The Doctor meets Robin Hood in a swashbuckling and fun episode titled "Robot of Sherwood."
*Spoilers Ahead*
Since there are multiple robots, why is the episode not titled "Robots of Sherwood?" Regardless, we get our first comedic episode of the season with Peter Capaldi getting to show his sense of humor, which, thus far, is quite good.
After the Doctor lets Clara decide where to go next in the TARDIS, the duo head to Sherwood forest to meet Robin Hood. However, the Doctor is certain that Robin Hood cannot exist and thus an adventure begins when Clara and the Doctor actually meet Robin Hood. From Errol Flynn to Kevin Costner, I have always enjoyed Robin Hood adaptations (Flynn is the best!), and Tom Riley's version of Robin Hood definitely invokes Flynn's sense of lighthearted fun.
Despite the fun adventure and hilarious comedy, "Robot of Sherwood" had some glaring plot issues. While there is nothing wrong with a simple plot, when there is such a simple plot, the execution needs to be a little better, and that is unfortunately not the case for "Robot of Sherwood." It is somewhat of a generic Doctor Who story with robots crashing on earth and trying to repair their ship so that they can go where ever they are trying to go. What seemed particularly corny is the end when the Doctor, Clara, and Robin shoot the golden arrow at the robot's spaceship so that it can leave orbit did not make a lot of sense. Supposedly, contact with gold, even on the outside of the spaceship, gives it the boost it requires, yet that seems incredibly convenient and corny. Also, defeating the robots with the reflecting plates makes sense, but at the same time, it has been done a million times.
Moving back to the positives, another funny aspect of Capaldi's Doctor that is becoming clear is that he absolutely HATES being wrong, which is why he was so upset and grumpy throughout the episode. Capaldi's Doctor and Clara continue to combat each other with humorous and witty dialogue, with Clara having even more lovable charm than usual.
Thankfully, Missy is missing from the episode. However, it seems that the "The Promised Land" is a real place, which obviously has something to do with Missy.
Towards the end of the episode, Robin Hood and the Doctor briefly discuss legends and what it means to be a hero, and how similar both the Doctor and Robin Hood are in terms of being legends, which turns out to be an interesting conversation. Also, whether or not Robin is a robot of some kind is never clearly explained, but I do believe that he is supposed to be flesh and blood.
One last thing, am I the only one intrigued by how cool and old fashioned the Doctor's TARDIS is? It is almost like an old clockwork watch!
Overall 7.9/10- Despite a few illogical plot points and slightly too wacky tone, "Robot of Sherwood" is a funny and adventurous episode that thankfully did not feature Missy!
If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.
Great review!! :D For some reason, I really enjoyed watching this episode- it was really funny and I loved the interactions between The Doctor, Robin Hood, and Clara, especially how The Doctor and Robin Hood kept fighting and shouting at each other(and both trying, immaturely, to get the key). I'm also a big fan of Robin Hood and I think they did a really good job with him here. I hope the rest of the season is this enjoyable :). Season 8 seems to be off to a good start.
ReplyDeleteThank you! :D Me too! The interaction between Robin, The Doctor, and Clara was just too much fun! Hopefully season 8 will continue to get better with each episode.
Delete-James
I actually really loved the episode, nothing in the plot bothered me until the end with the arrow which did seem a bit cheesy (haha) but other than that, this might make my top Doctor Who episode list just because it was so fun and it had a lot of great humor. And I'm just maybe a bit biased because I love Robin Hood- and I loved the way he was portrayed here. :D
ReplyDeleteOverall, I really liked this one.
Wow, you really liked it, but I can definitely see why, because this was such a purely fun episode! I also really liked this version of Robin as well. Thanks for commenting Hayden! :D
Delete-James
I basically agree with everything! I thought it was a fun episode (Robin should be the new companion, those three had some real potential I think!) but seriously? Aliens stuck on earth again?! It was predictable and the first thing I thought was, Geez, you just did this two episodes ago! Did you think I would forget?--That routine has gotten a little old.
ReplyDeleteI also love the new Tardis interior; I would love to know what those symbols mean in that gif, too! Also I love the new interface in this Tardis--the last version with the all the random appliances looked kinda cheesy and cheap, but this one looks more sleek and spaceship-like.
Clara was also even less annoying to me in this episode too, which I'm glad because I really dislike disliking main characters. She seems better suited for Capaldi's Doctor for some reason. :)
~Jamie
Yep, I mostly agree about the rehashed story so soon after the last one.
Delete-james
*Spoilers for the Episode*
ReplyDeleteI think the episode title is 'Robot' of Sherwood, instead of 'Robots' is because in the original cut, the Sheriff was originally supposed to be half-machine. But they cut the scene out due to an decapitation-which I was surprised was actually featured in the episode in the first place.
Personally, I love this episode. I do. It's hilarious, has it's clever moments (I thought using the plates were particularly clever), and it's all wrapped up with a happy ending. Sure it's got it's faults (I thought I heard the guy say they were supposed to fire the arrows ten times, not once), but I loved it. It's exactly the kind of DW episode I love, apparently. For some reason, I seem to really love the historical episodes, or at least the ones that take place in the past.
Next week looks pretty dang cool, though-really creepy.
Thanks for the link to my review!
-Tegan
Ah, that makes sense about the title. That would have been interesting about the Sheriff. More historical episodes would be fun, and I really do enjoy them as well. Thanks Tegan! And no prob.
Delete-James
I really, really enjoyed this one, but I can't get over how bad the writing has been for this season. This particular episode had a lot of really good character moments, and I thought the actors were brilliant - but as a story, it would have benefited from being more simple. The episode tried to do too much. I think this is the kind of thing that would have been much better in a Classic Who format (one story drawn out over several episodes). The writers just keep backing themselves into corners and just making really terrible stories. I thought this was better than the last one, but the writing needs to get better quickly.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the writing is bad, it is just average and a little too much of a rehash, except for the first episode, which was terrible! That being said, I can see your points. Thanks for the comment.
Delete-James
I liked it and my kids liked it. It was daft and had plot holes but that didn't really matter. Reminded me a lot of classic Who especially Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. Ben Miller as the Sheriff was brilliant. BRING HIM BACK!!
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have seen of Classic Who, it reminded me of it as well. Agreed, Ben Miller was great!
Delete-James