Dinosaur Planet (rock opera)

"Sixty five million years ago they disappeared

Now the dinosaurs are back

The human race must learn to live in fear

The earth is under attack

From the DINOSAUR PLANET (oh oh, oh oh)"

Dinosaur Planet is a rock opera by MJ Hibbett and the Validators, accompanied by artwork by John Allison of Scary Go Round and Bad Machinery fame.

Strange lights have been seen over the East Anglian city of Norwich. Investigating, the Norfolk police quickly discover the vanguard of an invasion of man-eating dinosaurs from space who quickly rampage through the fenland. Earth's only hope lies in a retired scientist whose forgotten paper on the Theory of the Dinosaur Planet speculated that the dinosaurs flew into space to escape the asteroid. However, the theory proves to have made one small error. The dinosaurs didn't flee to escape the asteroid, but were kindapped by terrifying robotic slave owners, who are back for revenge...

Dinosaur Planet contains examples of these tropes:
"The terrible death toll was the first exciting thing to ever happen there."
 * Aliens in Cardiff: The dinosaur invasion starts in Norwich, and the great battle between the dinosaurs and the army takes place in Peterborough.
 * Dark Reprise: "The Theory of a Dinosaur Planet" gets reprised as "My Theory of a Dinosaur Planet", as Grandad Truelove sadly reflects on the fact that the space dinosaurs are bloody-thirsty killers rather than the refined philosophers he'd expect.
 * Dead Line News: Maureen Hennessy's report from Norwich. Unusually, she's not especially sad or annoyed about it, since she fangirls over them even as they're biting through her abdomen.
 * Interspecies Romance: The leader of the dinosaurs and General Muriel Truelove fall in love, as documented in "Strangely Attractive".
 * Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here: Peterborough:

"Space dinosaurs are attacking Earth!
 * Our Lawyers Advised This Trope: "Our legal department advises us to restate that the spaceships are in no way transforming but rather changing their physical appearance."
 * Parrot Exposition: the same dialogue is used several times:

Space dinosaurs?

Dinosaurs from space!"

"We are The Giant Robots
 * Politically-Incorrect Villain: The giant robots:

And what you see is what you get

We always speak as we find

And say whatever's on our mind

We're not Politically Correct"

"You'll be teleporting down to a planet
 * Red Shirt: Darren, the policeman sent to investigate the first reports of the dinosaurs. Explictly lampshaded in the song "Don't, Darren, Don't":

Wearing a red shirt

If someone's getting shot with a phaser gun

It won't be Captain Kirk"

"You might as well get into a Spitfire
 * Retirony:

Clutching a photograph

Of the fiancee who you promised

This mission would be your last"

"No-one would have believed in the early years of the 21st century, that the end of the world would have its beginnings in... Norwich."
 * Shout-Out: Dinosaur Planet is based on Jeff Waynes Musical Version of the War of The Worlds, the Ur Example of the alien invasion rock opera, and the very first lines reference the famous opening of the novel and the musical:


 * Talk Like a Pirate: Dinosaurs talk like pirates, since in pictures their mouths are always drawn as if they're saying "Arrrr".
 * Triumphant Reprise: "A Little Bit", a heartfelt song by a scientist defending his research, is reprised as a "A Little Bit More" where he celebrates how dinosaurs and humans were able to team up to defeat the robots.
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: "Let do a literature search!"
 * What Is This Thing You Call Love?: "What is this human emotion you call slight sexy awkwardness?"