Spoilers The Robot Revolution grade and discussion thread

[VDCNI]

Pretty good, Belinda is already more interesting than Ruby. Let's just hope the mystery surrounding her is resolved in a more satisfying way.

It did its job in terms of getting the series underway and introducing the new companion but there wasn't really much else there.

 

[cultcross]

A reasonably meh season opener which didn't do a lot with its core ideas. Controlling manosphere boyfriend who is deep down something of a victim himself? Unpack that if you're gonna do that! Just having him reversed to sperm and egg and lol'ing on out of there was not enough for such a meaty setup, and I didn't really buy the actor either. There are some actors doing manipulative misogynist so well nowadays and this guy... isn't one of them.

Vibes of yet another companion who is the most important person in creation. Ncuti felt like a guest star on his own show, something I thought we'd left behind after Jodie's era.

It was fine. Better than space babies. But I could do my Duolingo at the same time with no fomo.

 

[The Wormhole]

I enjoyed it. Fun episode which does its job of starting a new season and introducing a likable new companion. Was it perfect? No. But hey, I've watched much worse, this kept me enthralled for the better part of an hour and I can't really ask much more than that of television.

"Planet of the Incels" was a funny line.

 

[Starkers]

I don't care for gratuitous violence to randos in Doctor Who generally unless it's either dramatically weighty or kind of funny, so I decided the cat zap was worth it for Bels asking Mrs. Flood to tell their neighbor she sent the cat to live on a farm mid-abduction.

Speaking of abruptly killing off minor characters, I'm not sure if it was the acting, directing, or writing, but I think they really needed to pull out their A-game to sell Sasha-55 as a companion in a couple of minutes, and we got the C-minus game, at best.

RTD2 is clearly as much in conversation with Moffat's era a Moffat's was with RTD's, but I don't think Davies has the same instinctual acuity for handling timey-wimey stuff in terms of i-dotting and t-crossing. Like, when Moffat did something whacked out like that, it was usually pretty straightforward (within the logic of the situation) what the implications and conclusions were, but I'm confused in a way I don't think I'm supposed to be about what exactly happened when the Doctor was shot through Belinda's life.

Like, when Moffat did a similar thing with Clara, it's very clear what happened; throughout the first fifty years of Doctor Who, the Great Intelligence was constantly trying to kill the Doctor off-screen, and duplicates of Clara were constantly foiling its schemes, 99% of the time with the Doctor being none the wiser. In this, was the Doctor physically in Belinda's life? He remembers it, but as an observer or participant? Did he slot in over other people, or was he trapped on Earth stalking her since she was a baby? Belinda doesn't remember him, so how does that fit in? What happened to Alan, was his mutilated robo-body just de-aged past zero in the present, or was he never born? The Doctor being sent back suggests the latter, so does that do something to Belinda's life (or everyone else's) now that this somewhat shitty guy was never there?

On balance, though, I thought it was a solid episode, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.

I would wholeheartedly agree that RTD doesn't have the same ear for timey wimey stuff that Moffat does and I lost track here also.

That was fine, a perfectly decent enough opener though it was a bit of a mess in places. I just hope the only way is up and the quality improves from here on in.

Belinda is great, though I am really tired of companions who are somehow special or an enigma now!

 

[Awesome Possum]

Belinda is great, though I am really tired of companions who are somehow special or an enigma now!

I'd actually love it to reveal that there isn't anything unusual about her. It's just a weird coincidence and the Doctor is making connections that aren't there.

Loved the episode though. I liked the goofy look robots with 50s looking laser guns.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

I enjoyed it. Thought it was a bit bonkers but then I remembered, this is DW, and its meant to be that way. Did feel some of the scenes were not fleshed out as well as others, and while the plot and the execution of was rather good, I can't help but with fellow poster David cgc about the Moffat motiff, and specifically how RTD's timey-whimeyness seemed a touch forced and lacked Moff's casual ingenuity (this is both proof of RTD' inate strength in character building but also highlights why Moffat was such an obviously writer, by making time travelling shenanigans so obviously easy to follow, no matter how complicated, and that goes even in his waning days) which did force me to go back to a few scenes and catch the references I didn't get. But that's just gripe. The companion, for my money is...alright. Not bad at all, but so far, Ruby impressed me more and more immediately also. But that's just me, I'm sure she'll win me over down the road.

