From what I've read, Frank Cottrell Boyce is supposed to be a well-regarded author. I don't really get why his DW efforts have been so bad. At least this one wasn't as bad as his previous one, though.

I'm sure that this wasn't the only place. I'd have to go check the timeline in AHistory, but I think this was meant to be contemporary with "Ark in Space" and "The Beast Below", and in both cases, the humans survived and were implied to flourish. Just... just stop trying to inflate how dire the situation is with mentions of "extinction" and destructions of entire planets, Mr. Moffat. One of the things that endeared me to this show was that the cosmically-powered hero cared even when only one person was in danger. Now it seems the Doctor only cares if the disaster has a planet-wide effect.