2×11 January 30, 1998
DINOSAURS IN NEW ORLEANS (Serial 20, Episode 3)
Setting: New Orleans, Louisiana, Near-Future
Regular Cast: Hugh Laurie (The Doctor), Sarah Michelle Gellar (Lizzie Thompson)
Guest Starring: Paul Eckstein (Voskar), Bruce Harwood (Swift), Jonathan Frakes (Blackwood), Ted Raimi (Dr. French)
Plot: The Doctor almost succeeds in calming the giganotosaurus, but the national guard arrives and fires on it, enraging the creature. The oil platform survivors are cornered, but the dinosaur vanishes before it can attack. Blackwood passes along information from his superiors about recent dinosaur sightings which started around the time contact with the platform was lost, the giganotosaurus being the first one too big to be covered up. He assumes the dinosaurs are related to the therasapiens, but the Doctor can not square the dinosaurs’ ability to appear and disappear with therasapien technology. Swift backs the Doctor and calls in a scientific consultant to assist, wishing to atone for his actions on the platform. The Doctor and Lizzie are chased by a pack of velocirators, which also vanish after mildly injuring Dr. French. This time, the Doctor senses a temporal disturbance and asks Swift to have the TARDIS brought over from the platform so he can use its instruments. As the dinosaur appearances become more frequent, Blackwood prepares to have the city evacuated. Plotting the dinosaur appearances on a map reveals a pattern centered around a building owned by the oil company. Swift attempts to contact his employers for access, but the evacuation has jammed the phone lines. When Blackwood and the Doctor attempt to break in, the giganotosaurus reappears. Meanwhile, Swift’s men are unable to locate the TARDIS on the platform, but in reporting this to Lizzie, they let slip that they’ve previously handled a number of other deliveries of high-tech equipment from the platform to Dr. French’s company on Swift’s orders. When she sneaks into his lab to confront French, she is confronted by Voskar, who shoots her with his weapon.