Doctor Who-Robots of Sherwood

Apologies for any delays in my post, I have been quite busy and I am bound to get even more work in the coming months, so I might ask that you be patient. So let us get to my review.

Ah, the Robots of Sherwood. A strange story that (FINALLY) gives us time-travel to a past that’s not Victorian England. It’s about time the series tries to take a more light-hearted, comedic tone for the viewers. I mean, there’s only so much angst one can take before it becomes repetitive and loses its charm, like slow-motion. And everyone gets one laugh in to help lighten up the audience, but thankfully takes itself seriously enough before it becomes to cheesy or campy. And the camp factor is borderline 1960’s Batman with Robin Hood.

So what’s the story? In 1150, Robin Hood roams the forest with his merry men, much to the Doctors discomfort as Clara forces his hand and visits the bunch in Sherwood Forest. This pleases Clara to no end, as she witnesses the famous archery challenge, engages in swashbuckling duels and helps bring down the Sheriff of Nottingham, who has been stealing all the gold in the land for his nefarious plot. But much to the Doctors chagrin, he can’t seem to believe in the idea of a hero as romanticized as Robin Hood actually existing and his exploits true.

As I said, the comedy is what makes the episode good. To tell the truth, the twist is slightly confusing, the villain is not very interesting and we are still getting the overarching plot of the Promised Land. Why is it we can never get a series without any contrivances’ or connect the dots sub plot, just give us a series with fun adventures, imaginative monsters and have the series finale just be Daleks, Cybermen, The Master or a rogue Time Lord.

Each character is plays there part well, as said for Capaldi and Coleman in previous weeks, with the Doctor suddenly facing a hero complex and Clara taking a much tougher act to get the bantering men to behave. This is actually the episode that made me realize how lost the Doctor has become and that this is a new stage in his life to regain the hero he once was. But the scene stealer by far is Robin Hood, who is just having a ball with the character, with brash daring-do, quick wit and cunning. He so perfectly encapsulates the character as we laugh along with him, much to the Doctors hilariously cynical annoyance. It’s also good for the Capaldi to get some proper Doctor moments, like sword fighting with a spoon or engaging in an archery battle with Hood, all the while using some proper Malcolm Tucker humour.

I suppose I should touch on the twist, considering it can be confusing. I mean, is Hood a legend, is he merely a pawn in a larger game or is he the real thing whose mind, along with everyone else’s, is warped by a radiation leak into believing he is the real thing? I guess we can only speculate, because that’s what I believe anyway, but it doesn't make his parting words to the Doctor any less true.

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Quite possibly my favourite episode in the series so far! Yeah, I know it’s a little early, but we’ll see how next week’s episodes attempts to be the scarier episode of the series. By the way I realize this is my one hundredth post and I should do something to celebrate, I will, in due course.