Overall, an enjoyable start to a new season of DW? Couldn't have asked for better.

 

[CaptainWacky]

Felt really rushed. Moffat used to get longer episodes for his series openers, this one needed more than the standard 45 minutes too. Belinda giving herself up came out of nowhere; the whole incel reveal didn't get nearly enough time to explore its (interesting!) ideas proplerly and was weirdly comedic as others have pointed out. The whole part with the Doctor being present for Belinda's birth goes by so fast I'm not sure what even happened or what the poitn was. The guy with the arms going from "this is all YOUR FAULT, Belinda!" to "all hail Queen Belinda!" was annoying.

But definitely a better series opener than 'Space Babies', at least.

 

[JD]

This was a pretty good start to the season. This was a good introduction to Belinda, I like her already.
I loved the designs for the city, and robots, and their guns and all of that.
It didn't even occur to me the AI was anything more what we saw, so the reveal that it was her asshole ex was a surprise for me. I just think we could have seen a little more of him, and how badly he treated Belinda for the reveal to have more impact.
I'm glad I'm not the only one was a little confused by the timey-wimey stuff when they touched the two certificates together. The overall mystery was pretty interesting though, and I looked forward to seeing where RTD is going with it.
I give it an 8.

 

[Mr Awe]

Gave it a 7. It was entertainment but nothing more. It kind of fell apart as it went a long though. Way too rushed. But it was easily better than most of last season.

I loved Belinda as a companion. Gatwa seems more Doctor-ish.

Some of the CGI looked cheap. Not a big deal for me just surprising with the Disney money.

 

[Mr Awe]

The guy with the arms going from "this is all YOUR FAULT, Belinda!" to "all hail Queen Belinda!" was annoying.

Agreed. That sort of transition works better when it feels like the characters have gone through a lot together. This story was just too rushed to achieve that. It didn't earn that change.

 

[jaime]

A reasonably meh season opener which didn't do a lot with its core ideas. Controlling manosphere boyfriend who is deep down something of a victim himself? Unpack that if you're gonna do that! Just having him reversed to sperm and egg and lol'ing on out of there was not enough for such a meaty setup, and I didn't really buy the actor either. There are some actors doing manipulative misogynist so well nowadays and this guy... isn't one of them.

Vibes of yet another companion who is the most important person in creation. Ncuti felt like a guest star on his own show, something I thought we'd left behind after Jodie's era.

It was fine. Better than space babies. But I could do my Duolingo at the same time with no fomo.

Thing is, if Belinda is from now, dude was apparently one of those before they were really much of a thing — in which case, why dress it up with the tropes? All of which assumes between ten and fifteen years passed. I forget what the caption said. (Side note, he asked a woman to dress more modestly who was already dressed modestly… production gaff.) Was he a teen when the robots took him? Why did she treat her certificate with such special care?
It is frustrating when Who, a show which can do allegory and social issues really really well, and arguably always has done, is being fumbled with such regularity now by its writers. RTD is in full fellow kids mode by this point, and really doesn’t have a Scooby.

 

[jaime]

Felt really rushed. Moffat used to get longer episodes for his series openers, this one needed more than the standard 45 minutes too. Belinda giving herself up came out of nowhere; the whole incel reveal didn't get nearly enough time to explore its (interesting!) ideas proplerly and was weirdly comedic as others have pointed out. The whole part with the Doctor being present for Belinda's birth goes by so fast I'm not sure what even happened or what the poitn was. The guy with the arms going from "this is all YOUR FAULT, Belinda!" to "all hail Queen Belinda!" was annoying.

But definitely a better series opener than 'Space Babies', at least.

