillusioned Captain Yates. Yates feels the Doctor would help them, but Whitaker has him sabotage the device the Doctor is building to capture a dinosaur. When Whitaker replaces the peaceful Apatosaurus with a Tyrannosaurus rex, Yates intervenes and uses the Doctor's device to knock out the dinosaur.