Episode #254 : Robot of Sherwood

"You stop bad things happening every minute of every day. That sounds pretty heroic to me."

Episode #254:      Robot of Sherwood.
Companions:        The 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald.

Air Date:              6th September 2014.

Clara is offered the chance to choose the next destination for herself and the Twelfth Doctor. They go and meet the English folk hero Robin Hood, much to the Doctor's disbelief in the existence of someone who's supposed to be a mere folk story character. Travelling through Sherwood Forest in 1190, they soon realise that something is amiss, as the cruel Sheriff of Nottingham and his malevolent robot knights set in motion a plot that could rewrite the course of history for the worst.

Here we have another historical story with a science fiction twist - that of Robin Hood, robot knights and a spaceship disguised as a castle. Perfect Doctor Who material and in that respect the story does quite well. We can easily accept any historical inaccuracies by counts of the Doctor's interference. It even has a bit of a The Time Warrior vibe what with robot knights and all. 

However, the reason I give this episode a 2 star rating rather than the average 3 star that it probably deserves is down to the some of the dialogue. Quite frankly the constant bickering between the Doctor and Robin Hood gets on my nerves and ruins an otherwise good episode. The 12th Doctor can come across as mean and grouchy a lot of the time but in this episode, where it is obvious he dislikes being proven wrong about the existence of Robin Hood (even though in the real world we know he was based on various true accounts to create the legend), it seems taken too far. Maybe I'm just not getting it but it spoils the episode for me.

Robot of Sherwood, as I mentioned above, does carry some good classic elements. Sometimes the new era of the show seems to forget it's roots but here we have a good example of an episode that would have fitted in well as an episode of classic Who. Maybe because it does feel a bit like The Time Warrior, I could easily see the 3rd Doctor running around in this story and wouldn't feel out of place.

There is a brief mention of the Promised Land, as we have heard mentioned before, but it is a passing remark. Not every episode needs a large tie in to the series arching plot. 

Not one of the best of the 12th Doctor's adventures but the first series of a new Doctor always has a couple out of sorts stories where the actors and writers settle into the new character. After this, the rest of the first season gets better in my book.