He was there when she was born? I thought that was just the blinovitch kicking in and punting her down her own timeline?

 

[jaime]

I think it was going for a dig at Warhammer nuts in some bits. Which… fair enough probably. That shit is weird.

 

[26138]

Polish polish.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I imagine I'm not the first person to notice this but Belinda isn't just Tegan, but she's also Clara, for better or for worse. Hopefully she's more than just the surface level of those two characters. I am curious about the time fracture and how it relates to Belinda, but I'm also wary of mystery box companions. I long for the days when companions were just...companions. For all of the belly aching about Chibnall, surely fans can agree that's one thing he did absolutely right.

I like Belinda as a person and I love how she isn't immediately swept away by The Doctor's charm and calls him out on his shit. Much like Tegan, again, but this time entirely for the better!

As for the main story, it was a silly adventure with a silly reveal. I did love the "Polish, polish, polish!" robot reminded me of M-O from WALL-E. Outside from the Belinda revelations, that robot was the highlight of episode.

Did anybody notice Belinda knew it was a TARDIS without being told? Was something cut, or is that a part of the mystery that will be addressed later?

Yup, I noticed that, too. I just figured I missed it coming up before. I hope it's just a case of poor editing and not another cosmic mystery, but I suspect it's the latter.

If anyone's looking for a bit more Varada Sethu, besides Andor, she's in the UK cop show Annika with Nicola Walker (Liv Chenka in a lot of Big Finish Doctor Who audios), recurring guest star Paul McGann (the Eighth Doctor), and one-off guest star Rebecca Root (also in some BF audios, including the Stranded series with Walker and McGann).

You already sold me with just Nicola Walker (in addition to her terrific run as Liv Chenka, I also love Last Tango in Halifax...co-starring Derek Jacobi!) but then you throw in Paul McGann? I definitely need to check it out!

 

[Xerxes82]

Belinda is basically the Anti-Martha. Instead of a doctor who can't get enough of the Doctor, she's a nurse who isn't putting up with any of his bullshit.

Pending future information, my assumption for the person who gave the Doctor Belinda's name is the Doctor himself, from the future. He DID say he had to be careful about timelines.

I genuinely couldn't care any less about the Mrs Flood stuff. Hopefully that changes at some point, since she appears to be the Big Bad.

I enjoyed Belinda, but this one didn't really work for me. Lots of ideas that never really went anywhere.

 

[Chakoteya]

Well, only a few months until they release the novelisation and all those holes get explained - if they haven't in the following episodes.

Doctor Who: The Robot Revolution (Target Collection)

Doctor Who Target books were first published in 1973. After reprinting 3 novelisations from the 1960s, the range continued with contemporary scriptwriters adapting stories from the ongoing Doctor Who television series. Today, the Target brand is as vibrant as ever with exciting novelisations...

www.penguin.co.uk

Along with novelisations of Lux and The Well to follow, so maybe they won't.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Pending future information, my assumption for the person who gave the Doctor Belinda's name is the Doctor himself, from the future. He DID say he had to be careful about timelines.

I pretty much assumed that was a given considering that was the gimmick in "Joy to the World" and Davies isn't shy of reusing his own ideas.

 

[Captaindemotion]

Pretty solid, if not classic episode. As has been said, felt more like a Moffat than RTD
one, though it definitely had that RTD season-opener vibe too. Liking Belinda a lot, though it’s still feeling a bit like Ncuti is a guest star rather than the lead. If this is his last season, I do hope he gets more to do so as to stamp his imprint on the character.

 

[Steve Roby]

It's possible the episode was edited down a bit from a longer first cut, because some things did move a bit too quickly, but as for the incel reveal and jokey tone -- maybe that's not a bug, it's a feature. Alan was a creep who wouldn't listen and wouldn't learn and jumped at the chance to be a more powerful horrible person, so when he died, well, he was an asshole, who cares. Not the most Who-ish approach, so I'm probably reading more into it than is there. But the Doctor has never had a bottomless pool of compassion.