Robot of Sherwood

To start with, I won't go into the heavy duty review like the others have. Simply put it is a bit of camp fun with a beautiful message at the end and that does not have to be a bad thing. The other seasons of Doctor Who have all had the heavy and light episodes. It is merely a case of greater extremes. As for peoples issues with the Robin Hood factor, it was lovely to see this apparent dolt/legend/hero/outlaw/normal man just trying to live his life and find his love and how he parallels the Doctor. The final dialogue between the Doctor and Robin, I think, sums up not only the episode but all of Doctor Who, and much more beside.

Episode three's have been fairly hit or miss in terms of Doctor Who's history since it returned in 2005. Episodes such as Gridlock or School Reunion played out as smart character studies, but maintained the entertainment level you'd expect from something so early on in the series, whereas other episode three's like Victory of the Daleks and The Curse of the Black Spot remain all-time low points for the show. This is, in some ways, understandable. We've been introduced to the series in the first two episodes, and it's too early to throw anything too dramatic in just yet, so where does this leave us? Robot of Sherwood is a real mixed bag of an episode. It's good fun, and by no means a bad piece of television, but it lacks that conviction that made the first two episodes of series 8 such a treat. It's enjoyable enough in the moment, but fairly likely to wind up as the most forgettable episode of the series.

In terms of character, everything introduced in Deep Breath and Into the Dalek is maintained here. Despite Robot of Sherwood being played out, for the most part, as a comedy, Capaldi's doctor retains his more serious attitude in the pivotal moments of the episode, but also gets a chance to show his versatility as an actor in terms of comedy. Coleman is great too, and is truly developing as an actress whilst Clara develops as a character. She might not have the emotional weight in this episode that she made use of in the first two, but she suits the more light-hearted tone well. Guest star Tom Riley is also solid as Robin Hood himself, if just a little over the top in moments that don't really need to be, but the three leads here have great on-screen chemistry that makes this episode consistently enjoyable, even in its weaker moments.

Where Robot of Sherwood faults, however, is in terms of story. Whilst this episode was played out as a comedy, it lacks a plot to move the characters from scene to scene. It takes about twenty minutes before we really learn anything, and even then it's more superficial than anything else. I get that writer Gatiss aimed for a more light- hearted outing, but not enough really happens throughout the 45 minute run time to leave us satisfied by the conclusion. This wouldn't be all bad, though, if the episode was also used to develop and analyse the character of the Doctor, but rather than develop the Doctor any further, Gatiss just relies on everything show-runner Moffat has already done for him. Robot of Sherwood wasn't a bad episode, but by far the weakest of the series thus far. It's good fun in the moment, and is certainly better than some of Gatiss' other episodes, but it is, unfortunately, set to be forgotten by the time the title sequence rolls for next week's episode.

If you read a lot of reviews of Doctor Who episodes you will notice a a certain detail oriented characteristic among some fans. They take the laws of physics very seriously. And any lapse in continuity is both contradictory to the narrative and the 2nd law of thermodynamics.

I'm not one of those people. To me a good episode is one which holds my interest and is entertaining. To me the great sin isn't bad special effects, it's effects that are distractingly bad. I'm watching Doctor Who, how can I have a leg to stand on there anyway?

This is a good enough story. There are no huge twists or reveals. This isn't a heavy plot either. I mean ok technically the Doctor and various other characters are threatened with death. And some minor characters do die. But it's rather like Dinosaurs in Space. You already know the Doctor has this one licked. It's more about the character interactions and a few fun scenes.

This one has some great old school Errol Flynn style swordplay. Like the old black and white Robin Hood. And there plenty of references to that. Also Jenna Colman looks amazing in her period outfit. Would smash.

It's great to see Capaldi really getting into gear on his version of the Doctor. Not loitering around in a dirty nightshirt being unsure of himself. (I really wish they didn't always waste 1 or 2 episodes on the Doctor recovering from regeneration). This isn't the boyish wonder of Matt Smith or the hyperactive rabbit of Tennant.

Capaldi's is cynical, arrogant and ready to throw hands. You would usually give credit to the writers for the characterization. But it's pretty evident they are writing to Capaldi's strengths. They know who Malcolm Tucker is. So we are getting a slightly watered down Iannucci version of the Doctor.

I like it. I grew up on Pertwee and Baker's iterations of the Doctor. Where he is a curmudgeonly know-it-all who is mostly right.

The Doctor being older, grouchy and antagonistic is refreshing after all the young cute Doctors. I predict that future regenerations will be even older. ;) There is a really stupid thing at the end that some people say 'ruins it'. Yeah it's dumb how that one plot point resolves. But it doesn't invalidate enjoyment I got from the other 43 minutes of it.

8 out of ten. Fun to watch, but likely not one that you would re-watch over and over. Such as Rings of Akhaten or Family of Blood.

Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Fighting aliens. Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with the Doctor, Clara and friends. Dungeons they escape, behave like children would, Robin Hood! Robin Hood! Robin Hood!

He fought the wicked robots and the wicked sheriff too, who was keen on taking Clara for his queen. They were a merry bunch but they wound up you know Who? He thought they were robotic Lincoln green.

Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Fighting aliens. Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with the Doctor, Clara and friends. Dungeons they escape, behave like children would, Robin Hood! Robin Hood! Robin Hood!

This was easily the funniest episode of Series 8 thus far. The banter between the Doctor and Robin Hood was definitely the highlight of the episode (Clara also got some pretty funny lines as well).

After two pretty dark and serious episodes, it was nice for this season to take a breather with "Robot of Sherwood". The Twelfth Doctor and Clara continue to be a fantastic duo and I'm always happy to see them together on screen. Sadly, Capaldi's Doctor doesn't have a lot to do in this episode but he's still entertaining to watch nonetheless. Clara continues to show her cleverness and wit and acts as a nice buffer between the bickering Doctor and Robin Hood.

The supporting cast is decent. Tom Riley and Ben Miller give pretty good performances as Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham respectively. The robot knights had a very cool, intimidating design but I personally feel they weren't used to their full potential.

Overall, "Robot of Sherwood" won't go down as one of my Series 8 favorites but it was still an entertaining episode with hilarious banter and some truly heartfelt, deep moments here and there.