Writer: Mark Gatiss.
Director: Paul Murphy.
Starring: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Tom Riley, Ben Miller.
Robin Hood! The Doctor! Two absolutely quintessential British heroes, both mysterious legends and dashing rogues in their own right. Whilst the expanded Doctor Who universe has occasionally taken a couple of forays into the subject matter of the two meeting, this episode written by Mark Gatiss is the first televised depiction of such an event. Naturally, such a tale is a most exciting thing indeed, and has been rather hotly anticipated by the fanbase, myself included.
So, is this a merry old episode? Does it fly straight as an arrow? Read on to find out!
WARNING: AS EVER, THERE MAY BE MINOR SPOILERS!
The episode opens in a fairly simple manner. The Doctor is at his seemingly-new favourite place in the TARDIS console room, at his blackboard scribbling down bizarre and strange equations, while he asks Clara where she wants to go next, what she wants to do. Clara, giddy at the prospect, requests that they nip off and visit Robin Hood. The Doctor finds this notion somewhat laughable, given that Robin Hood suffers from the tragic ailment of being fictitious, but reluctantly heads to 12th century Nottingham in an attempt to prove his companion wrong. His surprise is practically tangible, understandably, when the TARDIS landing is immediately followed by an arrow thudding into it, and the Prince of Thieves himself holding the offending bow. The Doctor exclaims “That is not Robin Hood!” Is it or isn’t it? The episode doesn’t say immediately, and the plot thickens…
So begins ‘Robot of Sherwood’, a rollicking tale of thieves, Merry Men, archery, and of course robots. It’s a significantly lighter tale, much less plot-heavy and intense than both ‘Deep Breath’ and ‘Into the Dalek’ were, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing by any means of course. There’s an intriguing concept behind the plot, what with a very subtle alien invasion going on right under everyone’s noses (bar the Doctor, of course, who doesn’t miss a trick), but that’s hardly the focus of things. Robin Hood is fictional, the Doctor says so himself, and he aims to discover exactly what’s going on with this doubtlessly-insidious plot (although one has to admit that the man who once met Arthur Dent should probably be somewhat less suspicious!). The episode has a certain similarity to Series 6’s ‘Curse of the Black Spot’ in a certain sense, taking a genre-fiction concept and taking it as far as it can go, and the plentiful nods to both Robin Hood mythology and Classic Who (one marvellous nod to Patrick Troughton in particular) are enjoyable to pick out. Unfortunately, the plot does straggle quite noticeably towards the very end of the episode, where things begin to feel a tad rushed, somewhat disjointed, and it does put something of an unsatisfying cap on what would otherwise have been a great story.
Aesthetically, the episode does its job and then some, an area in which Series 8 has been doing very well for itself. Nottingham is rendered quite beautifully through the set design, whether by way of peasant village or dark, foreboding castle. The costume design is spot on as ever for Doctor Who, and the robots that serve as the episode’s villains are suitably intimidating, a rather unique design that reminded me somewhat of Sutekh, or perhaps the Axons, and it was very nice to see something with such a retro vibe to it.
Much like every week, the characterisation is the most important part of the episode, and this is certainly an area in which ‘Robot of Sherwood’ does not disappoint. The elusive master Hood, played masterfully by Tom Riley, is a wonderfully-witty character with some brilliant scenes and lines. He’s got all of the attitude that one would expect of Robin Hood and more besides, and his interactions with the Doctor are one of the best parts of the episode, in particular the archery contest scene, easily the most entertaining part of the story. The two bicker constantly, and make a rather amusing double-act. The Sherriff of Nottingham (Ben Miller), meanwhile, is a very suitable villain for such an episode. He’s over-the-top, he chews the scenery, and he’s sufficiently menacing to boot, played well by his actor. The Merry Men get quite a dramatic introduction and all look very much the part, but unfortunately they don’t have much of a role in the episode beyond that.
The relationship between the Doctor and Clara, meanwhile, is beginning to hit a most interesting point. The underlying tension between them becomes rather overt at a few points, especially one briefly-intimidating scene at the end, and it’s fascinating to watch. The friendly Doctor-companion relationship is deteriorating by the minute, and I imagine it’ll all come to a head quite soon, no doubt. 
I’m very much looking forward to seeing where this particular arc goes. It’s a note of interest that what perhaps would be seen as the negative sides of Clara’s character are beginning to show quite prominently, such as her overall bossiness and overconfidence, and I think that’s mostly down to a shift in perspective. Since 2005, we’ve been seeing the show with the companion as the viewpoint character, everything tinged by their outlook. Now, since Series 8’s beginning, I believe we’re starting to see things a lot more from the Doctor’s own point of view, more specifically the unrestrained and uncompromising view of Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor, and it shows. It’s genuinely extremely intriguing to watch dynamics change, and I hope to see much more of it in future episodes. That said, Capaldi and Coleman continue to play their respective parts to perfection, Capaldi in particular settling very nicely into his role while simultaneously channelling quite a bit of Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor in this particular tale.
All in all, ‘Robot of Sherwood’ is a good romp, that’s all there is to it. It’s not particularly impactful and it doesn’t have any real relevance to the overarching plot except for one brief allusion to it, but it’s a decently-entertaining tale in a fun setting with some great characterisation and a marvellous guest star. Weaker than the previous two episodes, but it provides us with a nice break from the intensity of Series 8 thus far, and that’s no bad thing.
I’d like to see the Doctor and Robin Hood team up again, that’s for certain. 7/10.
Do join us next week, readers, or rather simply ‘Listen’…
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